The most impressive wine list that I've seen in an English pub, even a gastro one. All dishes were…read moregood. The crab thermidor is yummy and fresh. The spring chicken is so tender. I will be back in this one.

We ate at the Crab on Saturday evening, having previously booked a table for two. Our expectation,…read morebased on other reviews and the awards on the website, was a fine dining experience. We were shown to a small table in a room that was quite possibly the worst decorated room I've been in since the 1970s. The ceiling was covered in fishing nets with shells. All the shelf space was cluttered with empty wine bottles. Our table was small and in front of a fireplace full of clutter. The service was attentive but a little confusing, we were served by, I think, six different people. The menu was badly laid out and the specials were announced to us, after we inquired twice, at high speed. We therefore decided to stick to the printed menu. Crab, Asparagus Cakes, Apple & Ginger Puree, Crayfish Vermouth. Not as expected from the menu. The menu entry implies Crab with Asparagus Cakes, so we expected some crab with some sort of asparagus patties, not crab cakes. The dish of crab cakes and cabbage was edible but so salty that I had to rinse my mouth several times. Disappointing. Grilled Red Mullet, Wild Mushroom Crust, Stilton & Thyme Risooto, Sauce Forestierre. My wife had expected a 'crust' of mushroom, not a creamy paste. She removed the 'crust' from the Red Mullet, in order to taste and enjoy the fish. The only flavour she got was one of over-fried fish. I also tasted the fish, it was quite hard and obviously over-cooked. The stilton flavour in the lovely creamy 'risooto' was undetectable, it just tasted salty. Disappointing. Pan Fried Wild Turbot, Scallop Girasole, Koffman's Cabbage, Confit of Cherry Tomato. A very pleasant dish! Roasted Monkfish, Ratte Potato & Cornish Crab, Courgette Puree, Basil & Olive The Ratte Potato was lovely! No taste of crab though. The monkfish was tasteless and chewy. Disappointing. The Crab's Assiette of Desserts for Two. Mixed reviews, mostly nice. Overall, the poor ambiance and poor food coupled with fine dining prices made for very poor value for money. I think the awards on the website are misleading, they are clearly living off past glories.

The visit to the Vineyard for my birthday meal had a slightly strange timing, coming as it did on…read moreApril Fools' Day and not on my birthday! It did make me feel a bit like the queen, having 2 birthdays! The Vineyard had been on my foodie radar for awhile, from the days of chef John Campbell who held 2 Michelin stars here. So, when I started dating my girlfriend who lives in Newbury, she organised to take me here for a celebration dinner. The hotel and restaurant is definitely a dress up sort of venue and walking past the bowls of flames on the outdoor pond and through the automatic front doors made it feel like a special occasion. The whole place has light coloured decor with modern accents, which removes the air of over-bearing starchiness that can pervade some fine dining venues. We elected to have drinks while perusing the menu and 2 glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice were accompanied by some moreish canapes - large mild Ligurian olives, salted almonds and some savoury straws. Chef Daniel Galmiche has his hand on the tiller in the kitchen these days. He is described on the Vineyard's website as the king of contemporary French cooking, which are a big pair of shoes to fill. A lovely touch came at the end of the evening when he came round the dining room to meet the diners and have a short chat. He gave us a tip on how best to eat our dessert course. The menu has 4 choices in each of the starter, main course and dessert sections. It covers both meat and seafood and perhaps a couple more choices in each section would have been nice. After making our choice of food and wine, we were shown to our table. I have to say that the service from what seemed to be an exclusively French brigade was top-notch and very smooth and unobtrusive throughout the evening. We had an amuse-bouche of goat's cheese straw with beetroot tagliatelli and avocado mousse. A good idea with balance of flavours but the cheese straw proved hard to break down into small enough pieces to complement the beetroot. My starter of scallops in an oriental broth yielded top class sweet scallops cooked to perfection but the oriental accents were perhaps a little muted for my palate - however, with scallops this good, the accents were perhaps missed less. My girlfriend's starter of foie gras terrine was lovely and rich but the portion size was quite large - I helped to polish the dish off. For mains, I had Balmoral Estate venison fillet cooked to medium rare perfection accompanied by my favourite ingredient in the world - seared foie gras. Top notch ingredients cooked perfectly accompanied by salsifi, butternut squash and quince to help cut through the richness. The girlfriend had a plate of veal - slow cooked rack, braised shin and sweetbread. Again, well cooked but quite a large portion size. This meant that we had to share a pudding, both being unable to manage a whole one on our own. The girlfriend chose well - blackcurrant souffle with licorice ice cream.Chef Galmiche's tip was true - to get the full effect of the flavour combination, you had to eat the souffle and ice cream in the same mouthful. The souffle was really intensely flavoured with blackcurrant. I also have to make mention of the pianist who entertained us through the evening. He was very friendly, giving me the name of a piece he was playing that I particularly enjoyed and taking requests. We had a lovely evening here - great ambiance and venue for a celebration or date. The food is good and with a little tweaking of choice and portion size, it could be great.

