Bickley Arms

Very accommodating and had delicious Gluten Free options, Fish and Chips!

Booked a table for a large family gathering, arrived to no table set up, the host hastily put together two tables of different heights, a pre-cursor to what was to come. One of the party ordered a starter, the rest a main course only, the starter arrived AFTER the main course, and the main courses took 1hr 15mins to arrive. The Drinks order had to be chased on 3 separate occasions. One gluten intolerant member of the party ordered a gluten free meal, only to be told an hour after ordering that it wasn’t gluten free despite being advertised as such. One main course arrived after everyone had finished, following repeated chasing and all orders being made at the same time. Staff when asked ‘do you know when the food will arrive?’ Responded with ‘no idea’. Food was of a very average standard when it finally did come. Hugely disappointing way to spend a Sunday that was supposed to be a celebration. If the kitchen can’t manage so many bookings, don’t make them.

On previous visits I seem to remember the vegan options were far better. I asked the waiting staff if there was a vegan menu to which she said there was just a standard menu and items would say if they were gluten free (not that I had asked about gluten free). She was quite obviously trying to be helpful and went onto suggest some of the fish dishes to which I responded that I don’t eat fish as I am vegan. She said I could eat the spinach side dish which clearly stated cream in it. I think some proper training is needed for the staff and a clearer menu as the plant burger didn’t even have the vegan symbol next to it. This all made me slightly wary of the vegan options. I asked the waitress if the tagliatelle could be ordered without the mushrooms, she said she would ask the kitchen if they could substitute it with something else but never got back to me about it. We then placed our orders with a different waitress and opted for the tagliatelle (but without mushrooms) which was fine. There were some mix ups over our drinks throughout our visit and we had to remind the staff that we were waiting for them several times. After our meal I ordered an oat milk latte, which I now think was not in fact oat milk as I have been ill since leaving the pub. All in all a disappointing experience.