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Table Table Pub Restaurant Review thread

97 replies

AnnMumsnet · 08/10/2013 11:36

This thread is for the 80 MNers who were recruited via the MN Research panel (sign up here if you're not yet a member!) to try out their local Table Table pub restaurant with their family.

Each MNer received a £50 voucher towards the cost of their meal and drinks. The restaurants knew MNers would be visiting.

You can find out more about Table Table here

They say "Our stylish, relaxed decor is perfect to get together with a few friends and chill out at the bar, share an intimate dinner for two, or enjoy a meal with the whole family in our contemporary purple dining room. Add to this our great value pricing and we think you'll agree this is one local you'll love. Kids always love our Kid's menu, with everything from Chicken Goujons and Spaghetti Bolognese to Ice Cream and Mini Chocolate Challenge."

MNers visited one of the following locations

Lynton Court in Bournemouth
George and Dragon in Marlow, Bucks
Bowling Green in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
Lockyers Quay in Plymouth
Cheadle Royal in Manchester
Mill Lodge in Lincoln
Hunsworth in Bradford South
The Charter in Aylesbury, Bucks

So restaurant goers, please add your feedback below by answering these questions.

Don't forget to add your review to the pub/ restaurant listings on your local pages of MN as well.

~ When did you visit and which restaurant did you visit?
~ Who were you with?
~ What did you and your group choose from the menu?
~ How was the general ambience of the restaurant?
~ How knowledgeable were the staff serving you?
~ What did your children think of the visit?
~ What was the highlight of the visit?

Any other comments?

Thanks for taking part

MNHQ

OP posts:
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AndHarry · 09/10/2013 19:09

Table booked for Saturday. I am oddly excited :o

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erikab922 · 09/10/2013 19:45

Table booked for Sunday as well - watch this space!

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hjmiller · 09/10/2013 20:30

My husband and I took our 6 month old son to the Hunsworth, Bradford South on Tuesday evening. We booked a table for 5pm. The table and requested high chair (along with activity pack & crayons) were ready and waiting.
My husband had chicken goujons followed by a double bacon cheeseburger, I went for the classic combo of French onion soup & chicken curry. We both opted for Oreo pie for dessert. The driver stuck with Pepsi but I washed mine down with a couple of "Route 66" cocktails. We asked for a jug of hot water for reheating the baby's food which we had to collect ourselves as the staff are not allowed to carry hot water across the restaurant.
Food was really good, generous portion sizes and really tasty, even the dessert, which I often find isn't as good as the menu suggests, was really nice.
The atmosphere/ambience was nice, the place filled up and got quite busy for a Tuesday night, really pleasant and relaxing except for a vile American man at the next table using foul language loudly and not choosing the most savoury topics of conversation (again loudly). I suppose I could have asked him to tone it down and I would have done if my son was older, this spoiled the experience a bit for us but is obviously beyond the control of the restaurant. My baby is a bit small to ask what his highlight was but he seemed to enjoy having his nappy changed! The facilities were clean & fit for purpose so no complaints there.
I guess my highlight was not having to cook! Also discovering a great family pub that I will certainly return to again and again.

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craftynclothy · 09/10/2013 21:05

When did you visit and which restaurant did you visit?
We visited The Hunsworth Bradford South this evening.

Who were you with?
I went with my husband and two dc. DD1 is 6 and dd2 is 4.

What did you and your group choose from the menu?
Well firstly there was a lot of choice and lots of offers that were tempting. There was a 3 courses for £12.99 offer that we'd probably have chosen from if we hadn't had the voucher. The kids menu had a good range for our fussy dc! They can choose a main course and 2 sides plus a starter or dessert for £3.99. They had a good range of drinks for them too.

We shared a Warm Bread Trio for starters.
Dh had Chicken & BBQ Ribs Combo and I had a Mixed Grill for our mains. I really liked the chips being served in a big mug and the peppercorn sauce came in a little gravy boat so you could put on the amount you wanted. We shared a banoffee sundae for dessert as we were too full to have one each.
Dd1 had a burger with chips and garlic bread. Dd2 had pizza (plain) with tortilla chips and garlic bread. They each had a mini chocolate challenge.