Absolutely amazing…read more We stayed here for a weekend for a Valentines Day treat. The hotel was lovely, the spa very relaxing, but the best reason to come here would be the food. In fact, you could just skip the whole hotel thing so long as you can sucker someone in to driving home (or get a taxi). The friendly maitre d' greets you enthusiastically upon arrival and summons the discreet and charming sommelier. With a name like The Vineyard, you know to expect wine, but the reams of paper that contain the wine menu are just breathtaking. Every nuance of taste and knowledge are catered for, or you can merely leave your choices in the capable hands of the sommelier, who, with a discreet wink to how much you intend on spending, will guide you through the perfect accompaniments to your chosen dishes. Then comes the restaurant. You are led into a delicate tiered room bedecked with a baby grand and a talented pianist to add to the atmosphere. Outside, flames burn around the central courtyard fountain, echoing the soft glow of the intimate lighting inside. The menu is astonishing and should come laminated to prevent the odd Pavlovian accident. Even the most decisive of people can find themselves giddy at what to order. There is of course a tasting menu to reassure you, should the vital decision elude you. But whatever you pick, the rapturous praise you will bestow upon what you receive will be the same. This is gastronomy. This is the reason the French can no longer justifiably sniff at English cuisine. And I went there when it only had one Michelin star. Since my visit, another has been awarded, and the praise has more than doubled. As for cost, who the hell cares? When the food is this good, you just pay the bill and worry about your knees at a later date.

Great bar that does food and has a large selection of drinks, including a regular change of ales…read moreand ciders. Indoor and outdoor seating. Check out the meal deals.

We live this place! Jerry, Hamish and cute little Marmite and Sparkle make this pub so homey and…read morewelcoming. This historic pub is amazing! We definitely look forward to each time we go and have been going here for 10+ years. In winter the fireplace is going and keeps it nice and warm. With two dining areas and outside seating (with a heated area too), there is a bit of room for groups and recommend booking for any special event. The food is always good and prepared using fresh, local ingredients. Recommend the Pork Medallions and any fish dish available. The cook is humble but gifted. You can also reserve a room as well. We do so when we have friends or family in. This is the only place we go to for the all year round. We rate this pub very highly for its warm and welcoming atmosphere, the staff are always friendly and understand customer service very well. The food is always excellent and the bar is always well stocked.

This pub and restaurant is convenient to Highclere House. The staff were number one friendly and…read morehelpful. We had a better food experience than room experience. Four stars for food, three for room. The dinner was quite excellent! We enjoyed two different draft ales. The best dish was the outstanding caramelized onion and goat cheese tart, served with a small salad of frisée and mixed greens. It didn't look like what I think of as a tart, it had pastry on the bottom, but it was baked in a larger square pan. We also enjoyed the flavorful and creamy butternut squash risotto. The scallops and black pudding received a very high rating. The portion was restrained, two scallops and two slices of pudding. The potato and leek soup was okay, very leeky. For pudding I had the strawberries and cream. That's exactly what it was fresh strawberries and plain cream. I admit I was expecting a bit of sugar, or perhaps a bit of a whip, but I decided to act healthy, and have my pudd unsweetened. We had the full breakfast the next morning. The eggs, back bacon, stewed tomate, etc were tasty. Skip the fried bread. I'd never seen fried bread on a menu for breakfast before. I asked the waitress about it, who encouraged me to try it. To an American taste it was not very nice. Basically a deep fried triangle of toast. The croissants were so-so, have the granary toast. As for the room, we had an attic room for a family with three beds. The price was reasonable, but I didn't love the room. I'd say ask for a room on a lower floor. You had to duck to use the bathroom sink, and the basin was teeny-tiny. Two of the beds were in the eaves, I pulled mine out, and my husband risked the head-bonk, but he seemed fine in the morning.

