St James's Gate Publick House

So much has changed.  The waitress - herself inattentive and uncaring - based it on the fact that there was a new chef.  That would explain why the turkey burger - now seemingly brimming with bread crumbs where there used to be meat - was first burnt and then undercooked, and the chips a shadow of their former selves, but not why a request to have mayo on your burger adds 50 cents to the bill.  What used to be a nice local place to get a meal is now just a a place where you wonder why you came.

Was there this evening with some friends.  I had been there a couple of times previously and honestly sorta had better times then.  This evening the place was very cold.  I and a friend ordered soup.  Which wad quite good.  Our waiter however was not.  He at the beginning he was constantly bugging as to what we wanted to eat and drink.  He was also paying attention to another table as in possible exchanging of texts.  All i know is that he definently sat down with them.  I got bangers and mash.  The mash was better then the bangers, which seemed to be ordinary breakfast sausage.  The irish coffee was good, if not a little strong.  Was served in a wine glass.  Also waiter brought out checks before we ordered dessert.  Or even had a chance to.

This place is average and would be a solid three- star except for the fact that both the food and service are inconsistent.  I have been to SJG on good days and ordered the right thing and been happy with it overall.  It gets a good local crowd for Maplewood, and I think it does well mostly because of the lack of other good pubs in the area.  I will definitely go to SJG if someone else picks it as a meeting place, but personally I'd drive a bit further to find better when I'm in the mood for a bar  and pub food.