Box Tree

I booked a table for six at this well known establishment for Mother's Day in good faith a full month before the day and stated that I would be using the Times Eat out for &pound;5 vouchers. There appeared to be no problem at the time. The manner of the proprietor at the time concerned me as she was rude to the point of being offensive. I rang the restaurant to advise that one of my party would be unable to attend and double-checked that I could still use the Times vouchers. The member of staff was charming and polite and confirmed that we indeed could. Half an hour before we set off I received an extremely rude phone call from the utterly charmless proprietor telling me that we could not use the vouchers and that I could ""pay full price or I give your table to someone else"". At this point my elderly grandmother and my parents were en route and it was too late to cancel and find something else. The restaurant drips with the sad fact that it is a money-grabbing enterprise with delightful staff and a fantastic chef, but portions are frankly ludicrously small sized. The restaurant is dated and doesn't appear to be heated. We spent &pound;200 and although this doesn't shock me, I expect to be well fed and treated with courtesy in pleasant surroundings. The Box Tree would not survive in Leeds or Manchester if it presented this face in those competitive surroundings. What surprised me was that the restuarant was virtually empty the whole time we were there - bit of a surprise that this woman feels arrogant enough to speak to her customers like dirt. I will never go there again and will advise others to do the same. What a shame when the other staff are charming and attentive and the chef obviously talented!! <P></P> <P>

10

Fay G.