The Fountain Inn, Gornal — Restaurant in Dudley

Living fairly local to this establishment, my two sons and I (16 and 14) decided to visit for a drink and possibly some food. Having read good reviews on TripAdvisor I was excited to check this place out. Upon arriving at the pub I asked my lads to wait outside so that I could go in and make sure it was ok for kids to enter.

As I approached the bar, I felt like I’d been transported back 30 years as I saw the eyes of quite a few of the other patrons straight on me. As a British Indian male I have experienced this scenario in pubs many times over the years so I didn’t let it bother me. I figured that maybe this was a ‘locals preferred’ type of pub.

I politely asked the girl behind the bar if it was ok for my kids to come into the pub and she deferred to a man sitting at the end of the bar, who I can confidently assume was the owner or manager. He addressed me indirectly tending to speak via his staff member which was rather rude. He said that children were only allowed in the bar area until 9pm unless a table had been booked in the restaurant. Upon hearing this I turned back to the girl and asked if there were any tables available in the restaurant. I immediately noticed whilst I was speaking she’d broken eye contact with me, and her eyes were rapidly darting back and forth from me to the owner/manager. As I turned my head to see what she was looking at I caught the owner/manager frantically waving his hand across his throat gesticulating to his staff member to say there were no tables available. When I caught him doing that, he looked sheepish. As well he should - I was thoroughly embarrassed for him. At this point, now feeling very unwelcome, I politely said thanks to the bar staff, and I quickly left.

An acutely horrible experience for my kids and I. An incredibly low (non-existent?) level of welcoming, professionalism and hospitality from this pub. I probably should have expected it given its location. I recommend people give this place a miss unless you know you will ‘fit in’ and don't mind a...

I've been hearing a lot of good things about this place recently. I have been coming here on and off for years but rarely eat. The ales have always been excellent but I was told that we must try the food, and so we did today. We booked for Sunday lunch and had a table in the bar where we could take our Staffie with us. We had a great experience which I honestly couldn't fault. Indeed we have paid a lot more in some very 'nice' places and left underwhelmed - not so here. The beef was extremely tender and not bought in unlike many places including the Hotel du Vin. You didn't need to be a surgeon remove the fat, in fact there wasn't any in our meals. Someone also knows how to cook vegetables, not mushhy or rock harf. Turkey and pork were the other roast options, there are also other dishes to choose from if you prefer. Hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves. It wasn't just the mains that impressed, so did the desserts. We don't usually bother but their selection was very tempting, so lemon meringue and a cheesecake it was. The service was super friendly, nothing is too much trouble, and despite being full there was only a very short wait for the meals to arrive. The word has obviously gone around so it is usually very busy so booking is almost a must, yet it didn't seem to affect anything other than the parking. That said it is well worth a short walk. Very friendly, local atmosphere which you won't find at Wetherspoons. The prices are very good too, we had two courses for £15.95, three courses are £18.95, and there's more to choose if you didn't fancy a roast. There are a lot of pubs currently closing, the Why Not being the latest victim, but based on our experience it looks like the future of the...

The Fountain Inn: A Great Place for a Sunday Lunch

We had a fantastic Sunday lunch at The Fountain Inn with my wife and my mom and dad. The food was absolutely delicious, the service was excellent, and the atmosphere was lovely.

The pub itself is very cozy and inviting. It has a great selection of beers and wines, as well as a delicious food menu. We all ordered different things, and everyone was very happy with their meals. The portions were generous, and the food was fresh and flavorful.

The service was also excellent. Our server was very attentive and friendly, and she made sure that we had everything we needed. She also recommended some great dishes that we wouldn't have ordered otherwise.

Overall, we had a wonderful experience at The Fountain Inn. We would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a great place to...