Old Mariner Woodbridge — Restaurant in East Suffolk

We had a pretty awful experience in The Old Mariner Woodbridge.

The manager /owner was antagonistic and extremely rude to our group.

Our group of four went onto the pub and within seconds, not even having been served our order insulted one of us. Telling one of us to stand up straight. We got our drinks and sat down in an empty back room, on our own and were talking and drinking our drinks and the woman came in and asked the same person that she had already insulted to stop waving his arms about! Our friend has ADHD and is very hyperactive and expressive when he’s talking. This alone is grounds for a discrimination case, I would think.

It’s worth noting that she actively sought to bully our friend as there was absolutely no reason to seek him out to insult him further.

On our exit I went to the bar and said exactly what I thought about our treatment. The very entitled lady did not seem at all concerned that we would leave bad trip advisor reviews for the pub.

I find this a real shame when so many decent pubs recently closed down in our area, staff that work really hard and care about their customers out of work when you see how a pub like The Old Mariner is run. When they feel like they can be outrageously rude to paying customers with no regard, just by lucky virtue of their location and not their charisma or people skills. Some people should never run a pub and we certainly met one of them!

Some background in case anyone thinks the issue was of our making and not the Mariner’s. We had been on a pub and food crawl around the town. The afternoon and evening consisted of: Two of our party had lunch at The Unruly Pig. Zero issues. The other two had late lunch at The Whistlestop Cafe, with no problems. We all rendezvoused at The Anchor with zero issues. We went on to The 1975 bar and had zero issues. We went on to the Kings Head with zero issues. Then to the Bell and Steelyard with no issues. Onto the Old Mariner and they were rude the second we went in to the second we left. We went on from there to The Red Lion, again, zero issues. After that we went to the Royal Bengal and had a great meal with zero issues.

Needless to say none of us will ever return under the current antagonistic and bullying management and I would urge others to not bother also. They clearly don’t need the custom and should never be in the hospitality industry as it’s clear they do not like people! There are plenty of better pubs in Woodbridge that will welcome you and that do want your custom. I doubt they will last long there with their shocking and exclusive attitude.

I am sure the company that owns this pub will be interested to...

High time I posted a review as this is my local. If you love cask (real) ale then you'll find the best kept (and served) beer not only in Woodbridge but for miles around. Hand on heart the best pint of London Pride I have had, other than at the brewery itself. More than a few times has the landlord placed a pint in front of me only to withdraw it moments later because it didn't look perfect. Cue barrel change. Attention to detail that runs throughout the establishment (Cask Marque awarded every year). As you can tell I'm pretty obsessed with real ale (being a CAMRA member, although under 50 and no sandals). Obsession and cleanliness extends beyond the cellar and their Covid protocols are superb, I feel so comfortable inside or out. Cosy interior (especially in winter with the fire) and a lovely garden with views of centuries-old rooftops and the church. No food (pub snacks of course), no under 25's at weekends (except children with an adult) and dogs positively welcomed. London Pride and Ghost Ship always on with 2 guest ales (in normal times...). Craft beers and lagers also enjoyed by many (schooners available - 2/3s pint!). Having said all that, it isn't one of those places where everyone turns their head when you enter, or dare to order anything other than beer! Such friendly and welcoming staff and regulars. A few steps from the Thoroughfare or Market Hill -...

Excellent experience on our first visit this establishment and indeed Woodbridge too. We enjoyed the ale and the customer service, this place has a lovely atmosphere, the landlady was friendly and inviting, we will definatly return on our next visit to the area. We spent the Saturday evening of the folk and Maritime festival in the Old Mariner, and enjoyed a few hours hosting a singaround, a huge thank you to the landlady and staff. We did pop back in for a quick drink on the Sunday evening and the young lady behind the bar gave us the same warm welcome that we had received by the staff the...