Been here many times, but the last one was the absolute last. Fine for a drink, avoid the food - stick to the bar food only if you must eat for some reason. Better off heading to Theoc House.
When it changed owners and was refurbished a few years ago things improved greatly, but it's got steadily worse on each subsequent visit. Service has never been brilliant, and whilst it's passable in the bar or in the garden, it's not up to restaurant standards. The bar food is typical wanna-be gastopub, with prices to match, but the quality and cooking fall way short of the aspirations. It's inexcusable to get fish and chips wrong, but I suppose who am I to define what qualifies as 'Pub Chips' ... they seemed rather like roast potatoes, which was odd.
My last meal in the restaurant was not just below expectation for the price, but genuinely terrible for any professional restaurant establishment regardless of it's aspirations. I could list a number of things, but was most upset by a main course of sea bass which managed to be both tepid yet grossly overcooked and dry.
Didn't bother with desert, but my 'espresso' came straight out of some abomination of a Kenco push-button machine, tasted just like instant and was hotter than the sun. Undrinkable, and a farcical £2.05. The cheapest, simplest thing on the menu, but a good example of my overall experience. The lack of care about the fundamentals is why I've stopped taking any work colleagues and visitors here despite the paucity of alternatives in Tewkesbury. read more