Warden Beefeater
129 Barton Road, Luton, LU3 2BL
The Warden Beefeater is a popular bar/restaurant situated on the A6 almost on the edge of Luton. It has a garden with a children’s play area which becomes very crowded with families on warm sunny evenings. Unfortunately, although today was unusually warm and sunny, many families were disappointed that the garden was closed when the children came out of school. It is still very early in the year and such very warm days in March are unusual.
Our party consisted of me, my daughter and eight year old granddaughter. Our 5.30pm reservation was made only thirty minutes before we were due to arrive. We wanted to take advantage of the £6.99 main meal offer, with starters and deserts at £2 each as long as we were seated before 6.30pm. The menu is restricted but still has plenty to choose from.
Despite arriving ten minutes early we were shown to our table which was immediately opposite the grill straight away. It was already uncomfortably hot there so we asked if there were any other tables available. They quickly laid another table and moved us. We placed our drinks order of diet cola and a jug of water. We had decided not to look at the wine list as we were both driving. We had to remind them about the water after we had eaten our starters.
The breaded mushrooms which my daughter and I chose as a starter were delicious, hot and crispy. My granddaughter chose garlic bread at £1. Before we could finish our starters my granddaughter knocked over her drink! No problem, our waitress Penny quickly sprung into action and brought towels and cloths to mop up the mess which had flooded the table and overflowed onto my daughter’s seat!
Our mains arrived. We had both chosen a 7oz rump steak, medium well, with chips and salad. We had garlic bread and onion rings as a free side order. My daughter had peppercorn sauce while I went for a blue cheese sauce. Whilst my daughter’s steak was tender and cooked just as she liked it, with little or no trace of blood, mine was thicker, quite tough and was undercooked. In fact it was very rare in parts and had blood running from it. I pointed out that my steak was tough when our waitress came to do the table check, but didn’t get a reaction. I plodded on. The next time she passed I told her again. She offered to get another steak cooked for me, but by this time my daughter and granddaughter had almost finished eating so I declined the offer and decided to just leave the steak to one side. Penny said she would speak to the manager about having the steak taken off the bill. My daughter and I decided not to have a desert as we were quite full.
My granddaughter chose mini fish and chips with baked beans at £4.25. She really enjoyed this and cleared the lot very quickly! Her request for more ketchup and a spoon for the beans was met with a smile and quickly arrived. She followed this with chocolate brownies, chocolate sauce and ice cream for £1.
The service was excellent. Penny was very friendly and helpful; nothing was too much trouble for her. She brought towels and cloths as soon as she was aware of the spilled drink and offered a replacement. When I queried the bill as it still included my steak, she quickly spoke to the manager and £6.99 was deducted.
I can thoroughly recommend the Warden Beefeater. The service was excellent and my daughter and granddaughter both thoroughly enjoyed their meals. I was very unlucky to have a tough steak which was also undercooked; otherwise it would have been a very enjoyable early evening meal at a very reasonable cost £24.98 after the £6.99 had been deducted.
Dottie80
March 2011
The bill
2 DT Coke 330 3.60
1 K DietPepsi 10oz 1.14
1 Jug Water 0.00
1 K Garlic Bread 1.00
1 Ex Peppr+Brandy 1.50
1 Ex Blk+Blu Sce 1.50
1 Kids Mn+Ds 5.25
2 2 Crs St/Mn 17.98
Gst Prom/Rec 6.99
Total 31.97
TOTAL DUE 24.98