How was the general ambience of the restaurant?
The decor was fine. One thing I would say is that it wasn't obvious when you first went in whether you just took a table or waited to be seated. Our table was at the far end of the building but there were plenty of other customers there (the tables near the front of the building were all empty) so it had a nice bit of atmosphere. There were also some toilets at that end of the building too (as well as at the front) so it was nice to not have far to take the children who inevitably asked for the loo as soon as our food arrived

How knowledgeable were the staff serving you?
Very. I was really impressed when I phoned to book the table that the person who answered the phone knew about the vouchers and it gave me confidence that the staff knew what they were doing before I even arrived. Everyone who dealt with us also knew about the vouchers and were very helpful. They made us aware of the all you can eat Chinese buffet and the 2/3 course menu special offer. They were very attentive too, checking everything was ok with our food and refilling our drinks.

What did your children think of the visit?
They really enjoyed it. Apologies to the other diners for dd2 loudly singing "5 times 5 equals 25" Blush. They were given little booklets and packs of crayons. They absolutely loved the 3d glasses and the booklet opened up to a 3d poster which they've both put up in their rooms.

Both of them ate quite a lot of their food, which isn't often the case. I thought the mini chocolate challenge was a great for them - it's a scoop of ice cream with a wafer in, a few chunks of brownie, some choc fudge sauce and some marshmallows.

What was the highlight of the visit?
For the dc it was probably the 3d glasses!

Any other comments?
For the price it was good. We chose more expensive things than we would usually because we had the voucher. You could definitely have a cheap family meal out by taking advantage of some of the offers/special. For example the all you can eat buffet was £6.99. I would say that I thought it was a bit slow between courses, perhaps more so because I expected them to be making extra effort to serve it quickly knowing we'd be reviewing it.

It's definitely got the sort of menu my parents would like. I don't think it would suit the IL's though (they don't really like 'pub restaurants'). Going on a weekday evening did mean putting up with the rush hour traffic to get there - Dh finished early so we could be there at 6pm as the dc would be pretty tired if we ate later than that on a school night. I expect we'd be more likely to plan to go there on a weekend so as to avoid that. That said no-one had to wait for a table. It's not unusual to go to our local Harvester and be told it's a 45 minute wait while half the tables are empty Confused.

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TheProsAndConsOfHitchhiking · 10/10/2013 10:26

Table booked for Saturday :)

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craftynclothy · 10/10/2013 13:45

Ann When you say to add the review to your local site, do you want me to add mine to Leeds (where I am) or Bradford (where the restaurant is)?

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AnnMumsnet · 10/10/2013 15:01

yes pls craftnclothy - though you're welcome to add one in Leeds as well Grin

OP posts:
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tired999 · 10/10/2013 18:10

Table booked for Saturday too. Smile

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cherriemayhem · 11/10/2013 10:22

The children really enjoyed the evening and for me the highlight of the evening was the fact that on leaving I was able to praise my three children for being well behaved and eating their dinners beautifully.

Last night we had a table booked at the Lynton Court Table Table restaurant in Bournemouth. We've eaten at Table Table restaurants before, but the last time was at the beginning of the summer, and we've never tried this particular restaurant.

I booked our table online via my phone and was impressed by how easy it was to book that way.

We often find it stressful taking all three children out for dinner, but with a table booked for 5pm we were willing to risk it.

As soon as we arrived we were greeted pleasantly by staff and shown to a comfortable table. Our toddlers don't need highchairs anymore, but we were offered these if required. The seating at Table Table is spacious and when taking three children out it was nice to feel that we were not too close to other guests.

The children were brought activity packs and crayons, which definitely helps to distract them whilst waiting for drinks and food.

The children's menu was easy to find as it was brightly coloured and stood out from the other more corporate looking menus. I liked the fact that the children's menu included pictures of the food enabling young children to choose their own meal. This would have been so handy for my eldest son who was often embarrassed at not being able to read when he was 6/7/8 years old due to his disability.

