The Gate at Bournheath — Restaurant in Bromsgrove

A bit of a random Thursday visit but so glad we made the effort. A really great gastropub serving a Tex Mex inspired menu, some interesting and some tasty beers and ciders (we didn’t hit the Gin offerings on this visit….but we will 😉).

From the moment we entered, the venue felt very warm and welcoming and even though it was one of their busier weekly steak night evenings, they managed to find us a table but there were loads reserved. They had a great selection of ales and allowed us to try a couple before making a selection. The food menu was mouth watering but on this visit, we kept things simple and tried their Tex Mex with pulled pork loaded chips and “The Sloppy One” chilli burger with some onion rings on the side.

The food arrived fairly quickly even though they were busy. Whilst we really wanted to dip into a few of their starters, we are glad we did not as the main courses were large and more than enough food for a mid week dinner.

The rump steak in the Tex Mex was cooked to perfection and beautifully seared. It really was a great cut of meat and so flavoursome. The chilli that came with it was nicely spiced and a great compliment. The loaded fries delivered on flavour and the bbq pulled pork really added to the meat feast. The burger didn’t disappoint either and definitely lived up to the name. Such great flavours. Even the onion rings were lovely and crispy.

All the food tasted amazing and we have already started looking at the menu to see what we will be ordering next time…mmm slow roast lamb shoulder…

Great venue, lovely staff and amazing food….what’s...

I have been there a few times now. The food is good/decent. Nothing amazing though and a bit overpriced. The service is generally good. The waiting time for the main courses to arrive is consistently long (over an hour on one occasion). The noise in the main restaurant section is loud and echo-ey, to the point where conversation can become difficult with the person opposite. Not exactly a relaxing environment. Stick to the pub section.

EDIT: Went for a meal here again recently (March 2017) and sat in the conservatory section. It was quite busy at the time. The wait for the main course was, once again, nearly an hour after ordering (no starters). It seems that if you are in a large party, you wait ages for your food - while people who arrived after us were served before us. It seems the kitchen staff cannot cope at busy times. The service was polite but largely absent - I had to get up three times to go and find someone to ask for: ready to order / vinegar please / the bill please... I think the prices may have gone up too. I would say that all the main meals are about £2-£3 overpriced for what you get, and we felt the quality of the food had gone down.

If you go on a busy evening about 7pm, make sure you don't need to leave before 10 pm and take a snack to eat while you wait.

Perhaps as a pub it is worth 5 stars, but as a place to eat... frustrating. I suspect there are a lot of regulars and friends leaving all these puzzling 5...

Been a long time favourite but started going down hill a few years back when it was taken over. As others suggest the cost cutting of replacing the old chips was the real turning point for us, as daft as that sounds. When we were told it was to cut costs by the waitress, we decided to stop going for a while.

Returned this evening for a family meal with real hopes. Table booked for the music sessions in the garden. Great setting and decent music. But the service was so, so poor. Totally unorganised and waited for 2 hours for food. It was busy but not packed and tables were not being given foot in the order they ordered. Had to get our own cutlery and napkins and drinks from the bar. Not really acceptable when paying £20+ for a main course. No genuine apology or explanation either - which would have really helped. All this while the manager sat with his mates making sure they were looked after. And these mates of his were constantly loudly swearing despite it being a supposedly family pub.

The food remains decent-ish but not a patch on what it used to be and at a huge increase in price. I'd avoid until they work out what they are trying to be - a "destination" pub or a decent service, good food pub as they have been in the past. Plenty of better options nearby.

Ha ha - editted as worth a mention. They've banned me from their Facebook page etc. Clearly can't accept any form or criticism, which makes it even worse. What an...