A mum and her children were left feeling hungry and disappointed after trying out the Toby Carvery all-you-can-eat breakfast.
The mum, her husband and two boys ventured out for the £5.99 adult breakfast, which is priced at just 4.49 for children, but were less than impressed by the food on offer. In fact the mum said the only edible items on her plate were mushrooms, tomatoes and the Yorkshire Pudding - and she was surprised the last item was even on the breakfast menu.
But thankfully it was, as that was the only item her youngest son enjoyed.
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Here is the mum's full review ...
I was scrolling on my phone and came across an advert for Toby Carvery's all you can eat breakfast for just £5.99 for adults and a child's version for £4.49. And more importantly, scrambled eggs were on the menu. Our nearest Toby Carvery is just a five minute drive away and we needed to get out of the mad house after an hour of our boys arguing over cars and being unhappy that we'd run out of eggs. This sounded perfect.
When we arrived at the pub, it was only 8.15am and relatively quiet. A very pleasant young girl behind the bar told us to find our seat and that menus were on the table and we could order at the bar.
We found a seat very easily - there were only a couple of other families sat down, as well as two couples, who already had their plates piled high with breakfast food. We had a quick browse of the menu. On offer for the full English was the following: Pancakes with maple flavour syrup; black pudding; potato, bacon, cheese and onion hash; fried eggs, mushrooms, bacon, hash browns, Yorkshire puddings, plum tomatoes, baked beans, sausages, breakfast gravy and scrambled egg.
Other options on the menu included toast, porridge or cereal. And if you wanted a sweet treat you could order banoffee pancakes, fresh berry pancakes, American style pancakes served with strawberries and blueberries or chocolate pancakes.
They also had a selection of hot drinks and soft drinks for the kids. My husband and I both opted for the adults all you can eat breakfast and we chose the kids version for the boys. Ordering at the bar was quick and simple and we also had a cappuccino each (we needed the caffeine) and two blackcurrant Fruit Shoots for the boys. The grand total came to £30.94 which is rather expensive, but I thought we would keep ourselves full for most of the day. Boy was I wrong.
I sorted the boys out first. Our eldest opted to make his own sausage sandwich, while there was only one thing on the toddler's mind and that was the scrambled egg. Once we had their plates filled, it was our time.
I was rather disappointed to see that there were no fried eggs on the breakfast buffet as advertised, but all the other options were there. One item I did find very bizarre on the menu was the Yorkshire pudding. I have never had one with my breakfast before, but decided to give it a whirl.
When we returned to the table, I thought I would find my toddler delving straight in. Instead he proclaimed loudly and through some tears that he didn't want his scrambled egg. I admit he is going through a fussy phase at the moment, so I wasn' t too surprised, but I thought if he sees me eating mine, he might follow suit.
One bite of my scrambled eggs and I could see why he didn't want to eat it. The egg was disgustingly salty and so rubbery. The buffet had only started being served at 8am that day so it couldn't have been blamed on the fact it had been out on display for ages. Next on my plate to try was the bacon, which was also too salty. The only edible items on my plate were the mushrooms, tomatoes and Yorkshire Pudding. Thankfully the latter was also a hit with my toddler who tucked in and led to a pleasant silence.
My eldest boy did enjoy his sausage sandwich and Yorkshire pudding too, so at least all was not lost. My husband also said the sausages were tasty and the hash browns, but he agreed with me when it came to the bacon and scrambled eggs. I then decided to have a try of his black pudding and immediately regretted it. It was so hard that I just couldn't eat it. Again I ended up leaving that.
We waited for the boys to finish their second Yorkshire pudding and our coffees - which were perfectly fine - and headed out the door into the blustery rain. I felt very disappointed, hungry and ripped off. £30 is a lot to pay for Yorkshire puddings and some sausages, mushrooms and tomatoes - and I knew it wouldn't be long until the boys would be ready for something to eat again.
I don't think we will be back to try the breakfast again - if we want a Yorkshire pudding we will stick to having it with a roast - something Toby Carvery is much better at.
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The bill
Two weekend breakfasts - £11.98
Two child weekend breakfasts - £8.98
Two cappuccinos - £5.98
Two Fruit Shoot - £4.00
Total - £30.94
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