Sally Lunn’s Historic Eating House & Museum — Restaurant in Bath

Eating here today I had the garlic bread like thing for starter, the size of which made my draw drop when it came out. Despite this, the bread was light and fluffy so wasn't difficult to finish, and I still had room for my main.

When my main came out I was disappointed to discover that the salmon was on top of this same bread that I'd had as a starter. It would have been nice if the staff had let me know this when ordering. The main was served with boiled vegetables, nothing special but also nothing terrible... It kind of reminded me of home cooking so I quite liked it actually.

I wish I could say the same about the poached salmon, which I find to be dry and bland. There was some sauce between the salmon and the bread, but not nearly enough.

My wife had the chicken dish for her main, the chicken in which was soft and tender, and the sauce was plentiful.

But finally the restaurant really finished on a high note and the dessert is the reason that I'm giving 4 stars instead of 3, we shared the meringue which was topped with raspberry and vanilla ice cream. Delicious, simply delicious. Balanced flavour, not overly sweet, not at all bitter. Great textures in the ice cream and the meringue that complimented eachother perfectly. Can't fault this dish.

The staff were nice and friendly, quick to resolve any requests but perhaps not as attentive as they could have been. Any time we needed something such as the desserts menu we had to call someone over and ask for it, it wasn't just offered to us after our mains as you'd expect. This was only a tiny inconvenience though, unless you're of a particularly shy disposition this won't be much of an issue.

As for the restaurant itself, we just walked in without a booking but were still seated quickly. From the outside the restaurant has a great look, and that great look extends to the interior decoration in the dining area, at least the one on the first floor where we were sat. In the hallways though it was a little untidy, and the toilets were quite dated, but perhaps that's a symptom of being an active restaurant in an old house. The hand soap in the toilets had clearly been watered down though and this is a pet hate of mine, it's £1 per bottle, how much are you really saving by...

I am very disappointed with the service of your restaurant. I went to have dinner at Sally Lunn's restaurant at around 6:32 p.m. The male receptionist welcomed us very well. 3 of us ordered Set dinner per person Drinks included (Order the restaurant's special blend tea) The garlic bread has a good taste and texture. The soup is generally average in flavor. The three of us were very hungry and it took us about 10 minutes eating the starter. (Refer to time from photo 19.10) We waited for our main course for a total of 1 hour (20:07) while the back and side tables that came after us after we finished our starters getting their main dishes before ours. It's not that we ignore the restaurant's food serving. I asked the staff once after about half an hour how long my food usually had to wait for the main course. But she replied that when it was finished they would come and serve. That made me dissatisfied. After about 50 minutes, I asked the staff again. The staff replied that I would go ask the manager what can be done with your food. When the food on the side table comes I told the staff again why the side table got the food before me. To which the employee responded that there were many people upstairs. I don't think this answer makes sense.We had to requested tapwaters twice ,before the waitress served us. And what's worse? On one of the dishes, the bread on the edge was burnt while waiting 1 hour should perfect serve. Instead of waiting for a long time, you will be able to eat food and hot tea. It's like I eat bread and iced tea. We couldn't finish all your food because we waited too long. The taste is considered general. But when something like this happened, both food and drink became worse. When billing The employee said that we do not charge you any service fees. But there was no apology from the store in any way. For us, who drive for more than 2 hours for arriving Baths and have to drive to the accommodation for another 1 hour, having this meal made my plan go awry. I don't want this to happen to anyone else. And I will never recommend my friends to go to this...

Sorry but I really don’t get the hype of this one. Lots of friends and media recommended this place so we decided to pay a visit when we finally visited bath.

First thing you would notice is that the queue outside is quite long, but you cannot find any staff or any directions for anything. For example, if you just want to visit the museum and shop, you could skip the queue. But there were no signs or staff to tell you anything, and this is because it is severely understaffed. There are only like 2-3 staff doing all the front work and this extends the waiting time for every action.

Want a table? Wait for 30 mins queue + 5 min wait at the front Want to order? Give them 10 mins Paying your bill? You have to actively seek them otherwise you might have to stay the whole afternoon.

Though I must say, under this harsh working condition, staff are still polite and efficient. They are working their ass off already, so I think it is the management’s fault here.

Food wise, we both think it is overrated. We didn’t go for the salty Sally Lunn buns because they cost £13 each and I saw it is just some meat put on top a full bun without drinks. Instead we opted for sweet buns which are half a bun plus jam or other flavours with cream and a pot of tea for ~£11

The real disappointment is that there is nothing special about this meal. The buns are only lightly toasted on top and the rest taste like the daily breakfast loaf you eat at home, the jam is unremarkable as well. I had the lemon one and it is very normal, the sugar coated fresh lemon is good but there’s only one small slice. Don’t get me wrong there is nothing with this meal but there’s also nothing justifying the wait times and price.

Though they have quite a wide range of tea selection and it is the redeeming factor for an extra star.

The museum and shop area is also extremely small and doesn’t smell pleasant. It seems the toilet fumes from up above are leaking into the basement.

All in all I don’t see the need to revisit this place at all as there are better options nearby whether you want...