Went to the restaurant at the Earl of Doncaster - the Cafe Bar Concerto - for Sunday lunch. Good value - 2 courses £16, three for £18. Booked last minute and made our usual request for a corner table if possible; they said they'd see...what they could do, which is all we could ask. Easy parking - right outside on a Sunday, their car park at back of hotel during the week. Waitress acknowledged our booking, and gave us the choice of several tables, which was very helpful and appreciated. Both had a prawn cocktail with smoked salmon - very nice and delicately presented. I had roast beef, my wife the ale pie (the homemade pie of the week). Plates were (physically) a little on the small side - too small really for the portion size! A really decent side serving of horseradish sauce - not the grudging spoonful or two that some places offer! A very large separate bowl of cauliflower cheese to accompany the mash/roasts/mixed veg. My beef was slightly on the pink side - my fault, as I should have asked for it well done (I like mine as brown and textured as shoe leather!). Couldn't face dessert after the very full servings. A decent shiraz wine, and water offered to be brought to the table without us having to ask.
Staff were very attentive. Table layout seems really good, with some seating in a slightly raised area (definitely worth asking for) and some with soft leather banquettes rather than chairs. They seem to do excellent midday meals for senior citizens (at just £10 or £12 for 2 or 3 courses)
Downsides? given the excellent genuine art deco decor (check out their website for some pics!) the choice of music would have been far, far better as ragtime or big band - rather than a somewhat atrocious Jungle Book or raucous Tom Jones or other modern songs. There was a single big band item that played while we were there and it so beautifully fitted in to the surroundings! And the door from the dining room to the kitchen area is desperately in need of some oil - it squeaked terribly, and the closure each time took around 7 seconds of s l o w s q u e a k...! Oh, and management don't bother responding to or acknowledging reviews on Tripadvisor. That is really bad and shows total disrespect for your paying customers. Shame on you!More