Hearty country pub with delicious home cooked meals. Large portions, reasonably priced and excellent service. Highly recommend

Booked for lunch x 4… warm, pleasant surrounds, good proper pub ambience, attentive staff and home cooked food… with very ample servings. What more can you ask for? Much enjoyed my lamb chops followed by apple pie and custard. Pie of the day was excellent. Recommended ????

Unfortunately and with regret, we found today that we agreed to say a goodbye to longstanding friend. For many years, we have enjoyed excellent meals, with excellent service, whilst visiting either Howard Hillier Gardens or Montifont Abbey. Since we live a considerable distance from both venues. We had not visited for some time due an illness my wife suffered. So today, we visited prior to visiting the gardens and we were taken aback by how standards had fallen with new management. In previous years, we always went midweek. So, it was a sorry state to discover that on a Saturday over the Easter weekend that the pub had about 25% of the anticipated customers I would have expected. I was doubting that we would turned away. However, on drawing into the car park. I knew this would not be the case. The food was not bad. But, nowhere near the standards we had come to expect. My double cooked belly of pork had not been properly cooked the first time! We took a grandson and discovered they were not able to provide tomatoes sauce?? The service was poor, to the point, I asked myself if they wanted return business! A sorry end to a long relationship.

Didn’t get chance to have any food as my phone call to reserve a table was treated very rudely and then the phone was put down on me! Strange behaviour. I had made sure I phoned at a quieter time and I didn’t think this was an unreasonable request. I booked somewhere else.

We chose this pub as have visited previously and enjoyed the whole experience. Today, a Thursday lunchtime, we were celebrating a birthday and had booked. It wasn’t busy but we were shown to a table so close to other diners it was uncomfortable and we asked to move. This was agreed but might have set the tone for the service that followed. Drinks order was taken with minimal politeness and no smile. The order arrived but while serving a pint, beer was spilled (it happens) on the ‘birthday girl’ and table - no apology, the waiter just walked away. We mopped up with serviettes and then waiter returned with a cloth - no apology, no smile and no conversation. Food order arrived with the same perfunctory service - it was good food. We then had drinks, desserts and coffees - they got the order wrong but it didn’t seem worth correcting them. We spent over £120 - the food was good but their customer service is appalling.