Oliver, my 3 year old chose fish fingers, tortilla chips and beans. Isabella, aged 2 chose burger, mash potato and coleslaw and Samuel, aged 10 chose a meal from the junior menu of BBQ ribs, chips and peas. The children's meals were £3.99 and the junior meal £4.99.

Gary chose the steak burger from the main menu and I treated myself to a sirloin steak with Bearnaise sauce. Gary's main came with skinny fries and mine with chips, peas, tomato and mushrooms.

We also had side orders of calamari and sticky goujons and of course drinks. Samuel was excited by the fact that his diet coke was a bottomless (refills for free).

The food was served at a comfortable speed and was all nice and hot. My steak was cooked as I had asked and we were offered a variety of sauces to go with our meals. The children were also brought small cutlery, which is much better for our toddlers.
Samuel ate all his meal, Oliver ate all but a few beans and Isabella ate all of her burger and coleslaw and half her mash potato. The children's portions were perfectly adequate and the waitress informed us that as we had ordered main meals the two children's meals would be free. This is a promotion that runs before 6pm Monday to Thursday and is a huge bonus for parents eating out with young children.

After our meal the General Manager came over to enquire whether our meal had been satisfactory. I mentioned to her that I liked the new children's menu and she took the time to explain that a focus group had spent time taking into account the views of customers and that although the adult menu remains in the corporate theme, that in fact parents need a menu to be practical. We talked about the pros and cons of promoting "5 a day" with fruit and vegetables and that actually often when dining out parents may prefer the choice to be less "fixed". The new children's menu allows a choice of main dish (i.e. fish fingers, burger, pasta etc), and a choice of any two side orders from which the list included; mash potato, chips, coleslaw, beans, peas etc. It's a refreshing change not to be stuck with chips alongside every kids meal!

We rounded off the night with the children each having a Sweetie Sundae and Gary a chocolate and honeycomb sundae. I managed to refrain from a pudding, but did pinch some of the children's popping candy from their sundae's.

womanwifeandmum.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/i-enjoyed-eating-out-with-my-children.html

We will most certainly return to Table Table again in the near future.

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HanJac80 · 11/10/2013 13:40

I went to the George and Dragon in Marlow for lunch yesterday, with my husband, one year old daughter and my parents. In a nutshell this pub is exactly what you'd expect from a chain pub - food perfectly edible but nothing special - with a baffling number of deals and offers on food. A pleasant pub restaurant with plenty of space for my daughter to wander around.

We ordered calamari, garlic and herb mushrooms, chicken liver pate and buffalo wings to start, followed by fishcakes, scampi and the waitress's recommendation of spinach and ricotta lasagne, with fishfingers, peas and rice for my daughter.

Children were accommodated, although there were a few areas lacking. The children's menu very sensibly gave the option to pick and choose which vegetables/starch to have with the main. I was pleased to see salad sticks offered as a starter, although no fruit option for dessert which was a shame. There were plenty of highchairs, and there didn't appear to be too much horror expressed at the amount of mess my daughter was making! That said, my daughter's meal (from the kid's menu) was served on an enormous plate that was too hot to touch, and I was also disappointed to find the baby change was only in the ladies (although there did appear to be a sign saying there was one in the gents too but we couldn't see it).

Staff were friendly and service was generally attentive, with recommendations, advice on what they'd run out of, and a warning about the spiciness of the buffalo wings.

The main disappointment was in trying to interpret all the offers that were available - the table was littered with different menus with different deals. Some dishes appeared on both the (cheaper) lunch and main menu, and the waitress was careful to explain to us that the dishes were exactly the same, but they were cheaper on the lunch menu. What we weren't told was that we needed to actually say "I want it from the cheap menu" when ordering, even though the dish was exactly the same, so the more expensive option appeared on our bill until we queried it. But the most misleading deal was one advertised as "Kids eat free before 6pm". As this was a lunch at 1pm and I scrutinised the small print on the menu...term time only etc etc...I felt confident that we'd be eligible for this, but no. When we questioned it as it appeared on our bill, we were told that the offer is only valid from 3pm-6pm. Although the menu mentions the ubiquitous "terms and conditions apply" NOWHERE on any of the many different menus did it say that the offer started at 3pm. After a bit of an argument this was removed from our bill, but the menu is clearly designed to mislead.

