please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Living in Hitchin, I have been going to the Green Man in Offley because of the excellent food that they served there (or used to at least, and that is the problem!)
I went there last night with my wife and our friend to celebrate a birthday. What a mistake!
I ordered the "Lamb with Asparagus Spears" from the Chef's specials board. When it arrived at the table, there was the lamb, but with runner beans.
I asked why this was, and was told that they had been serving this all day and nobody else had complained. So I said that I was complaining and wanted to know why I had runner beans instead of asparagus spears.
The waitress came back and told me that nobody had told the chef what was on his 'Chef's Specials' board! Absolutely comical.
Utterly utterly dreadful, poor quality freezer to microwave fare. The Green Man in Offley has lost customers that have been going there for years.
|
We live very locally so gave this pub 3 attempts to make sure it wasn't bad luck but sadly it wasn't. The food is clearly frozen and microwaved but we could have gotten over that if it wasn't still frozen inside on the first occasion. The second time was an evening during the week a couple of weeks later, and the food arrived cold when the pub was nearly empty and the waiters looked like they wanted to be somewhere else!!!
The last and final time (as we definately won't be returning for a 4th attempt!!!), some friends came over for my birthday so decided we'd try their sunday lunch. The mains was average but the desserts and the service were absolutely appauling!!! My dessert was nothing like the description on the menu and was not edible (and I eat anything if it's sweet!!!), my friend's lime pie was dry and tasteless and the other guest unfortunate enough to order a dessert as a treat wish he hadn't!!! When I asked the waiter in good humour why my dessert was so different to the menu he denied it and got really shirty. The manager walked past and said there must be something wrong with my taste buds!!!!! Clearly they're not fussed about customers... it's a shame but because the pub has been there a long time and it has nice settings they don't need to please people as there are enough customers to make up the numbers!
I wouldn't go again even if they gave us a free meal for 10!!!!
You've been warned.
|
Me, my boyfriend, and my parents went to The Green Man on 23rd January and it wasn't as good as it used to be. They had no pate so my boyfriend and I had to have the mushroom rarebit thing for starters which the waitress called mushroom bruschetta. It was quite nice but my boyfriend thought it could have done with more mushrooms. We had a chicken and chorizo thing for our main course and I wondered if it would be spicy. That was a joke as it was a pretty bland dish my boyfriend called "average". I couldn't taste any chorizo or paprika in it. The waitress bought my Dad the wrong dish so he had to wait (he didn't have a starter) while the rest of us ate and when he did get the red snapper he said it was terrible and a bit of the fish was manky. The lighting in the conservatory was bad and my Mum and Dad couldn't see the menus properly. My dessert the chocolate parfait was nice and my Dad's dessert was nice (school sponge) and my Mum had no problems with her tomato bruschetta and fish pie. My Dad was offered a drink while he was waiting for his dinner though I can't remember if it was free. I wasn't offered a discount on my dessert even though I didn't have the black cherries or cream, wish I had asked for one but I'm too much of a wimp.
|
We have been eating at the Green Man for at least 3 years, every weekend, during the week when we are off work and some evenings.
We are so upset that after a change of landlord over Christmas, most of the staff have been replaced. Although we were told they were not around as it was now the quite season, first in 3 years!
The staff seem determined to turn the Green Man from a gorgeously cosy country pub into something that feels like a trendy town pub.
One of the statements advertised from the pub is "You can eat anywhere in the pub including the conservatory". Not true anymore! You can only eat in the conservatory area, which is quite noisy and busy, with children running around. We used to enjoy taking lunch in the front of the pub bar area as it was much quieter. Even the side section that is lovely and quiet with a roaring fire was out of bounds. We were told this was because there was not enough staff to cover any areas other than the conservatory and appparently there was a woman breast feeding. Is that really a reason for an entire section to be closed? The staff walk around like prison wardens with big bunches of keys clanking around the waists, with no social interaction past the false smile and cold reception. Worryingly, this 'top team' also seem incapable of producing 2 drinks and 2 lunches without getting it wrong! Although I am so shocked at saying this, I am so disappointed at what the Green Man has become, do yourself a favour and drive past this one and try another. There are plenty of still real country pubs just waiting to make you feel welcome and show you great service.
|
I was disappointed. This used to be a great pub for food but we found the food today very sub-standard and expensive for what we got. The waiter who greeted us in the restaurant was friendly, as was the girl who delivered our mains, but our waitress was surly to say the least. I don't think we could have received a less inviting welcome and she did not look at us at all while serving us - we rushed our food and couldn't wait to leave. If I'm honest I did not enjoy this experience which is a pity as eating in the Green Man used to be such a treat. We are unlikely to return.
|
Great pub / restaurant, brilliant service, atmosphere food and staff.
