The Plough - Sunday Service

[Ron&Tom]

Has anybody been to the Plough lately and experienced the poor quality they have to offer?

As a regular customer we have often chosen the Plough as a meeting place for friends to gather for a sociable afternoon.

The last couple of times we've been we've noticed the standards slip.

This reached a point yesterday.

We arrived at about 3.30 and from previous experiences asked the bar staff if they had plenty of food from the menu in stock. We were told they had.When we came to order our food a an hour and a half later only half our group could place their orders before being told the kitchen would close as they had run out of roast, belly pork and fish & chips.

The bar staff have become very slow and quite unhelpful, but I would like to say the duty manager Claire was brilliant.

I apperciate the Plough gets very busy on a Sunday but this has become a bit of a regular thing.

If you want to offer a menu till 9.30 you should have the necessary items to do so.

We've always enjoyed the Plough as our meeting place but were very very disappointed with our visit yesterday.

I hope it gets sorted.

[Spacey]

I've given up eating at the Plough, I did give it a fair amount of tries as it's my local, but (apart from a few occasions) the food has taken a very long time to arrive and hasn't been that great. The staff have been pretty friendly though.

[lorraineliyanage]

The Plough is fine as long as you avoid the food. It has been consistently disappointing since the new ownership last year. However, when I have complained, I have received a full refund with no quibbles. I also agree the staff are friendly, in my experience so far.

Aside from that, the pub quiz and the mum and babes clubs are worth checking out.

[SeanMacGabhann]

My theory is that the Plough can only do so much with the food/menu as it is dictated by M&B HQ. For instance when they ran out of mash recently it was pointed out they could pop across to 3 shops within 20 yards and buy some spuds and make some more.. but you suspect they are not "allowed"

Sundays and other busy times to seem to break the system. After camping for the last 4 days we dropped in this afternoon unable to face travelling any further and had perfectly acceptable meals and a really helpful bar staff

Apart from occasional problems with the food I would restate my preference for the Plough being one of my favourite pubs in SE22

[KalamityKel]

half 3 and they ran out of food you say eh? Tut tut mister bar man you lied to us two pretty young ladies on Sunday "literally JUST ran out" doesnt mean several hours ago *shakes head in disappointment* not even a bowl of chips or half a tomato!

[tiger ranks]

If you fancy a good sunday roast or a meal in general you should try le-moulon which is next to the chinese shop a couple of doors down i know they say its french buit have a close look at the menu and be quite surprised...

have eaten there a few times and have never been dissapointed looks by be deceving but its a friendly and the food is great i think a 3 course sunday roast ?12.50 (i think) best to reserve a table!!

better than the plough and the herne which are crap. I am going to put up a thread about them actually

[SeanMacGabhann]

Tiger - several threads about Moulin have been raised (and some even locked!)

It was mention on as an example

I also like going to Moulin - but for Sunday roast it's possibly better suited to families than the papers and friends brigade

[aliceb]

We were in on sunday and thought roughly the same. Though, to be fair on the staf, they were were having to deal with a few rather rude/ dense customers when we were there.

Generally, I've noticed the service at the Plough is patchy, to say the best, and has been getting worse since they opened. Still, they are generally friendly and it is a lot nicer several other local options. We'd been on a walk up to Crystal Palace park and back and the Plough, despite its problems, was a welcome place for a post-walk pint and sit-down.

Plus, we'd ended up there after failing to get served at the Crown & Greyhound in the village. I didn't look at my watch, but I think we were there a good ten-fifteen minutes, with no sign of having got closer to the front of the queue. They were SHOCKINGLY slow and after that, the Plough could be forgiven a lot.

[fluffy]

I must agree the plough does serve disgustingly bad food the majority of the time and the staff leave a lot to be desired for the most part...I have yet to eat a decent meal since the change of managment in what could be a lovely pub.

Shame really as the quiz is fab and the garden really rather pleasant.

[SeanMacGabhann]

I would argue that the staff don't leave a LOT to be desired.... No-one is perfect. Compared to the service in sister pub Crown and Greyhound in the village, they are made of aceness. I would go further and say I have never jad a single problem with the staff in there..

The food tho'....

[Dulwich_ Park_ Fairy]

I must agree the plough does serve disgustingly bad food the majority of the time and the staff leave a lot to be desired for the most part..

