Waveney
Cleones

Cleones

The Thoroughfare, IP19 8AH, Waveney, United Kingdom

Pub • Pasta • Pizza • Steak


"The menu selection was good, the food served was tasty...if lacking in quantity on the mains for the price though, the staff were attentative to a point (I 'll get on to that later) the ambience...the ambience was very bad. Its worth noting the room has a high ceiling and is pretty much void of many soft furnishings bar a few rugs drapped over the walls so the sound echos and reverberates making conversations difficult to hear. We had been pre warned by a number a freinds about the noise level in the room but we took that with a pinch of salt. Alas there was an issue with noise far beyond what we where expecting. The night we took our family we were positioned by what we mistook for an open doorway or putting it another way a doorway without a door, which we took as being like that so the staff could carry drinks through from the bar. Right next to this door on the other side of the wall is a seated entrance area to the bar where on our night about 30 locals spent the whole night screaming, swearing and getting drunk. The noise level was deafening in the dining area where we were sitting, we might as well had been sitting smack bang in the middle of the crowd, this noise permutated the whole dinning area but we had the full effect in stereo. After about an hour someone walked into the room and closed the door, to our dismay, shock and disbelief we could suddenly hear ourselves talk, hear that there had been music piped into the room all that time and questioned why oh why did the staff who are stationed right next to the doorway not close the door earlier. To be honest when we walked in none of us noticed a door was present as it was already open, as stated we assumed there was no door to aid the serving staff. We raised the question with the young staff who had been very attentive to us all night, can 't fault them there, as to why they didn 't think to close the door when the barage of screaming, shouting and swearing which had been relentless for the whole time we were there was obviously too much to bare when paying good money to eat out. Their answer pretty much summed up to 'yeah it does get very loud but if it was a problem you should have closed the door '...if any of us knew there was a door then we WOULD have closed it but to be honest the staffs attentiveness should have prevailed to understand, by their own admission that the noise was far too loud and there 's a regular issue with noise that the simple act of closing the door and keeping it closed would be the correct procedure to make the dining experience a pleasant one. On the way out we bumped, figuratively not literally, into the manager, we raised the issue with her about noise and staff taking initiative, let 's just say she was as far removed from listening to constructive feedback as someone could get, verging on rude and belligerent. So eat there, the foods nice, if somewhat tiny on the portions and take some ear defenders to drown out the rabble and prey you don 't have to give any feedback to aid them into a better experience going forward because you 'll end up with a very sour taste in your mouth, especially from the manager."

The Village Maid

The Village Maid

71 The Street, Lound, NR32 5LP, Waveney, United Kingdom

Pubs • Full • Steak • British


"My wife and I decided to try the Village Maid having eaten at other pubs in the Moss Co chain) as they had a special promotion with 50% off main meals for a limited period Mondays to Wednesdays). My sister had bought us a £10 gift voucher and we thought it would be a good opportunity to use it. Sadly this was not possible the pub 's menu states '50% OFF MAINS OFFER CANNOT BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH A MOSS CO VOUCHER. TO USE A MOSS CO VOUCHER, MEALS WILL BE CHARGED AT FULL RESTAURANT PRICE '. The meal itself was excellent. I ordered the whitebait starter £8) which was a good sized portion and my wife and I shared it. Really tasty and fresh. For main course I ordered the pan fried seabass £20 reduced to £10) and a side order of hand cut chips £4). It was served with a chickpea, chorizo and prawn gumbo in a large bowl and to be honest I could have skipped the chips as it was very filling. There were loads of prawns, although only two small pieces of seabass. My wife ordered the Maple Glazed Bacon Steak £17 reduced to £8.50) which she really enjoyed. We shared a dessert, a lovely Banana Toffee and Pecan Sponge Pudding with Custard £8.50) which was really light and tasty, and more than enough for us to share. The pub had an extensive drinks menu but only two ales available, although the Lacons Encore was tasty. The service was excellent we had a very friendly lady server who had a great sense of humour and we really enjoyed the interaction. Pace of service was just right, not too rushed or slow, so enough time to digest and enjoy without feeling full or pushed to clear the table. We had a lovely meal and the entire visit was excellent. The only reason for not scoring 5 stars was the gift voucher issue. I don 't see the logic in denying customers with gift vouchers the ability to access the offer. I could understand why the 50% off mains offer couldn 't be used with another 'discount ' offer, but a gift voucher is still a cash payment, indeed Moss Co even had the money in advance! If we had used my voucher we would have ended up paying £8.50 MORE than not using it, which seems daft, especially as Moss Co are promoting the giving of these vouchers as Xmas presents in their newsletter...we were better off NOT using it, which doesn 't seem right. I have emailed Moss Co twice on this matter and not even had an acknowledgment. Apart from that the meal experience was excellent and I am sure we will be tempted to return."