The Hartley: superb food and ...

thomas, let this be a lesson!
I'd like you all to come to the Oak next Tuesday and duff up Ivanhoe.......er, sorry I meant see how cuddly we all are (really). Maurits, never, ever feel inhibited about speaking on this forum (that goes for anyone else). You will already have noticed several people who's posts are far from being grammatically correct, or their spelling may be a little eccentric. This doesn't stop them from being able to argue eloquently and intelligently.

I'm not tempted to go back but word gets round. I might return if I hear it's improved or get specific reassurances from the Manager.

not sure about the elephants or inteligents, but they certainly argue!

Re meeting up....

instead of meeting in the Oak Tree, why don't we meet in the Hartley and Dave the Manager can treat us to a round of drinks (served politely and promptly) as a goodwill gesture?!

If you duff me up, the least you can do is to buy me a drink first.
Oh, and please introduce yourselves as the blows rain down. It's much more civilised that way.

That's The Royal Oak in Tabard Street Vanessa, I'd love to go to The Hartley, but I'm not so sure Dave won't spit in our drinks after this....

Seems like we're making a bigger thing of the 'bad' service of The Hartley than it actually is. I was amongst those that wasn't too disgruntled about the service and I indeed think that this is valid information for the owner. But I also think that we should appreciate everything according to it's pretention. And The Hartley does not pretend to be anything more than a 'Gastro Pub' or dining room. If we would have this discussion about one of the Conran restaurants in Shad Thames, I would be a more outspoken participant in this: their service is really bad and they represent a prententious brand. Par excellence, I would say.

I'd gladly take Vanessa for a drink at the Hartley!!

Can't believe how this has run... Look away for a second and suddenly we have postings to match the Potters Field discussion...!!

I have read every post and would only say that I have heard about the pub's (can I call it that or is it a 'bar'???) shortcomings and haven't actually experienced them myself to date.

All I would say in Dave's defence is that I know him (through the owner) and he is a pretty genuine bloke. If he says he is addressing it then let's give him a chance...

Mapmaker as always delivered a fairly balanced summary of the whole shenanigans and we'll just have to wait and see...

Regards to all (now best of friends...)

i had a similar veggie experience when a group of friends went for sunday lunch at The Hartley back in march and when it came to order and i inquired what the veggie option was. i was told that the it was the chef's birthday on saturday and he'd not shown up for work, so there was no veggie option (quite how that made any difference i'm still not sure). so having no option but to eat a few boiled vegatables i, like lady miss jo jo left rather hungry that day.

however i decided to give it one more go and wanted to take my mother for an early mother's day lunch the following saturday. to be sure that i wouldn't have a similar problem i called The Hartley on friday morning to inquire what the veggie option would be on saturday's menu. the bar maid who answered the phone neglected to put me on hold whilst she asked the chef. this unfortunately enabled me to hear the chef's response to the questions which was " tell him to f*** off" the poor bar maid then replied, "i can't say that", to which the chef's next answer was "tell him to go f*** himself". suffice to say i didn't bother with any more questions and instead went to the chop house for their great value and excellent quality weekend brunch menu (for which i have since returned a number of times).

to be honest i really don't care what names the chef calls me, when i guess he thinks the i can't hear him, but i do feel it gives a clear indication of his views of vegetarians and i asume that his ego was suitably swelled by the then recent good reviews that had been given in the press at the time, so he feels he has no need to cater to the demand of customers.

it's a shame because on principle now, i've not returned and have i must admit conveyed the story to a lot of friends who live in the area. i've been veggie for many years now and am used to having limited choice on the menu, certainly don't expect to have no choice and for the chef's sake i hope he never has any customers from california or new york who won't think twice about making specific requests for changes to dishes and having them complied with, without complaint.