Brewers Fayre Hanley, Stoke Review
Reviewed by Nikki Prince
I was lucky enough to be picked to do this review and do it on my birthday so it was extra nice. I live about an hour away from Stoke so a friend who lives locally joined me and my son. The pub is easy to find and is located off a main road next to a hotel. The car park is a fair size and it was easy to find spaces for both vehicles.
The pub was very busy when we arrived and we were running slightly late due to rush hour and rubbish directions from my friend, but the staff gave us a friendly welcome and showed us to the table we had reserved. There were a lot of tables in the pub and even though it was very busy it didn’t look like there would be a long wait for people who hadn’t booked. There also seemed to be plenty of high-chairs and space between the bigger tables for pushchairs so it was family friendly and they even gave out balloons to younger children. There was also outdoor seating for those rare summer days we get.
The pub has a regular menu as well as an all you can eat buffet which has a different theme each day of the week. On the Tuesday we visited it was the Italian buffet and looked to have a very good selection of foods and there were no queues for this so it was a quick and easy to get your food.
We all opted to order off the general menu and all ordered 3 courses, all though by the end think we were already to pop. We went to the bar to order the food and there were big queues but the staff were very efficient and the queue soon went down due to extra staff jumping on to serve, so was not a problem having to wait a few minutes. We were served by Peter and he was friendly and helpful and got our order spot.
Our starters arrived quickly and were all good size portions. I had a prawn cocktail and the others both had chicken goujons which came with a choice of two dipping sauces.
When we had all finished the table was cleared away quickly and we were asked if everything was ok.
A short while after the main courses arrived, me and my son had chicken burgers. My son doesn’t like the burger sauce so we requested a burger without this and I had a burger but didn’t want the bacon and we were both pleasantly surprised when our order came exactly as we asked, think this is a first as most places usually get it wrong. My friend had smothered chicken and was pleased with his option too. The staff were efficient and checked we were ok for extra sauces and checked several times everything throughout the meal that things were ok. By the time we had finished our mains we were starting to feel a little full. The tables were cleared away and the member of staff went and filled our drinks back up for us as certain soft drinks have unlimited refills which is a good idea, and would be perfect if you had a nominated driver in a group for nights out.
Our deserts arrived a little while later, I had lemon meringue pie with cream, my son had a chocolate brownie with ice-cream and my friend had apple crumble and custard. Mine was perfect and I just about managed to finish it, but could have done with wearing elasticated trousers. Apparently the brownie was the best ever too. The only slight criticism I would have is the apple crumble came in an individual dish with the custard in a separate jug and it was a little awkward to pour the custard as it would have just run of the sides of the dish, but as it was hot was awkward to tip the crumble out on to the plate, maybe need a bigger dish for it, but good you have the option to add as much or as little custard as you wish, and again it was a tasty dessert.
Overall it was a very enjoyable experience, good food, good service, good prices and helpful and friendly staff. We plan to go back for the burger and hot dog buffet sometime in the future too.
Rating: 5/5
For more information, to view menus or to make a booking click here or call 01782 948 824.
Brewers Fayre Hanley, Etruria Road, Hanley, ST1 5NH | 01782 948 824.