All in all, I would describe this as a fairly standard chain pub. I wouldn't avoid it, but I probably wouldn't particularly recommend it either - "it does what it says on the tin" is how my dad described it.

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craftynclothy · 11/10/2013 17:59

Thanks Ann, finally figured out how to post on there (it wasn't obvious how to pick a local alias Confused from the review page)

Just to add, I thought in the kids side option the celery option was a bit dull. My Dc wouldn't have ever chosen just celery, it's a shame it wasn't a mixture of celery, cucumber, carrot and pepper which DD1 would have loved.

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VeganCow · 12/10/2013 15:23

~ When did you visit and which restaurant did you visit?
Visited Cheadle Royal Last night.

~ Who were you with?
With my mother and 2 kids.

~ What did you and your group choose from the menu?
The kids had the 2 for £9.99 - One had tomato soup starter followed by gammon and chips, other had bread trio with dips followed by chicken burger with bacon and cheese.
I had breaded mushrooms to start followed by salad, chips and some garlic bread and onion rings to share, mother had the same.
The kids had oreo cookie for dessert, mother had raspberry and vanilla cheesecake.

~ How was the general ambience of the restaurant?
Very nice. Nice relaxed atmosphere. If we had one criticism it was the piped music coming from the speakers near the ceiling. it was not loud, but it had a thumping beat and mother hated it, she would have preferred more of a classical, slow, music with no beat.

~ How knowledgeable were the staff serving you?
Very. They seemed to know all they need to know, and were very good at what they do. All of the staff were lovely.

~ What did your children think of the visit?
Loved it. They said the food was fantastic, which it was.

~ What was the highlight of the visit?
All of it, a nice friday night spent with the family, eating good food :)

Any other comments?
We will definitely go again. We all really enjoyed it and would like to say thanks TableTable and Mumsnet for the opportunity to try out somewhere new :)

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tired999 · 12/10/2013 19:33

I visited The Charter in Aylesbury this lunchtime (Saturday) with my husband and two sons, aged 9 months and 2¼ years. It looks like a chain pub, as you’d expect, and is clean and light. We were seated in an area opposite the bar with a couple with another baby and all the other tables were filled by the time we left, mainly with other people with children.

I had booked online initially as no one had answered the phone when I first rang and then followed up a few days later to make sure that they had the vouchers waiting for me. The staff were very pleasant and helpful although they did seem understaffed once it got a bit busier. We were told the specials and about the meal deal that was available on a Saturday. We were also given a Table Table loyalty card on arrival and a book of vouchers with our bill.

High chairs were provided and our drinks orders were taken whilst we sorted out the children. We didn’t ask for an activity pack but weren’t offered one either but looking at the ones the children on the table next to us had been given they weren’t suitable for a 2 year old so it was a good job I’d taken crayons and paper with me.

There wasn’t anything on the menu for my 9 month old so we gave him the pre-prepared food we’d taken. This isn’t unusual for a pub but on a previous visit to The Charter a year ago the menu was different and they did have baby food.

My 2 year old had grilled chicken breast with chips and garlic bread followed by the sweetie sundae, all for £3.99. There were healthier options but I chose something I knew he’d eat as he’s recovering from an asthma attack. The plate and meal were very hot so I ended up giving him another plate and some of my chips until his had cooled down. He said that the main meal was “very tasty” and loved the popping candy. He was amazingly well behaved for the full 90 mins we were there.

