The Grange, Ealing Common

This is one of our locals. To sum it up: great selections of drinks, middle class, hit & miss staff. Probably won't go back.

My husband has always liked the look of it and we started going every Saturday for a couple of drinks. First time we got there, the staff didn't have a clue (probably new and untrained). We ordered a couple of drinks and it took ages. The week after, same staff - I ordered a shot of liquor with milk and she didn't know how much that should be charged. Waited a while (by this time the ice in my drink had already melted halfway). Still, we liked this pub because of its wide selection of drinks (Italian and Japanese beer on tap, and my favorite nutty liquor). So we gave it another go last night. Went and ordered a couple of drinks with a bowl of chips. This time, a proper barman served us. He seemed to know what he was doing and service was quick, even though it was really crowded. He said, we should order the chips from the other side (dining section), because it would make things easier. So we went to the dining section. Didn't see any signs like "Dining only" or "Please wait to be seated", and no staff in the area. We grabbed a couple of menus and sat down. Within a minute, one pint-sized, spray tanned brunette in a mini skirt came over (almost charging) and said, "Can I help you?" We said we wanted to order some snack, maybe a bowl of chips or dips. And she basically asked us to leave the area because it's "Service only" and we are not allowed to be sit there if we're just having chips. Very unpleasant and disappointing. We didn't even finish our drinks and just left. I wish this wasn't just down the road because every time I see it, I want to egg it. Or maybe egg her.

19 Mar 2011 11:54