29/05/21 - Hospitality goes wrong at the John O'Gaunt - Hungerford

Good Beer Guide Tick - #551

Beers - Vale Brewery Gravitas, Elusive Brewing Mechanism

After an afternoon in Newbury, the Good Beer Guide Ticks keep on coming.  A stones throw from our Greene King Hotel is West Berkshire's CAMRA Pub of the Year.

In the interest of balance, I would like to state that I would happily return to the John O'Gaunt.  This blog is going to sound like a moan but as a punter, I have learned a bit of patience is required.  

Even when we reach Fawlty Towers levels of service.

What a Pub of the Year looks like

Despite its imposing interior, its a little anti-tardis inside.  With low ceilings and entrance via a small corridor, its actually appears smaller inside than out.

We were met by the landlord and offered a seat inside or out, but once we had the tour, there was only one choice.  Experiencing their garden is akin to how the kids felt when they went exploring in the wardrobe that lead to Narnia.

Its a delight of high quality tee-pees, with individually controlled heaters.  Each table has a collection of blankets, the seats are fur topped.

The first mistake we made was by choosing a table next to a lemon jump-suited, "only way is Essex" reject who must have been on the porn star martini's since lunch.  My mastermind specialist subject is her life, as she spent our entire visit screeching it to the table of strangers on the next table.

Once seated, we eventually got hold of a drinks menu and 15 minutes later, an average Vale Brewery was delivered.  Probably no fault of the beer or how it was kept, through lockdown I seem to have lost my taste for traditional Pales and Golds.

So far - So Ok.

All smiles at this point

So what went well, what went wrong? To summarise, Mrs Ms romanic night consisted of 2 hours and 45 minutes of staring at a table adorned with a knife and fork, with only the occasional gin to alleviate the misery.

Here's the details for those I haven't lost in a blog of misery.

When re-negotiating the bill, we had a a good chat with the landlord's daughter.

She told us exactly what the media have been saying.  They cannot get hospitality staff and recruiting non-experienced people who are furloughed from other careers.  The girl who had taken our order and gone home is an Air Hostess.

There's nowhere to escape when she makes a cock up in her day job.  Although the consequences are potentially more serious than a fat Brummie not getting his meatballs.

Role on the (Original Plan) for June 21st.