I had half a chicken with salad and chips followed by a chocolate honeycomb sundae and my husband had the mixed grill followed by the trio of desserts. They were hot, well cooked and seasoned but a bit overpriced for what they were. We didn’t use any vouchers but the meal would be good value if we’d used the buy one main get one free coupon that was available online. The only, quite minor, thing that we didn’t like was the crockery. My meal was served on a long narrow rectangular plate, which I find awkward unless I’m having sandwiches, and my husband didn’t like his chips being in a cup.

My 2 year old has a peanut allergy so I asked if there were nuts in the Rocky Road sundae. The waitress came out with a huge folder of allergy information for each dish, which I have now found on the Table Table web site too. This is extremely helpful when you have a child with multiple allergies.

I will go back to The Charter if I’m in the area and want a standard (you know what you’re going to get) pub meal, but will check online to see if there are any special offers on first.

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InMySpareTime · 12/10/2013 19:53

I went to the Cheadle Royal restaurant with DH and 2DCs (aged 9&12)
I had Lamb Shank, followed by caramel apple crumble pie
DH had chicken & ham pie then fudge cake
DS had haddock and chips then a specially made dessert (waffle with marshmallows and strawberry sauce)
DD had steak & chips then sweetie sundae

DS has a milk allergy, the staff were all great about making sure all his food was suitable, even mixing a snatching several desserts to find something he'd like.

I had a glass of wine, DH had a pint of beer with dinner.
Overall a positive experience, minor issues were:
The restaurant was not signposted, we missed the turning and had to go round two roundabouts to get back to it.
Our bill had 3 drinks on it that we hadn't ordered, though once I pointed it out they took them off our bill straight away.

I will post something on the allergy board about the meal too, as I was impressed with the way they dealt with DS's dietary requirements, and the range of foods he could choose from.

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WhispersOfWickedness · 12/10/2013 20:11

~ When did you visit and which restaurant did you visit?

We visited this Saturday lunchtime and went to Mill Lodge in Lincoln.

~ Who were you with?

My DH and I and our two children, DS 3.10yo and DD 2.1yo.

~ What did you and your group choose from the menu?

I chose the macaroni cheese and caramel apple crumble cake and custard, DH chose the mixed grill and Oreo pie, DS had fish fingers, beans and tortilla chips and sweetie sundae and DD had sausage, chips and peas any sweetie sundae. The food was very nice, although DH wasn't very impressed with the size of the portions. He has got a large appetite though! I was more than happy with the amount of food and it was just right for the DC. I really liked the children's menu, for the amount of options that they were able to pick from, and they both liked the sweets being separate on the sundaes so that they could control how much they put on.

~ How was the general ambience of the restaurant?

It was quite pleasant, perfect temperature although a little dark where we were sitting (it was a very dark day though, which probably didn't help!).
We weren't very impressed with the toilets though. Considering the restaurant opened at 12 which is when we arrived, and we made our first visit by 12.30, the toilets were a lot dirtier than I would expect them to get in that amount of time. There were a lot of bits of toilet paper on the floor, I mentioned it to DH and he said that the men's toilets were the same, which I find quite odd! They could also do with having a rethink on hand drying facilities, there was only one tiny hand drier which was about as effective as someone blowing lightly on your hands!

~ How knowledgeable were the staff serving you?

The staff were very pleasant, although we saw a lot of them, a total of 5 people served us, we were never quite sure who was coming back to us! We did have a little time waiting to be seated and quite a wait for food. We got there at 12 and didn't start eating until 12.45.

~ What did your children think of the visit?

The children enjoyed themselves and really liked the activity packs, although it was more suitable for the 3 yo than the 2 yo. They both loved the 3D glasses though. Due to the wait for food, they did get quite restless whilst waiting.

~ What was the highlight of the visit?

The children's menu was very good, they both really enjoyed their food and I was impressed by the choice they had.

Any other comments?
Overall a very pleasant meal out, many thanks Table table :)

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WhispersOfWickedness · 12/10/2013 20:14

Oh, one more thing, due to paying with the vouchers, we didn't have anything to owe (our bill was £46 something :o ), but this meant that I completely forgot to leave a tip as didn't even get my purse out of my bag, so just wanted to say sorry about that, it was no reflection on the service!! Blush Blush

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chellem1 · 12/10/2013 20:32

I visited the Hunsworth Table Table in Cleckheaton, near Bradford.