I like the staff at the Plough. My biggest complaint about the place is the quiz which seems geared towards people who spend their whole life watching TV and reading Grazia magazine.

[kristymac1]

I started a thread some months back about the disappointing food at the Plough. HOWEVER, the staff there are excellent, always friendly (even when being dealing with unhappy lunch customers), and pretty knowledgeable about the beer/wine they serve, which is why this pub is my absolute first choice in ED. I can forgive the kitchen if the bar service stays top notch!

[Fuschia]

The staff are nice, and so are the chips.

However my beef is we made a complaint via their website more than a month ago, and rceeived not even an acknowledgement.

[KalamityKel]

Maybe you should shake them up again Fuschia :) (I'm sure there's a few eyes following this thread).

[KoolBananas]

How can food run out so regularly? I can understand back after the revamp and all that management etc would be in a position of becoming familiar with market. But seriously, now after all this time? How much stock can the kitchen hold?

I haven't had the opportunity to try the food (yes, when ever I decide to give it a go there's never any there). The staff are nice and friendly, although admittedly one of the girls there does seem a little moody at times (that could just be the usual reaction to my charm!).

Annoying that the spirits are on the pricey side too. A night out with certain forumites *not mentioning any names but looks in her direction* can certainly prove expensive if done too often!

[Keef]

I think the staff are really nice.

[ruffers]

SeanMacGabhann Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I would argue that the staff don't leave a LOT to

> be desired.... No-one is perfect. Compared to the

> service in sister pub Crown and Greyhound in the

> village, they are made of aceness. I would go

> further and say I have never jad a single problem

> with the staff in there..

>

> The food tho'....

I seldom go to said pub in the village but was truly impressed at how shockingly awful the service was last Sunday. Really very special!

[Jah Lush]

I'm pretty much a regular at both pubs. The Plough and the Crown & Greyhound (The Dog). Both, incidentally owned by the same pub chain. The food isn't good at either of them unless it's a small snack you're looking for and even then that can leave a lot to be desired.

Ostensibly, I go to the pub to drink and not to eat. If you want a decent meal go to a restaurant is my advice.

The service at the Dog can be shockingly bad at times whilst at the Plough all the staff I've come across since the revamp last year have been very friendly and helpful and I think its a little unfair to criticise them when they've obviously got their hands tied behind their backs when it comes to the food which is dictated by M & B HQ as Sean has previously mentioned.

[Sue]

A few years back I had the worst paid-for meal of my entire (long) life, bar none, at the Dog.

Sunday roast. Looked lovely before you started eating it. Every single part of it was horrendous. Without exception.

If the Plough has the same owners, then this may explain a lot about the food at the Plough .....

[AllforNun]

I am not very sure about the priest to be honest, i feel like i have heard all the sermons before.

[Azul]

the Plough is the only place in dulwich where you can chill in the sofa listening to fat freddy's drop

[Ron&Tom]

Having started this thread a week ago, it's been very interseting reading the added comments. I would like to emphasis our argument wasn't against the staff, we understand when constantly faced with disgruntled customers they too will get a little miffed. The atmosphere, selection of beverages and entertainment (performers & quizes) have always been to a great standard. But in such an envoiroment, when with a group of friends you don't want to be faced with the disappointment of not being able to order food as a group, I've always enjoyed the food when we've got it.

C'mon Plough!!! Maybe not such a fancy menu might ease the strain!

[Miss Tipsy Topple]

The Plough was my favourite pub in ED however after last Sunday I would probably think twice about eating Sunday lunch there.

We placed our orders at 2pm and didn't get our food until after 4pm!! We asked a few times where our food was and they reassured us it was on its way, only to be told at 3.45pm that they had accidentally thrown away the order and had run out of roasts. However they managed to find 2 slices of beef each to cobble together our 4 roasts and didn't charge us for it.

[Jah Lush]

That is shockingly bad. I popped my head in the door last Sunday at around 2pm and saw that it was really packed with the usual roast beef brigade and decided to head for the Magnolia instead, which was very pleasant indeed. However, I don't want to diss the Plough as it has become a fairly regular haunt for me these days.

[Dez]

Le Chardon is good for a Sunday lunch. Had a nice sea bass there last week and their French house red was drinkable.