This is a review of the food only and our experience of the festive menu. It should be taken in that context.
The festive menu required pre-booking, a deposit taken and pre-ordering. It was stated that our group, only 4 in number, needed to order a week before the meal. Fair enough. However, we received messages, and even a phone call and email from roughly 2 weeks before the date to remind us to order. 8-9 days before the meal one of our group had not ordered and I received a message suggesting our party might be only 3 people. This suggests food is externally prepared and supplies are tightly controlled. This is at odds with our previous Fullers experiences which suggests more local control and outlet autonomy & creativity.
We dined from the festive menu with my son and his fiancée. The afternoon got off to a slightly difficult note as the person who greeted us reminded us we were 10 minutes late. Where we were seated was great and I really appreciated that the speaker by us was off as I have hearing problems. The table looked great and we really liked that the crackers supported the Trussell Trust.
We ordered cocktails, but there was not really time to enjoy them before the first course arrived. The ravioli was tepid at best, although it did taste nice. I wonder whether it had been plated up for some time?
The main course was turkey. This was well presented, but the portions of vegetables were not large and they were definitely overcooked. The carrot, for example, could have been mashed with very little pressure. For the price, this seemed like poor value.
One dessert was OK. The Christmas pudding was appreciated, but the pear was inedible. It was rock solid and seemed either frozen or seriously under poached. It was also cold, so the mulled wine jus could not be appreciated. It was taken back and I was offered an alternative. However the corporate portion control meant I had to have a standard dessert rather than a Christmas one as “there were no spares”, which seems ridiculous.
The bill of £247 for 2x2 courses, 2x3 courses, 4 x cocktails and 1 bottle of wine seems poor value. I am really unsure whether we will return as this was really not as good as our last visits.