Eat My Words: Review of The Angel, Watlington

We booked a table for two on Saturday night at The Angel in Watlington with high expectations after its recent award of a rosette for culinary excellence.

Looking at the menu in advance, we thought it was at the higher end of the price scale, for example, steak priced at £25.95 to £36.95 and starters from £7.95 to £9.95, and decided to put any preconceived ideas of what to expect aside.

On arrival, the small entrance has two doors so we turned right into the snug bar. We were greeted but the two staff were busy and they seemed to be confused about using the till.

We had a drink in the snug and there were limited non-alcoholic choices so I had an Erdinger 0% beer for £4.50 and my partner had a pint of Moretti at £5.50.

I was asked if I would like a glass with my pint sized bottle, and given a J20 glass, a pet hate of mine as this is not the correct glass for the drink.

We were shown to our table, through the different areas of the bar. The mid part was quite busy and we were seated in an area nearer the kitchen with another couple seated nearby.

The tables lacked decoration, place mats or table cloth, just a knife and fork, napkin and water glasses.

For a starter we ordered the mushroom pearl barley risotto for £7.85 and mussels, prawns, scallops with sundried tomato for £11.95.

I asked for table water, pepper, a finger bowl for the mussel shells and I overheard the other couple sat ask for the same. There was no extra bowl to place the empty shells in.

My partner enjoyed the risotto. Unfortunately my mussels were gritty, with one closed. The prawns were over cooked.

The couple near us complained about the closed mussel starter fairly robustly and said it was not AA rosette-standard food.

For our main course we ordered a Camembert brulée with sun-dried tomato for £15.25 and sausage with bacon on lentils for £21.95 both served with tender stem broccoli. Any extra side orders for mashed potato, chips or sauté potatoes are £3.75 each.

We ordered another drink each, a pint of Moretti and an Erdinger 0%, and mine was pre poured into a pint glass. I would have preferred the bottle to be brought opened, with a fresh smaller glass. My partner also tried a glass of 175 ml Merlot for £6.15 which he was greatly impressed with.

For dessert we ordered the cheeseboard at £9.50 to share. It was basic, with just a small amount of chutney and no other garnishes such as celery, apple or grapes. We took the rest of the cheese home in a foil wrap as there was not enough biscuits for the cheese.

The final bill was £92.15 which we rounded up to £100 to include a tip for the staff.

I felt the waiting staff could benefit from more in-depth knowledge of the menu. I asked a couple of questions about the puddings as they were not described on the menu, and they had to leave to find this information out. The other couple also asked similar questions and were served a wrong drink.

Two members of staff had told us they were back after a break, so were getting to grips with the till and menu and, as it states on the website that the menu changes regularly, I wonder if some in-house training would give them more confidence with customers asking questions.

I overheard some swearing behind the bar and a story about launching a boiled egg in the kitchen which hit a member of staff's leg.

I felt the customer service during our experience was not excellent and training would greatly improve the confidence and service style with front of house staff, who essentially set the tone for customers' dining experience.

Overall, the decor, ambience, food, in my partner's words, was 'all right' for high end prices and the standard on the night we ate.

Food: The food was all right but not reasonably priced. ***

Drink: Not a great selection of non alcoholic drinks. Wine was exceptional ***

Decor: Tables were basically set, general decor was nice, tidiness in the toilets could be improved, pop music too loud in the area we sat and we turned the radiator off next to our table ***

Staff: Staff were smiley but lacked knowledge in areas of the menu and till but quickly apologised for any issues concerning the food ***

Price: £92.15 (rounded up to £100 to include tip) for two starters, two mains, one cheeseboard, five drinks is not brilliant value for money in my opinion **