Ember Inns Avis 

We have a monthly old pals meeting at the Alleyns Head in Dulwich. Always looked after by Joyce who has been there for years.

Food is generally good but can vary a bit in quality. Pretty much what we would expect from a chain establishment that probably has a high turnover of kitchen staff.

Food and beer prices are excellent.

The lasagne was inedible. It looked awful, had a slimy greasy sauce, rubbery cheese and lacked meat. Two mouthfuls was one too many. The accompanying side salad and garlic bread were fine.

Tried to book table on Friday for Sunday.
Website stated no worries if says booked as they keep some tables free for walk ins.
Arrived Sunday at 1 pm hoping as only just opened a hour ago could get at roast dinner.
But was told all booked so asked to have roast in bar section to be told only drinks as got 18 people coming in soon.
I'm also a regular to queen Elizabeth and given them good reviews as they to support local pubs but was very disappointed.
Some people would like to go for a roast if have no family.
So we went and gave our custom to the golf cafe at chingford plains and spent £56.00 there.
Also while was in bar for a drink at queen Elizabeth no 18 people turnt up.
So could have easily done four roast dinners.
They let locals and regulars down.

Had friends book table and they waited two hours for there dinner which was cold and missing stuffing and Yorkshire batters.
They booked at 5.30 never got dinner till 7.30

We have recently visited the kings Fairway in Ashford , the staff as always were very good and courteous and service was good and food fine.
The only thing criticism is that as Wednesday evenings gets very busy due to curry night , all of the tables had reserved signs on them and consequently any walk ins couldn't find seats available , and we did witness customers turning around and leaving .
Surely the pub should have a certain amount of table reserved for walk ins , not reserve the whole lot . We did see that a lot of tables had reserve on them and were empty for the time we were there.
There wasn't any spare seats for anybody to sit and just have a drink.
We were lucky to find a table for 2 but had to take a seat from another table as there was only 1.
Our time of visit was 6pm until 7.30pm.

Serve you halal & kosher foods without notifying you, so encrouching on your religion by force.
Never again.

Planned a big family dinner however no straight answer over halal/r/s food

Will book else where

Complete lack of transparency either halal/kosher is served… I like to know the meat I eat has been humanely treated

We were contemplating going but seeing as they’re secretive about their use of halal or kosha slaughtered meats; it makes me assume there could be other secret nasties they choose to serve up without their customers knowledge ! So with that, until they’re open , transparent and honest I’ll give them a wide berth! Lost 12-16 customers already ! Heads should roll in that company

With a planned visit it was decided against because they refused to answer a polite email asking did they use Halal meat saying it was a commercially sensitive information What a joke to me that’s yes we do use it but won’t tell you for fear of losing customers. I’ve got new for you Ember you just lost 6

My sister contacted the company regarding whether or not their meat was Halal as we as a family will not eat meat which is not fully stunned. However, the company would not give a definite answer. Therefore, we decided until they can be honest about their produce we will never dine there. This is something we check with any restaurant these days!

I asked if the meat was halal/kosher, as l am against it. Would not give me a straight answer. So I’m sorry. It’s a no from me!

We have visited a number of Ember Inns pubs and have to say that the restaurants are well presented and have friendly and efficient staff. However Ember Inns menus are boring and lack imagination, furthermore the quality of the food against cost is very poor (I.e. fish cakes that don’t seem to have any fish in them and meals served with tasteless peas and oven ready chips to fill the plate), in fact all the food is bland and boring. I doubt that we will be rushing back to The Ember Inns brand until such time that a more varied menu is available offering food that is tasty and value for money

Visited Four Topped Oak in Widnes yesterday with friends. Teresa served us. Teresa was very helpful and polite. Food served prompt and was good value for money

Popped in with family for few drinks.
Lovely relaxing atmosphere topped off with super friendly service, especially from Hannah.

Truly awful...
Booked a table for 7.30.
Arrived at 7.20.
No one at the sign that says "wait here to be seated".
After a few minutes a creature from behind the various saunters over and asks if we'd booked a table...we said yes and the time. With a "not bothered" attitude she explains the kitchen is closing in 10 minutes as the "grill needs to cool before maintainence".
On the door is a piece of paper stating that all food must be ordered from the bar as the app isn't working. I look at the bar, the creature says, "just sit anywhere", I start to laugh as I see there's a sizeable queue at the bar. We would need to grab a table, get a menu, pick food, get to the bar, wait in the queue and get served...in 10 minutes. Not exactly the relaxing evening out we had planned.
We left. I did ask why we were allowed to book a table if they knew (obviously we'll before that day) that the kitchen would be closing around the same time. I was told that they only check the bookings first thing in the morning, they don't check after that. So that means ANYONE booking after 9am for an evening slot would be disappointed.
I left a review on their website. I got a response with a phone number to contact them. When I called, the general manager wasn't there, but I was told that they would call me back.
They didn't. Shocker.
Avoid this chain at all costs as the chances of not even getting a seat or foodnis highly dependent on whether or not they can be bothered checking their bookings.

I took my better half to The "Nut & Squirrel" today, 14th Feb 2026, 12.30, as a treat for sticking with me for so long, and we were not disappointed by the service. Dan & Tom, our servers today, were excellent.
The Mains were cooked to perfection (Both had Grilled Sea Bass), and the Apple & Cinnamon pie with ice cream was delightful, with apples that you could taste. Excellent all round service, well done, you guys.

Went to ember inns in Loughton Essex (The plume) with my wife as a treat, loved the idea of ordering at your table via QR code, I ordered a mix grill and Burger and chips,, when I received the MIX grill everything on my plate was stone cold AND I mean cold Including the pepper sauce which was in a separate jug. I complained to the waitress/bar staff and told her everything was stone cold, her reply was 'is it' and took my plate away. no apology at all and not being sure what she planned doing at this point, after wating 5 min my meal returned obviously just been put in the Microwave. I wasn't happy and only ate half the meal. I also ordered a dessert apple pie and custard, after wating so long for this I had to ask for it again, 2 staff 1 male 1 female both have very poor customer skills.. service for the Bar was terrible 3 times I stood there waiting while they just walked past not even saying sorry I will be with you in a moment. A very elderly lady was also waiting next to me and said to me 'I've been here ages' at which point I had to call the barman to serve us. only 2 drinks available on pump out of 5/6 very poor for a Tuesday. CUSTOMER SEVICE SKILLS very very poor and rude, not very welcoming at all and will definitely not be eating here again. MY ADVICE WOULD BE 'AVOID'

I would prefer to be able to see some prices online before my visit, especially wine prices, rather like flying a plane wearing a blindfold.

My sister hosted her 40th birthday at The Morton Hall Ember Inns in Bury st Edmunds and I just want to say that the service was amazing. My sister got caught up in tailbacks due to an accident and the staff were very understanding, even delaying starting the food until her arrival. We had a fantastic evening and the staff were so friendly and patient I just wanted to say thank you

Failed to deliver food as ordered and still waiting a week later for a refund. No apology from staff in the pub and totally poor attitude