Old Vicarage at Ridgeway

[jamesogt]

We were originally a party of 4 and paid a deposit of £10 per person on booking, however on the day before my friend ended up in hospital with an injured leg and couldn't drive (she lives in Cheshire) so sadly she and her OH had to cancel. We called the restaurant straight away to let them know there would only be 2 of us dining with them and explained the situation.

 

I have to say the sitting area is looking a bit shabby, there was a visible layer of dust on the pictures, dust and balls of animal hair under the chairs, the throws and cushions on the sofa's looked grubby too. Rather than leave us with the wine menu Tessa hovered pointing out their recommended wines at £50 plus a bottle, we have bought them before only to find the mark up is exorbitant. The wine we finally chose can be bought for £7.50 a bottle we paid £28.

 

The food is still really good but not perfect; the scallops were slightly over done and therefore on the chewy side rather than soft and the shoulder of lamb was over seasoned and dry, however the desert was faultless. I think for a £100 per head I expect perfection to be honest!

 

The whole evening was marred when it came to paying the bill, Tessa sits under the stairs counting her money! She quibbled over the £20 deposit for our friends who could not make it but in the end she grudgingly conceded to refunding the £20, this soured the whole evening for us really. I can totally appreciate that they take deposits for a reason, however we still turned up it wasn't a wasted table or lost booking and we spent a considerable amount of money there. Also she was aware of the unavoidable circumstances, it wasn't as though they just couldn't be bothered to turn up!

 

Next time we want to experience Michelin starred fine dining I think we will go to Fischers!

 

A deposit is generally non-refunadable, wether she chooses to return it is up to her. She did return and you have still chosen to write her a fairly negative review, she should have kept it! With it being only a small restaurant 2 covers out of a possible 30 is 7% of her nights takings, if she lost covers like that often on a busy night she would not have lasted as long as she has.

 

As for counting money, what is she meant to do? When people pay someone would have to count it. I doubt she sits there doing it all night sorting it in to piles and rubbing her hands in the way you suggest!

 

As for pricing, she is a business. None of the food you ate cost her the prices you paid, so why would the wine be any different? Heinz soup costs pennies to make, have you ever complained to Heinz about the profit they make?

 

If the food is not up to scratch then that is a seperate complaint but it sounds to me like you have tried to use your post to rally support for yourself.

[ange1312]

Thank you for your response Jamesogt, I can appreciate that to refund the deposit is at the restaurants discretion but why make a fuss about it then refund anyway. As I said she knew of the circumstances in advance and it wasn't explained to my husband that he would lose the deposit when he called to let them know of the changes.

 

As for counting money that could be done at the close of business when the customers have left the premises or done in a room out of sight of the customers. No where in my post did I say she was rubbing her hands together.

 

As for the pricing of the wine my main point was that you feel pressured to buy the more expensive bottles that have the highest mark up, I do feel that 4-5 times the normal retail price is very high. I fully realise when you go to a place like the vicarage you expect to pay more, however you also expect more!

 

My account was an honest and fair one, we have been before and in the past the experience and food has been exemplar and for that I do not mind paying the prices they charge. But this time was not as good as previous experiences, it was disappointing. I don't expect to pay £100 per head and it not be exceptional food, service and clean. To have a cat wandering around with the diners and fur balls under the furniture is just not on.

 

I have no need to rally support, I don't intend to make a fuss...I will just not give them my money again. My post was to share my most recent experience of dining at The Old Vicarage, I did not generate the thread. If our experience was good I would have said so. Any restaurant is only as good as its last service, I really do hope it was a blip.

[sheffgrow]

Thank you for your response Jamesogt, I can appreciate that to refund the deposit is at the restaurants discretion but why make a fuss about it then refund anyway. As I said she knew of the circumstances in advance and it wasn't explained to my husband that he would lose the deposit when he called to let them know of the changes.

 

As for counting money that could be done at the close of business when the customers have left the premises or done in a room out of sight of the customers. No where in my post did I say she was rubbing her hands together.

 

As for the pricing of the wine my main point was that you feel pressured to buy the more expensive bottles that have the highest mark up, I do feel that 4-5 times the normal retail price is very high. I fully realise when you go to a place like the vicarage you expect to pay more, however you also expect more!

 

My account was an honest and fair one, we have been before and in the past the experience and food has been exemplar and for that I do not mind paying the prices they charge. But this time was not as good as previous experiences, it was disappointing. I don't expect to pay £100 per head and it not be exceptional food, service and clean. To have a cat wandering around with the diners and fur balls under the furniture is just not on.

 

I have no need to rally support, I don't intend to make a fuss...I will just not give them my money again. My post was to share my most recent experience of dining at The Old Vicarage, I did not generate the thread. If our experience was good I would have said so. Any restaurant is only as good as its last service, I really do hope it was a blip.

 

will you still complain if the free meal you are asking for for your birthday isnt upto scratch?

[ange1312]

LOL, sadly I didn't get a free meal for my birthday:-( We actually had a lovely lunch at The Wortley Arms... great food with brilliant service that was reasonably priced. We left with a full belly, my husbands wallet wasn't totally emptied and we didn't have a bitter taste in the mouth!

