A lovely looking facade promises open fires, good beer and a warm welcome....so the disappointment is all the more pronounced when none of this is delivered.
The bar staff are disinterested at best, rude at worst. The manageress only cares if the customers are going to have a meal in the restaurant, and if the answer is no, then you may as well go somewhere else for all the attention you will then get.
A mistake I once made, but will never again do so, was to decide to eat there. The restaurant, which built up an excellent reputation under the previous owner, is a good room to eat in, with a pleasant ambience. This is ruined when the food arrives. It is all obviously pre-made, frozen rubbish, which is a crime, given the wealth of local produce that could be easily sourced. This is just laziness on behalf of the owners and another example of how they are in it to make a quick buck, always at the expense of the quality that is served up to the unfortunate customer. I had the fish and chios, which were poor but had a price tag to suggest that they would be magnificent. The fish was watery, and thin, and chips were an insult to the spuds that they had been cut from. Not cut in the kitchen though, as these were obviously bought in.
The Black Bull, under considerate and professional management, could be a great little pub and restaurant. Under the current incumbents, it is an excuse to take money from the patrons under false pretennces.
DO NOT GO TO THIS HOTEL!!! read more