Couldn't fault the quality of the food (shared hummus and olives with flatbread, followed by cheese and onion pie (me) and steak and Stilton special pie (him). Likewise, the decor in the pub/restaurant is lovely and the value for money very reasonable Those are the good bits. Someone needs to be in charge as front of house. There were plenty of waiting on and bar staff (it was a busy early Sunday evening) but no apparent order to who did what where We had booked, obviously, and yet we waited to be noticed by the young lady behind the bar before being haphazardly sent to a table for 4 which had neither been cleaned nor set up with cutlery. We then waited for our order for drinks to be taken, waited again for the food order etc. I have worked as a waitress. I have no qualms at all with waiting when the restaurant is busy. There were, however, plenty of staff on, but no one took charge of who did what. In the midst of the chaotic service, there was just one member of staff who stood out for all the right reasons: Lily. She made us feel valued as customers, was friendly and polite in her manner and served everyone with a smile. I asked for her name from the disinterested bar staff as I was leaving, exactly so I could give credit where credit is due. Your food, as always, was delicious but you do need to sort out your young servers.
The Whitchaff Inn – Rawtenstall