Reviews in Warwickshire

I have been to Bedford Street many times over the years and have also enjoyed a couple of visits since the covid restrictions have been in place. Whilst the recent visits have been in the day, service has been excellent as usual. However, I was very disappointed with how things were run on Saturday night. I had booked a table several days in advance for 8pm. Upon arrival there was a large queue so I went to the front to ask about where those with bookings should stand. We were told by the bouncers that everyone in the queue had bookings so to go and stand at the back. We waited 15 mins before asking those in front of us if they had booked ,of which they hadn’t, so I went back to the front of the queue to query this. I was told by the same bouncer to wait in the queue and they would call us. At this point a large party of over 12 walked straight into the bar without queuing, stating they had a booking. I had to go up to the front for a third time to ask about this and by this point it was 8:30. Eventually we were let in. The young lad at the door with the booking sheet was friendly however the bouncers were extremely rude and intimidating and seemed to thrive on letting in who they wanted to (mainly parties of young girls). I observed them to be overly aggressive with several males for no apparent reason. The first couple of rounds of drinks came fine and the use of the app was easy and worked well. However as things got busier it was taking over 30mins for our drinks to come to the table. At one point we could see our order sat on the bar for 20 mins before I went over and asked for a fresh lot. We also watched the waiter knock one of the drinks over and just top it up with tonic. I understand that it must be hard to keep on top of orders, especially during these difficult times however it has put us off returning which is a shame as I have always liked Bedford street.

Brilliant food, brilliant service, will be returning very soon!

Late lunch on a Wednesday so fairly quite, we went for the fish and scampi and we both agreed the food was excellent .

Great food , quick service and friendly staff

We had a similar experience to many other reviews - we turned up 10 minutes late for our booking and were very rudely told by the door staff that he’d “already sold your table mate”. Fair enough I guess we shouldn’t have been 10 minutes late but his attitude really wasn’t welcoming and he was very rude to us. I won’t be in a hurry to return. A little bit of customer service training (or even just a quick lesson in basic manners and politeness) for the door staff wouldn’t go amiss.

Lovely food once again and staff friendly.

Had a lovely meal, quality of food was really good, the staff were excellent and well set up for SAFE dining

Pleasant atmosphere and clean. Lovely friendly staff. 2nd time we have visited since social distancing measures were put in place. Hand gel available at entrance. Menu is varied . Food is well presented and delicious. Booked again for next week . Well done all.

Another excellent meal at the Newdigate. It was busy for a Wednesday, owing to the Eat Out scheme but the food was as ever, absolutely excellent. We had to wait a little longer than normal but we were in no rush so that was fine. The staff are always friendly and professional. They work incredibly hard! Finished the meal off with a Gin from the extensive range that they keep here. If I could add one thing it would be a choice of another Ale or two. Highly recommend!

Once again the food was delicious .and staff are very good and polite and friendly keep up the good work

I unable to comment on the food however I can comment on everything else: - Service: The door staff were unwelcoming, arrogant and rude! After a mix up with our booking (purely accidental - we had selected the wrong time) we were accused of "lieing" and attempting to "blag" our entry despite being professionals (actually a group of female teachers) explaining our error and inquiring about the wait time politely and patiently. One member of the door staff told us there was "no point in us waiting, we are the most popular place in town and no-one is going to leave here.. you lot arent getting in". His colleague however offered us a table that was currently available but had been booked by others who then may wish to share it. We decided to use the table and if those who had booked it arrived we would leave given social distancing protocols. Once seated, we were almost immediately approached by the original (rude) doorman who asked us if we had ordered drinks. Rather than politely explaining to us how the new system worked (as the bar staff did) he told us "you need to hurry up and order drinks or leave". As you can imagine, this left a rather sour atmosphere. A little while later, the same rude doorman approached our table and asked if two ladies (not those who had booked) could join us at our table. I said, No I don't think so (social distancing in mind) and was promptly ignored by that same member of staff who proceeded to bring the two strangers to join our table at a distance clearly less than the required two metres. Atmosphere: It was stiphling hot in the bar and the garden areas are closed at 11 despite remaining open until 2. It was uncomfortably hot and close given the new Covid guidelines. Surely it would be safer and more comfortable to extend the garden license during these times it the bar is to remain open? Especially if the door staff are encouraging customers to share tables with strangers! Drinks: the drinks were extraordinarily over priced - 4 gin and tonics cost over £43.00. You may be willing to swallow this for a lively atmosphere and a great service however this is certainly something that you shouldn't expect if you go to Bedford Street.

Amazing food, served in a very safe environment. Great friendly pub.

Delicious food. Great variety of mocktails and juices. Catered well for my young son.

Greeted by a miserable looking guy who pointed us towards a table outside (which I had booked) Told us we had to move because someone had booked the table even though we also booked a table. Bribed us to move with a free drink, didn’t get a choice just bought out a random shot of what looked like nesquick milkshake in a shot glass. Tasted ok but it was clear they chose the cheapest spirit that no one orders as a prize for their bribe to move table. We all ordered food around the same time but the gap in wait time For each of us was significant. The staff went to take all out food to the wrong table even though the guy said he had sorted it out and changed the ticket. There was 4 of us and they bought out 3 sets of cutlery so my friend asked for an extra one. The guy said yes but didn’t come back so she asked someone else who came back right away. The app is awful for ordering food as there is no description for each item so I had to go on the website menu to check what I was ordering. I ordered fish goujon sandwich and I got some Birdseye fish fingers on standard bread for 7 quid. There was just a lack of enthusiasm and for these things to happen when it was not busy at all is ridiculous. I won’t book here again. Sorry.

My wife and I ate here on two nights - 5th and 6th August. We had Laham Mashwi (lamb kebabs), Laham bil Bamia (lamb cooked with okra, onions, coriander & garlic in tomato sauce), Kastaletta (lamb cutlets) and Mousakka. All the dishes were excellent, tender meat with excellent accompaniments served with rice and salad. The kastaletta was, without doubt, the finest dish of cutlets I have ever eaten. The decor is fine, the service was excellent and friendly. Highly recommended.

Really lovely meal, and lovely staff, the food was good quality and cooked really well, excellent value for money, they have done really well with the organisation of social distancing in this establishment its a real credit to the manager and his hard working staff to feel safe in theses difficult times when you are out, he should be telling other establishments how to achieve this. I’d defiantly book thou. We will be going again for sure.

Seriously got something wrong here. When a place hires overtly aggressive door staff that can tell the actual pub staff who can come in, there’s a problem. On the hottest day of the year, the overly verbose security guard says ‘you can’t let him in with shorts on’ this was after he repeatedly told us we have to book a table, yet failed to listen to the fact we had and I’d emailed to free it up as my girlfriend had her hospital shift extended by three hours! I wish I could say this terrible front of house experience is a one off, sadly the security door people always have this appalling attitude. I’m sure they are bored, I’m sure this is a little bit of power for them, and in fairness I’m certain they get some right idiots playing up, but we were just an ordinary 40 something couple, finished work late, hoping for a snack and couple of drinks. It is my last time visiting there, there’s too many great places in Leamington to have to put up with this behaviour. You scores below are artificially high for food and value for money, as we didn’t eat or spend any money, but it wouldn’t be right to score them as a 1, so please ignore the 5/5 as I couldn’t possibly know.

Arrived a little bit early but not a problem the table was ready. Ordered a drink before looking at the menu so a tab was set up. I had the hunter chicken lovely nice and most, my partner had steak and ale pie which was very nice. Had a Belgium waffle fabulous. Easy to book the table and social distance in place. Will go again