We had a get together with some friends on a Saturday lunchtime, there were four adults, a two-year old and a baby. We had 2 x pate and chicken goujons for starters, and then T-Bone steak, mixed grill, chicken and chips, and steak and ale pie for the mains. We were too stuffed for dessert! The menu was standard pub fayre, with classics, burgers and grills on the main menu. There were a couple of minor issues (like my T-Bone was cooked medium-rare as requested on the fillet side but well done on the sirloin side), but we all enjoyed our meals. We had a £50 voucher and spent an additional £26.22 on top (including drinks).

The restaurant was very clean and had a nice ambience, although we went at 12.00 and it was very quiet when we first arrived, but soon got a little busier with families, although most of them were older.

We had highchairs provided for the two children, and there were baby changing facilities in the disabled toilet, all very clean (I HATE it when you get a dirty highchair, but these were clean!). We brought lunch for the baby (and the bar staff kindly provided a jug of cold water to cool down her bottle), and the two-year old had some of his dad's chicken and chips, which were very much enjoyed. A kid's activity pack with crayons and 3D glasses was provided for the two-year old, which he had loads of fun with.

Our waiter Will was the highlight of our visit, he was very attentive and couldn't do enough for us, very friendly, however, I do think it would have been a fairer picture of the service if they hadn't known we were reviewing them (the voucher was sent directly to the restaurant, rather than to me, so they knew).

I was picked by MNHQ to review this product/ service, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion.

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ReluctantBeing · 12/10/2013 20:38

I booked earlier in the week, but rang this morning to change the time, and we went earlier today to The Hunsworth in Bradford. I was with my partner and our son, aged nearly seven.
We had the sharing platter to start, and I had refillable diet coke and DP had refillable lemonade. For mains, ds has finish fingers, chips and tortilla chips, DP had a humongous T-bone steak and I had gammon.
We all had desert - ds had the sweetie sundae, DP had sticky toffee pudding and I had chocolate fudge cake (it would have been rude not too!). DP and I had a latte each as well. Quite rightly, we were all full to bursting when we left!
The ambience was good. It was relaxing (until a group with a screaming baby arrived, but that's not the restaurant's fault) and the decor was calming. The music wasn't bad, either.
Our waitress was brilliant. She was friendly, cheerful and knowledgable. We were impressed with her.
Our son enjoyed the visit and ate well (horay!), but he wasn't offered the kids' activity pack that was advertised.
The highlight I guess was finding out they did Costa coffee. I bloody love that stuff!

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ReluctantBeing · 12/10/2013 20:38

DP would like to add that the steak was cooked perfectly, just how he asked for it to be done.

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PervCat · 12/10/2013 20:39

i like the refillables

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AndHarry · 13/10/2013 12:18

I visited The Charter in Aylesbury last night, with our table booked for 5pm. I was with DH, 3yo DS and 11mo DD.

We chose the sharing platter as a starter. DS had fish fingers, sweet corn and peas from the children's menu, with a strawberry sundae for pudding, and DD had pasta, peas and baked beans and a plain ice cream. DH had the steak and ale pie and a chocolate sundae and I had a rump steak and an apple crumble with custard.

The general ambience was warm and inviting. It was dark and pouring with rain and the restaurant was nicely lit outside, with a cosy feel inside. We hadn't visited before but the barman spotted we were lost and pointed us in the right direction. We were greeted warmly when we arrived at the restaurant area and seated immediately. Our group was seated in a sort of mini-room in the main restaurant area, which was lovely - we could see other people and hear the chatter but it wasn't too noisy, even though we were right outside the kitchen.

