The Black Swan at Ockham Reviewed
SUSAN ROGERS VISITED THE BLACK SWAN, OCKHAM, SURREY AND IS DISAPPOINTED
Date of Visit 25/04/08
What a disappointment! Bearing in mind the menu prices were on average £8
for a starter and £15 for a main, we had great hopes for the newly
refurbished so-called gastro pub.
We were served with a not very chilled glass of Chablis on arrival – when
we asked if we could have a chilled glass the waiter firstly said should
he blow on it to cool it down then plonked 3 pieces of ice in the glass!
My starter of ravioli was only warm, not hot, with too much sauce for the
small piece of pasta swimming in the middle, my husband’s duck pate tasted
bland and came with 2 small pieces of toasted wholemeal bread. When he
asked for more toast they brought out pre-made melba toast which we had to
send back after explaining what we wanted.
Mains were hot and tasty to be fair – lamb and duck breast. We decided
not to have a dessert but then waited nearly 25 minutes for someone to
come over to the table so that we could order coffee. The waitress’
attitude when we finally had to call her over was rude to say the least,
with no apology for leaving us sitting there – she clearly doesn’t
understand the meaning of customer service.
Nice atmosphere to have a beer or a coffee but don’t bother with the
restaurant as everything is clearly too much bother for them.
Reviewed by SUSAN ROGERS of WEYBRIDGE, SURREY
The Black Swan at Ockham,
Old Lane, Ockham, Surrey KT11 1NG
T: 0932 862364 W: http://www.geronimo-inns.co.uk/theblackswan/
We too were disappointed. The fit out is great, the location couldn’t be better for this proposition. However, the staff really need sorting out! They are meant to be there to provide a friendly, welcoming service – they seem to think they are above that and that customers are essentially a hassle. After the longest wait I can recall our mains arrived, tepid but otherwise quite tasty. We didn’t have time for desert as we’d waited so long for our mains, but decided on a “quick coffee” whilst we waited for the bill – no such thing I’m afraid! It was nearly twenty five minutes from requesting the bill before someone slouched over with a pdq machine, not really saying much to us except to point out that we could add service – needless to say, having seen nothing that resembled it, we didn’t elect to add any. So disappointed – we have been again since, hoping we caught them on a bad day, but sadly more of the same!