Carveries are the work of the devil

[Soontobe60]

DH and I decided to go to a Carvery after looking after the grandchildren,Daren earlier this evening. It’s on the way home and meant we wouldn’t get stuck in commuter traffic. I’ve not been to one for years!
The one we chose, a Toby carvery, is just next to the motorway slip road. There were about 4 cars on the car park and a couple of tables were occupied; mainly it was empty. We stood waiting for 5 minutes until someone came to see to us, asked us if we had a booking and said that as we hadn’t they couldn’t serve us as they only had enough food for the reservations they already had. It was 5.15 on a Tuesday evening!
When we walked out and sat in the car laughing, we realised we reeked of cooking fat and boiled cabbage 😳. Looking at the building we saw it was basically falling down - I think we had a lucky escape.
there was another Carvery a few 100 yards further on so we went there. No problem getting a table, no horrible smells, all looked nice and well kept. Clean toilets (very important!!). DH ordered a bean burger and chips - he’s veggie and wont touch a carvery - and I went to get my food. It wasn’t great, but wasn’t inedible - soggy veg, mushy roasts and gloopy mash, but tasty meat and gravy.
DHs on the other hand was very much inedible. A stale bun that shattered as he cut through it, a bean burger that seemed to have been stored unwrapped in the freezer for weeks so was rock hard, uncut table and certainly inedible. It was the colour of uncooked pastry! (maybe they had used butter beans). Chips were very undercooked and soggy.
I took the plate back and the staff were very apologetic, refunding the meal instantly. He ended up having cheese on toast for tea. I’m gutted - I was so looking forward to a tasty mid week meal!

DH is the type of veggie that won’t eat peppers or aubergines or mushrooms - god knows how we’ve managed to stay married for 32 years!

Have a look at Gary eats on yt, I think it varies,in a Toby, but they're definitely grim near me. There's a couple of those types within walking distance and they're both gross, full of screaming kids and folk piling up their plates full of grim grey food and gloopy gravy 🤢, but hey you get loads. Disgusting horrible food prepared in CPU, and reheated. There's one in a hotel a bit further away that's much nicer but it's 3 times the price, I'd rather go there once a year than set foot in either of the other two.

No nut roast then? 😂

Ohhh how did I forget that one

Brewer's Fayre always have garlic cauliflower cheese in the one we go to. It's amazing. Usually the roasties in all the chains I've had carvery in don't have proper crispy ones. Probably something to do with sitting under hot lights and having to keep them in covered metal dishes ready to top them up.

I eat at toby carvery regularly and never had a bad meal.

I’m immunocompromised and go to one that has a huge turnover and is always busy. Never eat at a quiet buffet!
went today and the beef and cauliflower cheese had just come out as I went up and they were adding more Yorkshires

I got campylobacter from a local pub that has a reputation for excellent food(!)

I quite like the meat free carvery options - Yorkshire, stuffing, roast potatoes, mash, dauphinois (or similar), cauliflower cheese plus fresh veg, gravy, cranberry and horseradish sauce. Much better than a dry bean burger and soggy chips. They normally offer a veggie protein option but I don’t bother.

I don’t eat steak, but a good steak restaurant will serve good quality fresh food and there are other options.

Rudy’s Pizza is actually not a good choice for vegetarians as most of the pizzas contain non-vegetarian cheese.

Carveries aren't for me as I only really like the roasts my mum cooks. There is nothing more disappointing to me than someone trying to coax me out to eat anywhere that claims to cook a roast/ have a roast special for Sunday. I also don't like cooked breakfast so I have no interest in our nearest Toby even as a non carvery option. DH has been there for breakfast with a mate and said it isn't bad though.

However, obviously from this thread more people than expected do like a carvery and it sounds like there are some nice ones around so I think you got unlucky OP.

I'm amazed carveries still exist. It's 70s/80s type cheap dining and it's looked that way since the 90s

Wow. What a boring story.

Toby Carvery breakfasts are amazing.

We took our grandaughter to a Toby last weekend because they have a play area.
The roasts, roast potatoes and gravy were really good but the veg was only lookwarm. We were trampling on spilled food which i think must have been from a child and to cap it off the play was closed just as we got to the door.
And we paid full price.

Our local golf club has the most amazing carvery on Sundays. It’s not the cheapest but still good value for what you get. A lady who had ponies at the same yard works there and the day after the ponies were treated to the left over raw vegetables scraps.
It’s very popular and you always have to book

I think you were unlucky, our nearest carveries are all okay, though I think the amount of meat you get these days is stingy. We use it as a quick and cheapish option if I can't be bothered to cook. I do agree they need to sort out ventilation, though, I visited a Toby carvery with friends a month ago, we spent several hours sitting and chatting. We were in the furthest corner of the building away from the carvery/kitchen, and when I got home I had to strip and put every item of clothing in the laundry then go and shower and wash my hair because I smelled of greasy food 😳

But luckily they can swap any of the cheeses for vegan cheese so he’s well catered for 😜

You get good and bad all over, personally I love a carvery, we have a Toby couple of miles away which is very good and always packed out. Personally I prefer one of The Farmhouse Inn’s (part of Greene King) further away but worth the trip. They take BLC too.
A full carvery is about £12 but it’s a bargain for young kids as they do a veg plate for £2.50 which is a really good size and get a Yorkshire with it. We can all eat a full Sunday lunch for under £30. It’s honestly not worth buying, peeling, chopping and washing up after for that price.

Move on then… no-ones forcing you to engage 😂

I'm fairly near to the Old Windsor and Langley Toby Carveries, anyone got any feedback on these as I now want to go there thanks to this thread as I love carveries & not been for many years? Thanks

I've had the honeycomb ice cream sundae! 😋 I love a Toby Carvery, you get plenty of veg, and the roast turkey is lovely, not dry at all. It's my favourite place to eat out.

If it specialises in one dish that's really the dish you should eat to get the best experience. It seems odd to choose to go there and eat something else. But each to their own.

Our local one is in a very posh middle class area but seems to attract a range of odd characters....the food is actually ok....last visit there was a family in dressing gowns who put a tablet on the table and did a live stream of their uncle moving a sofa around his lounge and asking opinions about where to locate it...Each time we go, about 3 times a year, there is always some strange characters and behaviour.

Because people enjoy it. My teenage boys would choose a carvery over any other restaurant or fast food place. It's certainly not out of date