Megan was our waitress for the evening. She told us the daily specials and knew all about the vouchers. We didn't have any particular questions but she gave us lovely, friendly service. Every member of staff we spoke to was unrushed and I was pleasantly surprised that the phone was answered both times I rang, once to book the table and then to say we were going to be late Blush Everyone was helpful and no one batted an eyelid at DS sleeping through the starter (Blush again), DH knocking his drink over (argh!) or me BFing DD.

DS enjoyed the meal once he woke up and especially liked the strawberries in his ice cream. DD isn't talking yet but she had fun looking around and trying to escape from her highchair.

The highlight of our visit was definitely the strawberries in the ice cream. Yum!

Other comments: I was impressed by the cleanliness of the table and highchair. Sometimes restaurant highchairs are filthy but everything here was spotless. On the highchair point, we had a wooden type with straps that go over the baby's head to keep them in and to stop them falling out through the bottom. I really don't like using straps with restaurant highchairs (see point on cleanliness above!) so a t-bar type with two leg gaps would be better.

I really liked the photos on the children's menu but I would have liked to see a 'tiny portion' option for babies. That said, the provision for children was excellent, especially the small cutlery and the addition of baby-friendly celery sticks to the starter we ordered.

There was a good selection on the adult main menu but I would have really liked to be able to choose a smaller portion size of the main meals. I saw this option on the 'junior menu' - can adults choose these too?

Overall, a lovely evening out. Thanks for choosing us to take part!

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bryonywhisker · 13/10/2013 15:24

~ When did you visit and which restaurant did you visit?
12 noon Sunday October 13, Mill Lodge Canwick, Lincoln

~ Who were you with?
DH (45) Me (40) DS 8 DD 5

~ What did you and your group choose from the menu?
Rump steak, mixed grill, adult cheeseburger for ds and fishfingers, mash and beans, 2 pepsi, 1 fresh orange, 1 lemonade
garlic bread/onion ring mushtoom sharing platter - this was the only bit I didn't like, too over fried and well not pleasant
Rocky road sundae, chocolate explosion sundae, kids sweetie sundae - excellent value but far too many sweets (I know! But there were!) Costa latte.

~ How was the general ambience of the restaurant?
lovely, busy but way tables are set out no one was tripping over each other. Local commercial radio playing on speakers which actually made nice change from piped music. Was set next to a really attractive electric fire but it was not switched on, would have looked much nicer if it was (lights only, not heat)
cheery staff
nice and clean

~ How knowledgeable were the staff serving you?
very, told us from outset that all dishes were available that day (hate it when you choose only to be told oh it's not on)

~ What did your children think of the visit?
loved packs which were a nice change from usual colouring - stickers and 3d good touch (although DS only has one eye and can't see 3D!)

~ What was the highlight of the visit?
really nice steak- really good piece, moist cooked just right

Any other comments?
Nice clean ladies loos

The only part where this restaurant falls down, we have been several times before and it ALWAYS happens, is the pudding wait. Mains always come at the kind of wait you would expect for fresh food, but puddings always take an age to the point where the kids are getting fractious. (Previous time we went the ice cream had melted to milk) As we know this happens we wouldn't normally have a pudding and would let the kids choose one from shop on way home instead.
Also think puddings are overpriced - £4.19 for icecream, sauce and a bit of brownie

Staff were everso lovely, but, and I feel really mean saying this, a bit overly friendly, I don't want to chat to serving staff on a meal out, I want to talk to my family!

The only other thing is the diners next to us were perched on stools and a low sofa with a low coffee type table. not a proper dining table. If we had been allocated that table I would have had to have asked to move. It looked most uncomfortable, particularly as they were older and quite large.

on the whole, delicious meal, £62 for 4 mains (inc 1 kids), 4 soft drinks, 3 puds, a coffee and a side. Too pricey for regular Sunday, but if you forgo puds and have a voucher, ok for a treat
thank you so much for choosing us!

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Clixsy · 13/10/2013 15:39

We went to the Lynton Court Table Table in Bournemouth on Saturday 12 October at lunchtime. Contacting the restaurant to book a table was easy and the staff were very polite and helpful on the phone.

