Toby Carvery Runwell

Wet shopping day in Wickford. Decided on a Toby on our way home. Arrived about 1.30 at Runwell. Glad to see the car park wasn't full. Got a table for the two of us and sat down and waited... there were a few empty tables so It appears they were short staffed as they seemed to be doing their best to cope. The food was good as usual, apart from my parsnips, which were slightly hard. OK, so aside from all this, We both cleared our plates and left a tip as we always seem to.. Set up for the rest of the day and no cooking in the evening. Another win.

What's not to love about a great piping hot carvery? 🤔 Nothing as long as it is hot 🔥, and cooked to perfection! Well this was mainly beautiful but as with all buffet self service things are a little hit and miss trying to keep things hot without overcooking... The roast potatoes were a little overcooked, with tough skins, and so was the Yorkshire with a very crispy outside that shattered when cut (I liked that). I thought you were supposed to peel potatoes before roasting? The inside was perfect but missed the mark on the roasted bit as they were tough! Beans looked wrinkled and old, carrot was as nature intended... dirty on the outside, so could have been cleaned better! Talking about cleaning... The table was sticky and so were the menus, and the salt shaker was damp and rusty... see photo. Pork, Gammon, turkey and beef was cooked beautifully. The cheesecake after was lovely according to the wife as she had that as a takeaway.

The whole experience was dealt in a friendly, professional manner. Lots of variety of meat and vegetables to choose from. I feel that the plates should be slightly warmer as the food became tepid very fast. I do like my roast hot but never find it like this! Maybe a microwave to flash it over by the gravy table?

Crowded as we had not booked, staff was very accommodating. Was disappointed as not really roast as they was new large pots with skins on, didn’t mind but would have liked the choice. Very rushed out wasn’t asked if we wanted a desert, which I would have quiet happily had as takeaway, but was still nice