Nice for any event, for a couple or a group. I find myself in there every weekend with o/h as they do a great lunch.
|
Difficult for wheelchairs..
|
The garden is great for panoramic views (and wildlife apparently).
The restaurant possibly isn't what it was, maybe I've become more discerning. A friend of mine visited on a quiet day midweek a while ago and reported the kitchen chaos which ensued when Gordon Ramsey and his production team (who must've been filming nearby) dropped in unannounced. Apparently, he picked up the menu and asked his entourage "anything there excite you?".
The waiter walked halfway to the table, stopped dead and scurried back to the kitchen to get the Manageress to serve instead.
Not sure what he thought... which surely serves as an invitation for someone to pretend to be Ramsey and write an expletive heavy review.
|
After an absence of several years, I took my family for a meal at the Green Man in Offley last night. What a disappointment! Firstly, it took ages to even get a drink, as there was just one poor girl serving behind the very large bar. We then checked in to the conservatory restaurant and sat there like lemons for twenty minutes, as no-one told us that they no longer have waitress service and you have to order all your food at the bar.
You also have to carry all your drinks back to your table yourself - OK for pub grub, but not acceptable in a so-called restaurant where the bill for four people - none of whom had a dessert - came to �121.84. (This did include a tip of �10.00. I originally intended not to leave a gratuity as I felt we had received very little in the way of service, but I relented when I saw that poor barmaid still serving on her own - I just hope she got her fair share of it.)
If you're thinking of visiting Great Offley for a meal, I suggest you drive right past the Green Man and go instead to the Red Lion just down the road. You'll get a better meal for half the price - and the staff will even take you orders at the table!
|
Have been to the Green man at least three times in the past 6 years most recently just after xmas 2005 and have always found the food and beer to be excellent.
The serving staff are usually quite friendly and the atmosphere, especially when not too busy, is very relaxing.
|
We know lots of people who do enjoy the food here. Perhaps we've been unlucky but we've yet to have an above average meal and the last one was poor.
In addition my wine glass was filthy! The views from the back are wonderful and would recommend for drinks only.
|
Whenever I've been here the food has been gorgeous and ready quickly. Had a nice roast beef and yorkshire pudding and a gorgeous pate followed by stilton and leek pie another time. Scrumptious.
|
Went here last weekend, it's a nice country pub - the food was of a high quality (particularly the specials on the blackboard)and the staff were friendly and efficient. Olde worlde interior and nice views from the beer garden at the back. We will def be going back!
|
Go for drinks only and the great garden view. But avoid the grub. Used to have a very good reputation, one of best food pubs in the area. Think it must have changed hands as it's absolutly awful now. Only ordered a mixed grill - how hard can that be? - but without exception everything was foul, overcooked, dried out, re-heated rubbish. Girlfriends food was no better. We were on the verge of not paying/complaing but did the British thing and kept quiet. learn from our mistake!
|
there were field mice outside in the beer garden (this is quite a rural place). I was put off my food, i hope there were no mice in the kitchen!
anonymous - 12 May 2005 16:28 |
I asked for my steak to be well done, but it was rear (and tasteless). My vegetables were also poor. I could have cooked a better meal (and saved myself �10)
anonymous - 27 Mar 2005 20:18 |
Wasps might sting you but not anyone else.
A decent place, although owned by the Chef & Brewer chain, with a decent menu. Still mystified as to why only one part of the horseshoe shaped bar is used.
|
Great pub. Food is good, altho' can be v. hard to get a table at busy times. Views over countryside are excellent, and ambience in the pub is great, and the location means it doesn't suffer from the rif-raff that infect many pubs in Luton and Hitchin. Excellent spot for a meal, or just to enjoy a quiet drink.
Richard - 9 Nov 2004 15:57 |
Group of 8 visited for a meal. All extremely happy with choice, quality and quantity of food. Service friendly too.
Penny - 21 Oct 2004 18:17 |
Wasps? OK.
We're from Luton and visit Offley from some balmy midsummer afternoon posh. Ale grand. Food good too, but too expensive for me outside the remit of company expenses.
|
Every pub garden has had a problem with wasps this year - this pub garden is usually a lovely place to sit with great views across Hitchin. Also cosy pub to visit in winter when the log fires are going. Food and beer average.
claire - 23 Aug 2004 18:51 |
Truely terrible. This place has a problem with wasps, meaning the beer garden is unbearable during the summer. Landlord appears unsympethetic to this problem. Food is below par
anonymous - 2 Aug 2004 17:33 |