[Rakane]

I went a couple of years ago, but didn't really think the food was worth the hype.

[PeteM01]

As for the pricing of the wine my main point was that you feel pressured to buy the more expensive bottles that have the highest mark up, I do feel that 4-5 times the normal retail price is very high. I fully realise when you go to a place like the vicarage you expect to pay more, however you also expect more!

 

The last time we visited (my wife's birthday), we received the same sort of personal attention from Tess when we were choosing the wine. However, she steered us away from an expensive French wine to a more reasonable new world equivalent that was delicious. You could be cynical and suggest that maybe there was a better mark-up or perhaps she wanted to clear the stock of that wine but the net result was still money saved for us. The food was very good, by the way, and the whole experience was a (rare) treat.

[crookesey]

Back in the 1950's I used to go conkering in the vicarage grounds. The vicar was a lovely old man called Mr Thomas who I think came from South Africa.

[BeeFy]

Hi all,

 

I am eating here tonight, I have once and once only ever had michelin star food, and it is our annivesary tonight. From the comments I have read here and other places mean I aint holding my breath compared to where I have eaten previously. .

 

To start I am driving so no wine (really love it but someone has too). So does this mean straight away my OH will be pressered into buying a bottle for her self. I dont mind paying 3X original price of bottles but anything over that is just over the top.

 

Regardless of that I am going open minded but will be watching and listening for certain things. From that I will let you know what I think personally. And remember it is all PERSONAL! SO everyone is different!

 

!

[proplus]

We went to The Old vicarage last night, we have been many times before and always enjoyed the food and the service, so we were looking forward to our evening with much anticipation.

 

We were originally a party of 4 and paid a deposit of £10 per person on booking, however on the day before my friend ended up in hospital with an injured leg and couldn't drive (she lives in Cheshire) so sadly she and her OH had to cancel. We called the restaurant straight away to let them know there would only be 2 of us dining with them and explained the situation.

 

I have to say the sitting area is looking a bit shabby, there was a visible layer of dust on the pictures, dust and balls of animal hair under the chairs, the throws and cushions on the sofa's looked grubby too. Rather than leave us with the wine menu Tessa hovered pointing out their recommended wines at £50 plus a bottle, we have bought them before only to find the mark up is exorbitant. The wine we finally chose can be bought for £7.50 a bottle we paid £28.

 

We were taken in to the conservatory which was chilly and I was sat near the entrance where the waiting staff stood having conversations about the fantastic all you can eat chinese buffet in town and what they were planning for the weekend!

 

The food is still really good but not perfect; the scallops were slightly over done and therefore on the chewy side rather than soft and the shoulder of lamb was over seasoned and dry, however the desert was faultless. I think for a £100 per head I expect perfection to be honest!

 

The whole evening was marred when it came to paying the bill, Tessa sits under the stairs counting her money! She quibbled over the £20 deposit for our friends who could not make it but in the end she grudgingly conceded to refunding the £20, this soured the whole evening for us really. I can totally appreciate that they take deposits for a reason, however we still turned up it wasn't a wasted table or lost booking and we spent a considerable amount of money there. Also she was aware of the unavoidable circumstances, it wasn't as though they just couldn't be bothered to turn up!

 

Next time we want to experience Michelin starred fine dining I think we will go to Fischers!

 

I really like OV, and tend to agree with the general decor needing a bit of an overhaul - so for a change, we have been venturing further afield and prefer Sat Bains in Nottingham. Slightly more expensive but you will find the food is so much better and imaginative. 10 course comes in at £85 but there are some deals if you stop over in one of their rooms with breakfast. If your a foodie and enjoy michelin standards, its well worth a look. (Make sure you read the cancellation policy though - a bit more stricter than Old Vicarage!)

[jamesogt]

As for the pricing of the wine my main point was that you feel pressured to buy the more expensive bottles that have the highest mark up, I do feel that 4-5 times the normal retail price is very high. I fully realise when you go to a place like the vicarage you expect to pay more, however you also expect more!

 

The last time we visited (my wife's birthday), we received the same sort of personal attention from Tess when we were choosing the wine. However, she steered us away from an expensive French wine to a more reasonable new world equivalent that was delicious. You could be cynical and suggest that maybe there was a better mark-up or perhaps she wanted to clear the stock of that wine but the net result was still money saved for us. The food was very good, by the way, and the whole experience was a (rare) treat.

 

From the restaurants point of view usually the less expensive wines have the bigger mark up. I know from places I have worked bottles like Petrus or Chateau Margaux are marked up considerably less as they have a price that people are willing to pay for those wines. I.E. the house wine is bought in at £4.95 and sold at £27 but Petrus though sold for £800 costs the restaurant £600.

 

The decor and general ambience including the cat and slightly shabby interior seems to be a recurring point, I would guess it comes from her being a little eccentric. Michelin have very specific standards in these areas and if she is maintaining her star they must consider it part of the package maybe.