Rocking Horse

Absolute joke! If you are looking for a nice enjoyable meal out do not go here! We went in on a Saturday night a few weeks back at around 7:30pm. The restaurant was practically empty which says more than words really, with it being peak time. Staff were all congregated around the end of the bar and it took about 5 minutes of me standing at the bar for me to actually get served, despite being the only customer! The young girl that served me seemed to bark comments at me in between continuing her conversation with her colleague. I was then told to move to the other end of the bar to order food, so there I stood and waited again to be acknowledged by a member of staff, at the same time the young lady returned to her colleagues at the end of the bar to continue their gossip. We ordered a steak and a hunters chicken, our wait for the food seemed incredibly long considering the amount of customers actually present in the restaurant and to be honest it was not worth the wait! Nothing more than a ready meal which had quite obviously been microwaved, not the freshly grilled I was hoping for. I considered making a complaint and asking for a refund, however I was unsure how long I would have to wait this time for a member of staff to acknowledge me so decided not to bother. We left majority of our meals and left and ordered a take away once we got home. This place seems like it has good potential to be a nice family restaurant with its location and childrens play area, however the quality of the food and lack of customer service will no doubt ensure any customers that do venture in will not be returning. I do not usually leave bad reviews as I know how it can damage a business, however I feel that astonished by my poor experience I feel everyone should be warned. There are other restaurant/ pubs in the area that are equally priced with better food and friendly staff, don't bother with this place!

For rsvp.....

If I were you I would write a letter of complaint to the brewery/chain that run the place. I would also give the environmental health people at Sefton Council a shout.

Seems to be a running theme at this place.

We decided to try the Rocking Horse for a Father's Day treat. How disappointed were we? The bar tender tried to charge me £15.90 for 1 pint of lager, 1 x white wine & a J20. Only after I queried did he charge me the right amount of £7.80. The food was beyond disgusting. We ordered 3 carvery meals & 3 desserts. The meat served at the carvery was beef or turkey. The beef was so tough you could not get a knife through it let alone chew it. The turkey wasn't much better. The mash potato was like slop and the there was no roast potatoes. The vegetables were tasteless and nothing fantastic. We didn't even wait long enough for dessert!

Pub looks inviting from the outside, thats the only positive I feel I can write. The meals where very poor quality, 2 meals returned as cold, other meals overcooked, dried out, will not be eating there again.

Bought 4 rounds of drinks in this pub and each time was charged for a full sized coke rather than a dash.

That might not sound a lot, but it meant I had been overcharged £6.40 on each round of drinks. The barmaid explained that the till buttons for the 2 different cokes were next to each other but when I asked her to show me, one was at the bottom of the screen, the other at the top (at least 6 inches apart).

The manager wasn't sympathetic at all, just kept saying that his staff hadn't been told to deliberately overcharge (it was like he'd already prepared his excuses). When I suggested he talk to his staff about it he said it would have to wait as they were too busy! How long does it take to tell someone to use the right till button?

If it had happened once I could understand, but 4 times in the space of a few hours (each time from different bar staff) is more than coincidence....

I ordered 2 meals on the meal deal, and I was asked by the manageress how would you like your steak cooked, and I told her well done , when the meals arrived the steak was rare and the juices were red coming out of the steak after i had cut a piece off it, so I complained nicely to the manageress, so she sent one of the staff over to take it back, and I was told it wont be long , the next thing the meal arrived back and the chef had put the steak back in the pan or the cooking plate finish off cooking and brought it back to me how disgusting is that. They couldn't even give me a fresh piece of steak. I will be complaining to the head office as I think this is a health and safety issue . Wont be eating in there again.

went here to take my two children into the play area, when i got there i was told there was a party on and it didnt finish until 5.30. so we went for something to eat and were told to move as we were not allowed to sit where we were, i said no as i knew we where allowed to then were told oh its ok now you can. after we ate we went back into the play area were we were told you cant come in as i'm closing early because i opened at 11.30 an want to shut early, my little boy was really upset by this he was looking forward to playing. i explained to them they told me to come back to what was a snotty i'm closing as i opened at 11.30. wont be going there again!!!

Nice simple food that is good value, 2 meals for £10. Very good carvery on a weekend.

Order at till, food within 20 mins.

Not had any issues with staff, any problems quickly rectified.

Drinks a little pricey, but because the food is cheap.

Worth a visit anyway.

Previous reviewer must have caught them on an off day! This is my 2nd & last visit. Its a customer service free zone. I go to the usa A lot where customer is king & the phrase 'the answer is yes, whats the Question? Is popular. I ordered a pint of beer & a wine. Beer was not to taste due to a draught pump failure / problem & another customer next to me agreed. We both returned our drinks. We got a bottle of beer in return (& I waited 2-3 minutes for a glass)i asked for another bottle to make up the pinti'd just paid for, by which time I had sipped an inch from the bottle. & Was then asked for addition £3.40 for the extra bottle! I said I'd already paid for a pint. Server said. They are only exchanging pints for bottles. ! So now annoyed at this petty attitude,i asked for a refund on the pint & they could do what they want with the replacement 1/2 measure bottle. They then asked me for 40p for the inch I'd drunk from the bottle while I waited for A glass. Unreal. When I complained the staff were agressive to say the least,taking it to the manager I suggested he should be a bit more customer focussed That failed & I said I wouldn't be coming again. He said good! Yes he did ,really! We then waited 50 mins for fish & chips which was at best: ordinary, But for ordering& paying £40+ for the food I would have left , but stayed to save the money & emarrassment with my American friends who were just open mouthed at this service free zone. What a dump & a dumb A****manager. Highly not rec'mmded. If there was a lower mark than 1 I'd leave it , but 1/10 is way too good for Rocking Horse

decent food and beer, both of which are priced well