Bath Brew House — Restaurant in Bath

We ventured to The Bath Brew House, yesterday, for Sunday lunch. We picked a table and things looked promising from the plates of the diners around us. Grabbing some menu’s from the bar there were three options, all served with the same delicious sounding sides. I placed my order for pork and chicken and a nice bottle of Sauvignon, with the barmaid, who I did not realise at the time was the best thing about the whole experience.

Our food was delivered to the table and looked fine – that’s where the bubble was burst and I have to say we had the worst roast dinner we have ever had.

To break it down, both the pork and chicken were dry and overcooked and the majority left.

The garlic and rosemary roast potatoes were soft, no crunch and had definitely been reheated.

Likewise, the parsnips were pale and hard.

The Yorkshire pudding was soft and I assume had been stored in a Tupperware? There was no texture at all to them.

The celeriac puree – well it wasn’t so much a puree but overcooked celeriac dumped on the plate, it obviously had not been prepared with any butter/milk or love.

The kale/cabbage – hubby liked but, again he said these were bland.

The gravy was fine and I’d probably give it a 3/10 but at least it was edible.

The stuffing was a little salty but was ok.

The carrots were the best thing on the plate and I’d rate them a 5/10.

I even made the comment while we were eating that if this was the first time I’d ever had a roast dinner I would not have one again! We left most of the meal and ended up eating leftovers at home an hour late.

You might think, that the pub might have been busy, it wasn’t. We also dined at approx. 1pm so in the middle of service where the food should have been good.

During no point were we approached to ask how our food was, I would definitely have fed back all my above comments. The manager on duty (I am assuming), was more interested in sitting at a table with his laptop with one of the waitresses than actually put into practise any hospitality training that he had undertaken. That was after he grunted at my husband that the menu’s were on the bar.

To the lovely barmaid with the corkscrew curls who said goodbye, thank you. As I said to you, you are the best thing about the Bath Brew House. May you continue to...

Came for a Christmas do. First time I've been here.

Having been to many of these, over the years, you kind of know what you're going to get. Limp lettuce, luke warm food and staff who've had enough. I can honestly say that The Brew House was nothing like that!

The table was set up in the corner for us, crackers and decorations - not over the top, but enough to help with the mood. About 15 of us at various points and we all fit quite well with space to eat.

After chatting for a bit the starters were brought out. I'd opted for the celeriac soup. It was delicious. Seasoned well, no need to reach for the condiments, and was warm and rich. Really great soup. I sound surprised, but soup is usually hit or miss... This was a hit. From the table I could only hear good things about the other starters, which I've forgotten what they were - old age.

Because I'm awkward, my main was off the normal menu - which they don't normally do this time of year and was a special request as I couldn't eat anything else... food allergies and the like. I have to say the mushroom burger was a delight. From the top down you had three pieces of gloriously squeaky halloumi, a large mushroom stuffed with breadcrumbs and garlic and probably lots of butter, rounded off by a huge slice of tomato, lettuce and - I think - pesto. It was delicious - and if you see this on the menu in the new year please try it. It came with fries that were golden and crispy. A really nice course all round. Others had the turkey, beef or fish and again I heard no complaints.

Pudding was a simple affair of a lemon cheesecake but, again, it was really superb. The other choices were Christmas pudding and something I've forgotten!!

Staff were really friendly and helpful - bonus points for having an accessible toilet on the ground floor. As we left an interesting party arrived at the bar... I would assume this is a very popular venue with students - given its close proximity to the college and the university.

Lovely meal, great atmosphere, I would most definitely...

Worst bar in Bath by a longshot. I paid £10 (no student discount allowed, doesn't say this anywhere) to spin their wheel and won a £30 bar tab. Great. Go back to my friends to liaise about what round to buy. Decide on a bottle of wine and 6 shots. It's £21 for the wine, 3 for £10 on the shots. I might be wrong, but 21+10+10= 41, no? Well, in brewhouse, they use a special branch of mathematics where this equals £43. Not only that, but I was told I can't use my student discount on the £43 either because it's "too complicated", with the reaction of those around me showing this happens regularly. My friend, thankfully, challenged this as I felt a bit nervous due to pressure put on by the bartender's to "just pay the £13 it's easier". We said we wouldn't pay £2 extra for no reason, so she walked off mid conversation to get the manager. Then, the manager arrived and the real comedy began. He said we had to pay the 13, even after acknowledging that the server had calculate the bill wrong and overcharged us. He tried to embarrass me by saying not to make it complicated and just pay it. I pointed out that even if it's complicated, the 10% student discount (which they said wasn't available on the shots and only the bottle) would've saved £2.10 and the mistake would've saved £2, which is a whole drinks worth, so I just said can you not pour me a free shot or something? He looked me dead in the eyes like I'd just betrayed a lifelong friendship and said "I'm not doing that" and walked off. All joking aside, this is actually insane that they give this level of service. They clearly are way too cocky due to how much business they get but honestly spoons is half the price with way better service and more variety. It's better in every way, and I hope I won't make this mistake...