The Retreat — Restaurant in Borough of Spelthorne

Having visited this pub/dining venue for the first time and after also reading the reviews. I was looking forward to a good quality meal along with service. Firstly I ordered around of drinks for my family. Which was taken by very well presented waiting staff, who were also very polite and helpful. After being given a jug of ice and water on our arrival. We proceeded to mull over the menu and await the arrival of our drinks. After ordering from menu. to which they had a good choice of roast dinners with trimmings. After ordering a roast beef dinner, I asked if I could have an additional Yorkshire pudding and gravey. My family all opted for the sea bass. As we all awaited for ourfood to be cooked and served. I then realised that 30 minutes had passed, since I originally ordered our drinks. On inquiring to find out where the drinks were. They had completely forgotten about the drinks order. But said as an away of apology, that the wouldn't charge for the drinks. Now the on the arrival of our dinner's, perfectly cook sea bass and trimmings. Which my family really enjoyed. But here comes the but, my roast dinner looked great in appearance except for the Yorkshire puddings. There were a very dark brown and hard to the touch. Disintegrating when you try to cut into them. I question this to one of the staff only to be told. That there probably baked it in the morning and by the time I got it reheated by 5.30 pm it was rock solid. Could it get any worse I thought to myself. Well the lovely looking piece of roast beef. That adorned my plate lying over the the freshly cooked green spring cabbage and mange tout beens. Along the fresh carrots and roatèd parsnip and roast potatoes. Looked good enough to eat and they were. But the star attraction unfortunately the roast beef was not. It was very stringy which made it hard to cut through. I again mentioned this to same staff member as to whom I mentioned about the Yourkshire pudding being hard. Only to be told yes it can be a bit stringy So rather than replace the beef or offer an alternative, she then turned around and proceeded to walk of. I would have given 5 Stars but for the reasons...

I will type the next line in capitals just to warn all…..

THE WORST SUNDAY ROAST I’VE HAD IN MY LIFE ANYWHERE!!!

I shall address the above first.

Within 2 minutes of ordering lunch the food arrived. Therein bells start to ring.

It was cold. Not even tepid. The horseradish was nothing more than a tasteless paste with no body. And the gravy, well, absolutely no seasoning or flavour.

The beef is the worst ever encountered. And I travel with work country/worldwide & have never experienced such poor, poor beef.

I couldn’t even cut it with a knife. There was fat running through it. Tried “ripping” it apart, which eventually worked, with a lot of effort. But to chew it was impossible… literally swallowing “chunks” of fatty meat.

The sauces on offer were a couple of sachets of Heinz’s Dijon mustard. When asked of the waitress did they have English mustard or any other fresh sauces available, she just shrugged her shoulders & said that’s it.

When mentioned to the owner/manager, “It was the poorest roast ever served, he went to walk away with nothing more. All was said, “I shall mention it to the chef”. Didn’t want to interact, just wanted walk away as quickly as possible. Had to say, “No,…….” And explained the above. . STAFF POORLY TRAINED…Young lad admitted he’d never poured a pint of Guinness, beer before!!

As I drove by, all the staff were outside for a “photo shoot”.

Maybe the management should train them properly or, employ experienced staff before a poster shoot for advertising.

Locals spoken to said that over the years, this establishment has never succeeded and, they were completely surprised that the next stage in its newest transformation to succeed, is now a french gastro pub. Which they found surprising.

Well clearly, maybe the owners should reconsider another chapter to succeed.

Have never written a review about any eatery, but I feel this place is worthy of a full & honest review.

Kindest...

11/12/23 I felt the need to review this again as they apparently have a new chef. The whole line up is new. Service was excellent- didn’t get his name- ponytail Northern Irish guy. He was amazing. Food- here is where it was not as good before. Huge Sunday roast but it lacks taste. We ordered 2 roast lamb, 1 roast chicken and 1 salmon fish cakes. The roasts were huge. However my fish cakes were the size of a gold ball. So 2 golf ball size fish cakes, chips and salad for £15 is a bit dear as half a roast chicken is £16. Most importantly…. The food was nothing to shout about. It’s ok - it doesn’t stand out. I would come again though because it’s convenient. So… I’d say - give it a go if you’re in the area - don’t seek it out. If you travel to this area, seek out the Three Horseshoes in Laleham instead. It’s only 2-min drive away.

September/October

I’ve been here many time in the last 15 years and have seen it changed hands a few times. The food has been consistently good so cannot fault it for that. I’ve taken my son there after school at least 2-3 times a month over the school years and he’s now a grown man! We’ve had meals there, drinks… always good. I hope it operates for many years to come. As long as the food, service and ambience are good - it should do well whoever the management is.

So, with the latest new management and new menu- the dish I can recommend is the red snapper risotto! So so good. Looking forward to try the...