Rockstone or the Gordon Arms

[Saint-scooby]

Off for a belated fathers day meal cant make my mind up ?

[hypochondriac]

Rockstone has the best food.

[SuperMikey]

Rockstone, definitely.

[Saint_Jonny]

Not been to Rockstone but heard their food is great, seen the burgers, they are huge.

 

Went to the Gordon Arms when the weather was a bit better the other week, the burgers (what else do you eat in a pub garden!?) were excellent, huge range of interesting options, worth the extra money. (about £13 for a burger and a pint)

[South City Si]

Love the Rockstone. Going there Friday for burgers and blues. Food is awesome and the drink selection is ridiculous for a pub of it's size.

[The Kraken]

Gordon Arms changed hands fairly recently, a month or so back. Not been and tried out the new owners yet, may give it a go next weekend. Rockstone is pretty decent for grub, but their tripadvisor site is worth checking out for the adverse comments they get, the owner is clearly a very touchy and sensitive soul!

[Saint-scooby]

Ok went to the Gordon Arms, very good, but think the Rockstone is better....

[hypochondriac]

Ok went to the Gordon Arms, very good, but think the Rockstone is better....

 

Bad decision. Rockstone is ace.

[Saint-scooby]

I know, been to the Rockstone quite a few times, just fancied a change.

 

Anyway the barmaid at the Gordon arms is well tidy

[hypochondriac]

I know, been to the Rockstone quite a few times, just fancied a change.

 

Anyway the barmaid at the Gordon arms is well tidy

 

Indeed she is. They do a good quiz at the Gordon on a Monday. The landlord is an Everton fan and is a nice guy.

[alpine_saint]

Love the Gordon Arms. Used to go often when I lived up Gordon Avenue back in the mid-90s.

[Lets B Avenue]

Indeed she is. They do a good quiz at the Gordon on a Monday. The landlord is an Everton fan and is a nice guy.

 

Woody, who does the quiz, isn't the landlord.

[hypochondriac]

Woody, who does the quiz, isn't the landlord.

 

Fair enough. Still a nice bloke though

[Lets B Avenue]

Fair enough. Still a nice bloke though

 

Mate of mine for years. Ask him about his trip to Goodison last year with us.

[hypochondriac]

Mate of mine for years. Ask him about his trip to Goodison last year with us.

 

Will do. Helped us win the quiz once. Hero.

[RedArmy]

Do they still do two meals for £9.99? Haven't been in since it changed hands.

[Saint-scooby]

Do they still do two meals for £9.99? Haven't been in since it changed hands.

 

Not sure but the meal was less than £50 for 4 so not bad value (not including drinks)

 

Try steak night at the Rockstone for good value.....

[Golden Balls]

, but their tripadvisor site is worth checking out for the adverse comments they get, the owner is clearly a very touchy and sensitive soul!

 

Haha wow. Just went to have a look at that. There's taking pride in your business but he really is sensitive.

[Clapham Saint]

their tripadvisor site is worth checking out for the adverse comments they get, the owner is clearly a very touchy and sensitive soul!

 

JeffSheriff, Owner at The Rockstone, responded to this review8 October 2012

Dear Customer,

 

Averagell?

 

We bought the fish in especially for you as a favour because, you told us that you have an old person that only eats fish and chips. Not a good start for establishing yourselves as restaurant critics.

 

The batter on the fish was dark, as there are a mixture of herbs and spices, and of course, DARK ALE in the batter, as it said on the board. But we'll never know as you finished everything before we could look.

 

You were twenty minutes late for your table and brought less people than you booked for.

Which was bad for us as we had to hold a large table on a very busy Sunday for no reason.

 

You were warned, on arrival that there was an hour wait, but according to the timings on the tickets, you actually waited 40 minutes, of the 138 customers we had yesterday, yours was the only complaint.

 

The meals arrived at different times because the kitchen is situated in the pub, and not directly at your table, which means the waiting staff have to walk to the kitchen to get the food, then bring it to your table. This results in a wait of about 19-21 seconds between meals.

 

As for NO.SERVICE. We are a pub, and as such, do not offer table service. But if you indeed HAD been here three times before, as to claim, you must have noticed that by now? If not, you are more hopeless than I originally thought, and for that I apologise.

 

The pub does has been very busy recently which is a good thing but we always try to ensure all customers get a great experience and as we manage these busy periods more often we are always looking at new ways to ensure customers do not suffer any service losses.

 

But with our new found reputation for good food, come the attendant problems of people thinking we are a restaurant.

 

In our pub we have an order at the till system which we operate at all times. We will now look at making sure this is clear to all customers (especially for those that have not been before).

 

Ryan was so apologetic that he was almost crying and his efforts to appease you knew know bounds, I've not seen a waiter ever go above and beyond in this way, especially not to people as rude and arrogant as you. Also, you got a round of free drinks, and money off your bill.

 

The lobster cannot have been dry, it was killed to order, chargrilled and baked in butter. I'd normally look further into this, but judging by your outlook and past behaviour, I'll just put it down to ignorance so we're assuming that you haven't had lobster before. It had breadcrumbs on it , is that the bit that was dry?

 

Now on to the not as advertised pork.

 

Seeing as your spelling and grammar is at this sort of level, I'm not surprised you misread the specials board.

 

Here is how the pork was advertised:

 

Duke of Pork: £9.95

Hampshire rolled pork leg, roasted in bay leaves, garlic, green peppercorns and JJ's Best Press cider.

