The Cuan Licensed Guest Inn

The chips were the best we’ve had in ages, and my husband devoured his scampi, which came with really big shrimp. We stopped at the restaurant/bar for lunch on his birthday and had a delicious meal in a great setting. When I asked to sit a little farther from other customers because I’m immunocompromised, they made it easy and went out of their way to help us feel comfortable. Everyone we spoke to was lovely. We’re looking forward to coming back.

The refurbishment looks lovely, and it’s a beautiful restaurant with an excellent wine list. But the food felt expensive for what we got, with small starter portions, and the sauce with my monkfish curry didn’t taste homemade. Service was the biggest disappointment. Even with a booking, we were shown to a small corner table that was definitely the worst one, though we managed to move. Some staff seemed more focused on chatting with each other than engaging with customers. It’s a shame, because the place has so much potential to be somewhere special.

The sriracha glazed Brussel sprouts with nuts and pea shoots were amazing, so get a side of those. All three of us chose the roast beef for Sunday dinner. It was tender, full of flavour and beautifully cooked, with rich gravy, crisp roasties, creamy mash, veg and Yorkshire pudding. The girls looking after us were friendly and helpful. Great menu choices and a lovely experience, we’ll definitely be back soon.

The food was very good, but the service was disappointing from start to finish on the evening of May 4th, and we won’t be back. A previous review described the staff as “aloof,” which matched our experience. The owners should take that feedback seriously. Three waitresses covered our small area at the front, but there was no coordination or clear person responsible for making sure we were looked after. It wasn’t very busy, and I often saw them gathered with the manager near the till, chatting among themselves. Our four-year-old daughter spilled her drink, and nobody offered to help clean it or bring extra napkins. My husband had to get some from the bar. One child’s meal was missing from the order, my husband’s drink was forgotten, and no one offered me another glass of wine after I finished mine. Nobody checked whether everything was okay during the meal. We had to ask for empty glasses to be cleared, request the dessert menu, and then ask about spoons when dessert arrived without them. The waitresses weren’t making much effort, and one in particular kept her head down and seemed very disengaged. The bathroom floor was dirty and needed mopping. There were scraps of toilet paper all over it, but no toilet paper to use. When I raised the problems at the end, the manager didn’t seem very bothered. She said, “sorry and I will speak to the staff,” but it wasn’t convincing. I told her she needed to train her team. I used to wait tables at a similar gastro pub, and my superiors would have fired me for service like that.