My husband, mother in law and my four year old son came along for lunch.

There was lots of choice on the menu so it took us a bit of time to choose what we all wanted. However the staff were great and gave us the time we needed (after immediately getting our drinks order). We ended up sharing a portion of buffalo wings and a portion of dipping bread as starters for us all. I chose a bbq and onion ring burger and both my husband and mther in law chose the chargrilled vegetable and chilli linguine. My husband added salmon to his order (you could choose either salmon or chicken as an extra if you wanted). My little boy loved the children's menu as he as able to easily pick what he wanted. He went for a carb fest of macoroni cheese with two sides - chips and garlic bread! The portion sizes for all of us were huge - my husband had enough salmon for two as a main added to his pasta. Mother in law, my son and I had pudding (my husband was too full!). I ended up with the warm chocolate brownie with icecream and chocolate sauce. My little boy had the kids strawberry sundae (he was most pleased about the wafer fan on top) whilst mother in law had the waffle and icecream (minus the banana as requested).

The staff were all very helpful and welcoming. The restaurant itself could do with a bit of a refurb as some of the paintwork was a bit tatty but the staff more than made up for the building itself. Given its central location it was lovely that there was plenty of free parking.

The staff were very knowledgeable and answered all questions and got the changes to the dishes done for us (swapping one of the warm breadsticks so that it wasn't seeded as I have an allergy to sunflower

My little boy really enjoyed the visit. He loved the activity pack and the staff were great with him. When we were all finished he was confident enough to go find the waitress and ask for the bill (really surprised us that he did this, and it wasn't a case of him wanting to leave - he had just listened to us saying we would get the bill next!). He asked nicely too:)

Alongside how welcoming the staff were I think the fact that there was so much choice was fab. We will definitely be going back.

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PervCat · 13/10/2013 15:48

the lynton travel tavern?!! Grin

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poopoopoo · 13/10/2013 16:37

~ When did you visit and which restaurant did you visit?
We visited the George and Dragon in Marlow on the 12.10.13

~ Who were you with?
I went with my husband and two children- age 4 and 6 years. We arrived a bit early parking was easy right in front, so we went over to the lovely playground opposite for a while which made it a really great day for them.

~ What did you and your group choose from the menu?
We had a starter to share- a large platter with some of everything, coated mushrooms, chicken goujons, calamari, buffalo wings, tortillas….and two dips blue cheese and garlic mayonnaise. For the mains: I had the chef recommended lamb shank with cabbage and mashed potato with a mint jus. £ 12.99 My husband had the huge 16 oz T bone steak with fries and peas £17.99 . My little girl had the fish fingers and fries and my little boy had a burger with fries and tortillas. For pudding I had the sticky toffee pudding with custard ( yum I wish I could eat it again tonight!!!) My little girl had the mini chocolate make you own pudding selection and my little boy had the sweetie sundae (which he loved! It was fun as he got to put all the sweets on .) My little girl made artistic patterns on the cake and marshmallows with the chocolate sauce. The kids menu was very reasonable at £3.99 each for all of it and portions were just right. A bottle of red wine for hubby, I had a passion fruit and mango juice, the kids had chocolate milkshake.

~ How was the general ambience of the restaurant?
The ambience was great and family friendly; we were seated in an area out of the way in a kind of conservatory at the back overlooking the garden.

~ How knowledgeable were the staff serving you?
The staff knew the menu and were able to explain about the dishes and recommend the best choices.

~ What did your children think of the visit?
Our children loved the visit, they ate the food and loved the put- together-your-pudding idea, it kept them very happy. They also loved the monster 3D activity pack they were given with crayons and glasses. This kept them happy between courses.

~ What was the highlight of the visit?
For me, I most enjoyed having quality time with my husband and children sitting down together without having to rush around and cook and tidy up! The children most enjoyed the puddings and my husband liked the bottle of red wine! THANK YOU ?

“I was picked by MNHQ to review this product/ service, which I received for free. This review is in my own words and reflects my true opinion.”

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