Hallmark Hotel - Croydon

On December 1st, the restaurant at the hotel stopped taking reservations for OpenTable for Christmas. Even though we had made a reservation before this date, they did not have it in their system. We had reserved a table for 7 but they were unable to seat us until 9. The staff were impolite and did not apologize for the inconvenience. The service was very unsatisfactory.

The overall experience at this restaurant was not very memorable in a positive way. The first server did not provide a drinks menu and when drinks were served, there were some mistakes. There was dust on the walls and window ledge. The speciality menu offered was not what was expected based on the website. After some persuasion, an alternative menu was provided. The starter, a dish of prawn and crayfish, only came with mini prawns and no bread as described. However, the main course, slow cooked beef featherblade, was excellent. There were some issues with gluten-free options for my wife, but they were eventually resolved. The dessert arrival was comical as the ordered chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream turned out to be an American cheesecake, which the waiter insisted was a brownie. Eventually, the correct dessert was brought out.

We went for Mother's Day Lunch. The service was first class with mothers being presented with a plant on arrival. The table service was really good so good that we could not complain about the over cooked food. Normally we would have sent the food back but the service staff were so nice that we felt it best to keep quiet. The beef was over cooked so much that it could have been used for shoe repairs and the vegetables were simply over boiled. All that said, the waiting staff were some of the best we have encountered. Sadly, the kitchen staff had a bad day.

I met a friend for lunch at this restaurant, as it was a convenient halfway point for both of us. We were pleasantly surprised by the nice decor, ample parking, and excellent food at a reasonable price. We have decided that this will be our go-to spot for future meetings, as it outshines the other options in the area.

Outstanding service and attention to detail from our excellent waiter, food was excellent and the atmosphere perfect