Toby Carvery - Lincoln

Popped in on a Tuesday for a lunch. Seated straight away. Excellent menu choices, my son and I went for the ultimate roast dinner sandwich. Unfortunately there was only one Yorkshire wrap left, so my son kindly allowed me to have it. He opted for the brioche bun. Was absolutely huge, had to take some home! Obviously we ordered an extra portion of pigs in blankets; my son's favourite. I ordered a non-alcoholic cider and the garnish was impressive. Courtney was a really fab server, friendly and efficient. Would definitely come again if in Lincoln. Would recommend for small or large parties, they have lots of tables and areas.

Well what a mistake to choose this place for breakfast this morning. On arrival there was no one on the desk so after waiting a bit I went to the bar where I spotted a small queue. I queued for a while before paying for a vegan breakfast and coffee. I was given a mug with a knife and fork wrapped in a serviette. I wondered off and made toast and grabbed a coffee. Then I went and picked up some hot items, hash brown, beans, mushrooms and chopped tinned tomatoes (yuk). I’d long finished this food when I remembered I’d expected some vegan sausages. The staff member said they were being cooked and she’d bring them over. Eventually I got three cold vegan sausages and an apology for the wait. I returned to the self help counter but there was a long queue. I pushed in as half the food was on my table but this time there were just a few dregs in bean bowl. There were no hash browns but there were plenty of mushrooms and more of the tinned chopped tomatoes. Twice my coffee had gone cold and the half finished cups weed in table sling with cold toast and melted butter from fiercely hot plates. Despite lively seating and large windows in lofty interior this was the most miserable breakfast experience I’ve had. Premier Inn and Travelodge do something similar but better as there is always staff around. The counters contain cold breakfast selection (continental), there is wider range of pastries, warm not hot plates and the coffee is better. Importantly you can get all food items on the same plate at the same time even though they cook to order vegan sausages. The Toby Carvery breakfast experience is really poor quality, appalling service and requires too much queuing.

We had booked a table for a family get-together of 9 people in total - 4 adults and 5 kids (the youngest being 1 year old) - so had put a special request on the booking for a high chair. As soon as we walked in our hostess Kayla warmly welcomed us and let us know everything was ready exactly as requested, which it indeed was. Perfect start. Kayla organised our drinks really quickly and ensured our order was taken promptly so the hungry kids could get going on the carvery. Food wise the quality was reasonable, some items better than others , good Yorkshire puds a winner for the kids certainly. We couldn’t order our preferred desserts as some weren’t available, which Kayla had only been told when going to process our order, but she let us know and kindly helped people choose alternatives for those who still had room. Kayla’s service a highlight, all in all a fairly good experience and much as expected. Thank you Kayla !