Nice looking pub & hotel on the A4 just 2 minutes from the A34 towards Newbury. The pub is warm and…read moreclean, the staff friendly and welcoming. There is a nice heated outdoor patio area and beer garden at the side of the building and plenty of parking. This is very much a food pub, with most tables set for food a good fixed menu and a couple of Weekly Special starters, two mains and a Catch of the Day. Starters range from around £3-5 and mains £11-16. I chose a special off the starter menu: button mushrooms, garlic, white wine & cream sauce served on toasted Brioche; it came with a small side-salad and was good, not wonderful, but good. For the main I went for Medallions of Beef Fillet, char-grilled red wine mushrooms and pancetta sauce served with sauté potatoes, roasted Mediterranean vegetables. I received two thin slices of steak served with button mushrooms and what looked like bacon (not pancetta), sat on some soggy potatoes. The Mediterranean Vegetables reminded me of Ratatouille: courgette, carrot and others in a lightly peppered tomato sauce. Quite nice, but not what I would have described as 'roasted'. Overall I enjoyed the food, it was good, but I think it could have been very good, nearly 4* ranking, so somehow just a little disappointing. The hotel part is rather Motel style with several blocks of bedrooms, each with their own external door, scattered around the side and back of the hotel. The blocks looking in keeping with the rest of the building, so it looks nicer than it probably sounds. Meals are served back in the main building. Breakfast is the usual cereal, orange juice and a choice from the traditional English breakfast: bacon, egg, sausage, mushrooms, tomato and fried bread. Tea, coffee and toast round off the choice. It was all well cooked, tasty and served with a smile.

Pleasantly surprised. A bit of a hidden gem. A beautiful setting on the river. The restaurant is…read moregood quality with pretty good service and tasty food. The set lunchtime menu was good value for money or the A la carte is a bit more pricey.

I have stayed here several times after a night out in Newbury. Its a simple, no frills, standard…read moretravelodge. Good points are comfy bed, duvet not blanket, hot showers/clean towels/body wash, front door is open all night. Bad points, no hairdryers, no lift, 5 mins drive out of town. My top tip is to insist on a room at the back so you dont get the noise of the lorries on the motorway, you can park round the back too, if you can book early then you can get a good deal maybe £20 a night, otherwise its £50, make sure you have about £15 for a cab home from Newbury Town centre, oh and bring your own hairdryer.

I would give The Queens Hotel 10 out of 5 if it was possible a Hotel with none Hotel prices when it…read morecomes to dinning. Politeness in service, a fantastic menu with well cooked and prepared meals. It is very spared out and well furnished within with a very relaxing atmosphere and a well lit dinning area, it has a small patio around the back although this is adjacent to a very busy road it is well fenced off. The Hotel has a large bar serving a good selection of beers, wine's and spirits with two guest ales. I would highly recommended The Queens Hotel if you are ever in or around Newbury.

The Queens Hotel, in Newbury Marketplace is quite a traditional bar, restaurant and bed &…read morebreakfast. There is a very warm, welcoming atmosphere, and I find generally (excluding Friday and Saturday nights) that there is always room to sit and chat with your friends over their reasonably priced drinks. The food (available on several different menus) is presented nicely and tastes deliciousprice wise this is also excellent value. My own downside would be the toilets - for some reason they always seem to run out of paper in the ladies and you have to continually ask the bar staff to go and fill up!

Great little Inn in the center of Newbury. Nothing fancy, but it beats the hell out of staying at…read morethe local Hilton when travelling on business. I would absolutely stay here again if I was in the Newbury area.