Served with leeks, peas, broccoli, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and a rich, velvety gravy.

 

Which leads me to wonder why you were so surprised when a roast pork dinner turned up? Or were you expecting a whole pork leg? I don't know if you know, but that would have been a bit too big for the plate.

 

I also think you may have misunderstood the rated system on Trip Advisor. Your headline screams AVERAGE...well, it tries to, I'm not sure what Averagell means, and fails, but your rating says terrible.

 

I think we all know which one you meant, but it's obvious you have difficulty interpreting signs and instructions.

 

Utterly disgraceful and confusing behaviour from a table of people old enough to know better. I suggest you go and do a bit more research in the following weeks, and maybe have Sundays indoors from now on.

 

The food names you complained about names are part of our USP (Unique Selling Point) and are what makes us stand out.

 

The names have no bearing on the description of the dish, so they don't interfere with what you are expecting to eat as cooking methods, weights and ingredients are all listed.

 

Fine Regards,

 

Max

[Sour Mash]

JeffSheriff, Owner at The Rockstone, responded to this review8 October 2012

Dear Customer,

 

Averagell?

 

We bought the fish in especially for you as a favour because, you told us that you have an old person that only eats fish and chips. Not a good start for establishing yourselves as restaurant critics.

 

The batter on the fish was dark, as there are a mixture of herbs and spices, and of course, DARK ALE in the batter, as it said on the board. But we'll never know as you finished everything before we could look.

 

You were twenty minutes late for your table and brought less people than you booked for.

Which was bad for us as we had to hold a large table on a very busy Sunday for no reason.

 

You were warned, on arrival that there was an hour wait, but according to the timings on the tickets, you actually waited 40 minutes, of the 138 customers we had yesterday, yours was the only complaint.

 

The meals arrived at different times because the kitchen is situated in the pub, and not directly at your table, which means the waiting staff have to walk to the kitchen to get the food, then bring it to your table. This results in a wait of about 19-21 seconds between meals.

 

As for NO.SERVICE. We are a pub, and as such, do not offer table service. But if you indeed HAD been here three times before, as to claim, you must have noticed that by now? If not, you are more hopeless than I originally thought, and for that I apologise.

 

The pub does has been very busy recently which is a good thing but we always try to ensure all customers get a great experience and as we manage these busy periods more often we are always looking at new ways to ensure customers do not suffer any service losses.

 

But with our new found reputation for good food, come the attendant problems of people thinking we are a restaurant.

 

In our pub we have an order at the till system which we operate at all times. We will now look at making sure this is clear to all customers (especially for those that have not been before).

 

Ryan was so apologetic that he was almost crying and his efforts to appease you knew know bounds, I've not seen a waiter ever go above and beyond in this way, especially not to people as rude and arrogant as you. Also, you got a round of free drinks, and money off your bill.

 

The lobster cannot have been dry, it was killed to order, chargrilled and baked in butter. I'd normally look further into this, but judging by your outlook and past behaviour, I'll just put it down to ignorance so we're assuming that you haven't had lobster before. It had breadcrumbs on it , is that the bit that was dry?

 

Now on to the not as advertised pork.

 

Seeing as your spelling and grammar is at this sort of level, I'm not surprised you misread the specials board.

 

Here is how the pork was advertised:

 

Duke of Pork: £9.95

Hampshire rolled pork leg, roasted in bay leaves, garlic, green peppercorns and JJ's Best Press cider.

Served with leeks, peas, broccoli, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and a rich, velvety gravy.

 

Which leads me to wonder why you were so surprised when a roast pork dinner turned up? Or were you expecting a whole pork leg? I don't know if you know, but that would have been a bit too big for the plate.

 

I also think you may have misunderstood the rated system on Trip Advisor. Your headline screams AVERAGE...well, it tries to, I'm not sure what Averagell means, and fails, but your rating says terrible.

 

I think we all know which one you meant, but it's obvious you have difficulty interpreting signs and instructions.

 

Utterly disgraceful and confusing behaviour from a table of people old enough to know better. I suggest you go and do a bit more research in the following weeks, and maybe have Sundays indoors from now on.

 

The food names you complained about names are part of our USP (Unique Selling Point) and are what makes us stand out.

 

The names have no bearing on the description of the dish, so they don't interfere with what you are expecting to eat as cooking methods, weights and ingredients are all listed.

 

Fine Regards,

 

Max

I say fair play to him for that response. Too many thick people on those review sites that think they can write whatever they want with no comeback. Rockstone is a very good pub, does have slow service at teh bar sometimes and I'm not a fan of a dog running around my feet while I'm trying to eat though.

[hypochondriac]

I say fair play to him for that response. Too many thick people on those review sites that think they can write whatever they want with no comeback. Rockstone is a very good pub, does have slow service at teh bar sometimes and I'm not a fan of a dog running around my feet while I'm trying to eat though.

 

Yeah I have been in there with the dog which isn't great. Everything else though is great and they put a lot of effort in.

[The9]

I say fair play to him for that response. Too many thick people on those review sites that think they can write whatever they want with no comeback. Rockstone is a very good pub, does have slow service at teh bar sometimes and I'm not a fan of a dog running around my feet while I'm trying to eat though.

 

I'm almost certainly going to give the place a try based on that response alone.

[Saint-scooby]

I will say the Rockstone is very good, if you like your dead animals go on Wednesday