Vines - Kettering

I visited the restaurant last Friday evening. The service and quality were excellent. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed, which is always a good sign when the... read more I visited the restaurant last Friday evening. The service and quality were excellent. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed, which is always a good sign when the restaurant is busy.

We had an excellent lunch yesterday. read more We had an excellent lunch yesterday.

Quite pricy for mediocre food and an almost bland, forgettable atmosphere. Billed as one of the better quality and certainly pricier restaurants in the area it... read more Quite pricy for mediocre food and an almost bland, forgettable atmosphere. Billed as one of the better quality and certainly pricier restaurants in the area it should offer standout service and food, unfortunately neither were on offer. We ordered the chicken and prosciutto balottene, smoked pork strips with a side of fries. For dessert the Pina Colada posset and triple ice cream. A nice selection but everything was just a bit off. The chicken was overcooked and a little dry requiring a heavy coating of jus to be enjoyable. The fries had an overused oil taste... either the oil needed refreshing or the fryer wasn't hot enough. And the posset was more mousse and the shortbread was inedible leaving a rancid aftertaste. (One of the diners is a professional baker and she was far from impressed by this! The pork strips were nice but not great, the same with the ice cream. All of this was raised with the waiting staff who seemed somewhat disinterested. The decor of the restaurant is ultimately forgettable and almost feels like a cheap knock-off of a chain restaurant. There's a few nice touches, the white gloves used when delivering food to the table is great (not seen since Silver Service training many moons ago , but its offset by the cheaply laminated drinks menus. It obviously wants to be a high class restaurant but unfortunately it stumbles in its execution.

Visited Vines for a meal with my wife. Menu had a good selection, I ordered the suet pie and my wife ordered the lamb nosiettes. The pie was supposed to come wi... read more Visited Vines for a meal with my wife. Menu had a good selection, I ordered the suet pie and my wife ordered the lamb nosiettes. The pie was supposed to come with rosemary and thyme mash, which seemed to be missing the rosemary and thyme! The lamb was extremely fatty and came with some additional broccoli (which my wife does not like) and was missing the toasted pine kernels! Generally the service was quite poor and value for money was bad. This restaurant has been going downhill for some time now and the hotel is definitely missing a trick, I don’t think we will be visiting any time soon.

We attended a funeral for a very special lady and the wake was at the vines, I have never been here before and never will again. The food was lovely but wasn't... read more We attended a funeral for a very special lady and the wake was at the vines, I have never been here before and never will again. The food was lovely but wasn't enough for everyone to have a sandwich or a piece of cake and I felt so bad for the lovely family who had lost there mother. They ran out of tea and coffee and had to wait ages for them to fill up. Some of the staff were rude and unhelpful. As this was the first time it certainly was nit a good impression given the circumstances.