We went into Bath to meet some friends we knew from Spain. They were staying in Bath for the weekend and suggested we meet up.

It was a lovely spring day, cold but with blue skies as we got off the park and ride in Milsom street.

Park and Ride

We were early so we stopped at a small coffee shop, bought a drink and sat outside in the sun listening to a busker playing acoustic guitar on the pavement opposite. It was a lovely way to spend half an hour.

Hot Chocolate

When we got to the Coeur de Lion ( the smallest Pub in Bath) Our friends were sat outside wrapped up in their coats. The outdoor seating was in full shade so didn't benefit from the spring sunshine. Even worse, when Jaki sat on the bench seat it was soaking wet and her trousers soaked up all that lovely water. I think they must have watered the plants on the window sill above and it all ran down onto the bench seating?

It was then she realised she had left her scarf at the coffee shop, so calling my new knees into service i went back to find it still on the back of the seat where she left it.

After a quick drink ( I was on Tomato juice) we strolled down to Bog Island ( so named because it had two public toilets) where we found some outdoor seating in full sunshine and stopped to catch up on gossip. However as the sun moved our sunny spot became full shade and we went inside the Ale House, another very small but cosy Pub.

Never forget there is a bigger picture.

Eventually it was time to leave and we made our way back up through the town centre which was much busier than on our last visit. Clearly the tourists were back and the Real Italian Ice cream shop was doing a roaring trade with a queue all the way across the street, even on a cold February day.

When we got home we hadn't prepared any dinner and decided we would try and get a table at the Rising Sun which we knew had one of their better chef back in the kitchen and the food was good. So en route i stopped outside and Jaki ran in and booked a table for 5.30.

It wasnt long before we were putting our coats back on and walking the short distance to the Sun.

When we got there it was incredibly busy, the conservatory was packed with diners and the bar was heaving. When we announced ourselves at the bar there was some confusion as our booking hadn't been entered in their booking system but,, hey ho.

We were shown to a table right at the back of the pub up a flight of stairs and to our dismay we would be the only people seated there. It seems they had missed our booking completely and put us up there as an afterthought?

We asked if we could sit in the bar area and eat, which they agreed. Not the best option but better than sitting in the back room on our own, which we could have done at home.

I was surprised that even in the empty dining room they suggested we sit at a small table for two rather than one of the bigger, more comfortable tables that were also empty?

We ordered our food from the menu. I chose the Butterflied Chicken Breast (£12.95) whilst Jaki went for the Rolled leg of Lamb. (£13.95).

Butterflying is a really useful technique to create a uniform thickness throughout a piece of meat, so that it will cook more quickly and evenly. BBC Good Food.

When it came I was very disappointed with my choice which was a small dried up 'single' breast of Chicken breast.

It wasn't 'butterflied'.

It was tough to cut as it had a hard outer crust where it had been over cooked or even worse, kept warm for a long time.

Jaki's lamb was fine and perhaps the chicken was just a bad choice.

The veg was fine even though the Cauliflower cheese sauce was runny.

After the rave reviews I gave the Rising Sun for their Grill Night this was a bitter disappointment and proves the inconsistency of pub grub.

But here's the thing.

If you cant sustain the quality of your food, any early success will quickly fade and customers will stay away.

The food in the Sun has had a resurgence since they re-employed a good chef ( she worked for them in the past) and its popularity has soared.

The challenge is to keep pace with the increased demand and one Chef can only do so much.

Unless the rest of the organisation (other Chefs, kitchen staff and servers) are up to scratch, the demand begets its own down fall and standards start to slip.

The pressure of success on a single Chef can become unbearable and as a result they often leave. Let's hope that doesn't happen at the Sun.

I hope this is a one off and that my experience isn't a common one.

It was late in the day (the sign in the bar says they stop serving Sunday lunch at 7pm but the staff told us it was 6) and they may not have been able to cook a piece of chicken fresh at that time.

But would it not be been better to tell the customer the chicken was finished rather than serve up something that was so clearly below par?

That I suspect requires some one to make a decision.

Some one responsible for service, quality and standards.

In a restaurant that position is usually clear but in a busy Pub where the bar staff are more focussed on selling beer, who is responsible for the quality of the food served?

I guess that's when a good manager comes in?

Success isn't always measured by the numbers of people who come through the door or the amount of money that goes through the till, it's often more nuanced than that.

Its about giving the customers the same thing, week in week out and that my friends is hard.

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