The Peacock

We came with my partner and dog to meet four other family members, and took the last table in the dog friendly area. While I was at the bar getting drinks, where the barman was very nice and professional, a staff member told my partner we had to move because a booking needed our table, as the table allocated to them was too small. They picked up our belongings and moved them without giving us a chance to respond or offering another option. The same staff member also tried to take a chair from a table while a child was sitting on their parent’s lap. Really bad service. We won’t be back.

The food itself was decent, but the service was so poor it overshadowed the whole visit. As someone with hospitality experience, this was some of the worst customer service I’ve encountered. There was no accountability, basic courtesy or professionalism, and I wouldn’t recommend this place. We were six people in the beer garden. From the start, service was poor: our drink order at the bar was taken abruptly and carelessly, and a simple lime and lemonade arrived as plain lemonade. Then we waited around an hour for the food. An older male staff member brought it out and was shockingly rude when I asked a straightforward question to clarify the dishes. His sarcastic, dismissive reply was, “I only have two hands.” My partner found a hair in their salad and understandably left it, but ate the rest of the meal. No one checked on our table at any point. When we eventually raised it with a staff member as plates were being cleared, she didn’t apologise. Instead, she asked whether we wanted to “go and see the chef,” then suggested the hair might have been “blown onto the plate after it had left the kitchen.” That was ridiculous and insulting, and still there was no apology. I feel compelled to leave this review. From the way other feedback has been handled, I fully expect a defensive, rude response. Management clearly doesn’t take criticism well.

The beer garden is lovely in the sun, and the location is great. The rest of the stay was shocking. Booking was a struggle: I tried calling on four different occasions to pay, then someone rang to say I still needed to pay and confirm, and charged me £65 more than the quoted price. On arrival, there was confusion about what I’d booked, and we didn’t get the room I’d asked for. The TV didn’t work, and nobody told us when to check out or where to leave the keys. Terrible service. I won’t be back.

We only wanted drinks when we went into The peacock yesterday. A young man asked if we wanted food or drinks, then told my husband to stand at the bar. Four staff members came behind it, and even though the pub was practically empty, nobody acknowledged him or said they’d be with us in a minute. We left after about five minutes. It’s a nice pub, so they should sort out the staff. No wonder pubs are closing.