The Empress E9, Exclusive Hire

Visited on a Sunday in January 2025 as a party of 5. Did not have a reservation but the FOH kindly managed to sort one for us last minute. Service here is second to none, we were looked after by George who could not have been more attentive and just a real nice guy. The real standout dish is the sharing pie, one of the best I’ve had and will be returning to have this again very soon. All round the food was brilliant, I’ve attached a few photos of what we had but could not complain at all. Dishes we’d recommend: - Korean Fried Chicken - Burrata - Chicken & Leek Pie Not forgetting the STP which finished off the meal nicely. All round this place is a real gem, such a great atmosphere and a top pick for a Sunday afternoon.

As someone who loves black pudding and scotch eggs, what could go wrong with a black pudding scotch egg? Well as it turns out, everything. It was not particularly well cooked, the insides were squishy and as a final insult it had been plonked on a saucer of mayo to ensure even the lack luster crunch was subdued. Appalling. Staff member was pleasant and the atmosphere lovely. The bread and butter was nice 👍

Racist and cheating staff. There was also hair in the food We went for the Monday meal deal. Ordered our food specifically mentioning we want the meal deal. The bar tender taking our order didn’t clarify what we were ordering was not part of the meal deal and went along with it despite us mentioning we want the meal deal and charged us full price for the food and drink. When bill came we paid but wanted to clarify the misunderstanding we had so they can explain better to future customers. The manager called storm was so rude and arrogant told us “you don’t know how to read” while she literally served us food which had hair in it. Someone needs to shut this pub down.