The Swan at Boxmoor

Went to The Swan in Boxmoor on 6 August to celebrate my husband's birthday. There were seven of us. The actual bar area was so tiny and as the few seats there were already occupied, we had to stand. There were two bar staff, who we were to soon find out were also the waiting staff. They were not at all friendly, and our drinks and food were often banged down on the table. It was a very muggy night but there was no ventilation in the restaurant, so not only ourselves, but other diners were not comfortable.

The soup starter that two of us had was 'unusual' and not very pleasing. The portions were very large, which meant that one of my daughter's could not manage all of her main. The cutlery stuck to the table too.

As there were only two waiting staff, service was not as efficient as it could have been, as they were juggling between diners and bar.

When we settled the bill, my son enquired as to whether the 10% gratuity added to the bill goes to the waiting staff, and he got a very short response of 'yes it comes straight back out of the till and into our pockets - and even if you are not happy with the service, you have no alternative other than to pay!'

Go back again, no thanks.
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5 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 5
Saturday, August 08, 2009