The Cottage Inn, Bristol — Restaurant in Bristol

So my review is based on having the Sunday roast 01/05/22. We we on a small break in the caravan park next door and popped in for a drink the day before. The staff were lovely and the atmosphere was lovely we saw food coming out which looked amazing so based on that we decided on booking a table for the Sunday roast. The roast itself was quite pricey but after seeing the food the previous day we thought you get what you pay for. I chose the beef and on asking was told it was served rare but it would be cooked more to my liking if I wished ...amazing great customer service. The meal came out and it did look lovely although it was missing the stuffing and yorkshire puddings which had to brought out separately . When I tried my meat it was cold and the gravy was cold and slightly congealed over it, the yorkshire puddings were not cooked and full of dough and the stuffing balls were rock hard and overcooked. There was hardly any chicken on the plate and the roast potatoes were very dry and did not taste fresh also the cauliflower cheese was mushy and looked as though it had been cooked days ago. I did ask for some hot gravy to try and heat my meal up and it was brought out in the smallest jug I had ever seen . The dinner was just about edible but was definitely not enjoyable. The table staff asked if everything was OK and I was honest. We were asked if we would like a free pudding and one of the staff even offered us fish and chips ...all very good customer service but the meal totally spoilt the experience. Nothing tasted fresh so I personally wouldn't recommend the roast but can't fault the front house staff,...

They're passionate about great food and drink and their home-made pies are a speciality so I knew 'pie of the week' with 'proper gravy' would be a hit with our plain-eater friends.

Trouble was, we were first customers for lunch at midday on a Tuesday lunchtime and we were out of luck! NO pies - neither meat nor veggie. Our server politely apologised and explained they'd had a busy weekend so had no pies, no sausage rolls as part of the ploughman's and no loaded fries.

Three of us opted for Butcombe Gold beer-battered haddock and chips and one for the hot-smoked chalk stream Trout Niçoise salad. The fish and chips was plentiful with crisp batter, the salad ok but we felt a bit flat as we would all have had the pies.

Anyway, the pudding, Yorkshire rhubarb and apple crumble with vanilla custard, was a long time arriving but worth the wait as it was delish. Note to chef - how about putting a nice big jug of custard on the table instead of in individual teeny cream-sized jugs? Also, please be a bit more generous with the portions of minted peas to accompany the battered haddock? Thanks!

So yes, worth a visit - the Butcombe Gold beer got a big thumbs up from the lads - but probably avoid a Tuesday lunchtime after a busy summer weekend if your tastebuds are...

Over the past few years we have always been accommodated very well at the Cottage Inn, however… Last Friday we booked a table on site at the bar for Sunday lunch, two persons and four dogs, at 2:15pm, booth in the corner. When the confirmation email came through it said 4:30pm…. Went back in on the Saturday and the manager said “Sorry, must have been a mistake, we can do 3:30pm, nothing available earlier…”. We double-checked it was the same table and she confirmed. We agreed, no problem. Turned up on Sunday 3:30pm, went to our table which had a sign on it “reserved 15:30 4 people”. We assumed it was ours so sat down ready to order. The manager then came up to us and said that we couldn’t sit there as it was reserved for four people. We were to go on a high table with the four dogs. When we said we booked it two days ago and we even came in the next day to confirm time and table, she was adamant that we could only have the high table, and she insisted she never said it would be the booth in the corner… Suffice to say we left feeling very disgusted. Where has customer service gone in this country? It was a nice, warm, sunny Sunday afternoon. Lots of people around looking for food and drinks. Is it just greed that makes people treat customers...