The Clarendon, Chandlers Cross

Fantastic building nicely decorated downstairs in the bar area/casual dinning area, upstairs in the fine dinning/bar snack are (keep changing there minds about what they are trying to be!) is very over the top obiously has had no expense spared but actually looks like a young interior designer has been given an open cheque book and very little taste!

I have only eaten in the casual dinning area downstairs but found the menu to be small and over priced myself and wife actually laughed at one point when we notice gammon and eggs priced a �16 and the cheapest thing on the menu, we both had rump steak with fat chips priced at �19 a bit expensive for location but we thought we would try it, we had to pay extra for a tiny bowl of green beens the only veg available on the day and the bowl of fat chips is actually a copper pan with 5 chips!

Steak was very good but definately over priced and i would not of expected to have to pay extra for veg that should have been included in the meal.

with 2 or 3 drinks each cam to just under �90, personally i left feeling still hungry and ripped off and to be honest i have not eaten a meal since i know many other local people who have been and had a same feelings afterwards. some in the fine dinning and some in the bar.

We now drink there on very few occassions with groups of friends but to be honest having been there this week even that i think will now be given a miss due to the staff upstairs being very arrogant and rude.

If i want fine dinning i go to the grove not a small cramped pub with an over indulgent owner with a bad attitude. when there is such a vast choice of great pubs selling great food around the area i really can't see this place lasting very long with the current owners who clearly have no idea or no interest in what the local actually want or are willing to pay for!

BY THE WAY

if the owners read this your recent changeover to the bar snack was a great idea and many people have told be they had been going more ofter and 3 weeks later you no longer do them.

personally i believe you need to start treating your customers equally rather than being nice to the ones who like to posse and drink champagne and run up �150 bills each they will be gone in a few months once bored where as the regulars who maybe dont like champage but does not mean they have less money just maybe dont like to feel used will be the ones that come back in the long term and stop you going out of business.

29 Nov 2009 16:40