Toby Carvery Bishopstoke (Southampton) — Restaurant in Eastleigh

I am writing this review to express my disappointment and dissatisfaction with my recent dining experience at your restaurant. While I appreciate the efforts of your staff, I feel compelled to bring to your attention several issues that significantly impacted the overall enjoyment of our meal.

Firstly, the temperature of the food served was far from satisfactory. The dishes we ordered were lukewarm at best, and it was evident that they had not been served immediately after preparation. As a result, the flavors were compromised, and it was a letdown to have our meal served at such an inadequate temperature. I believe that serving food at the appropriate temperature is crucial to provide a positive dining experience.

Furthermore, the ambiance of the restaurant left much to be desired. The lighting was insufficient, making it difficult to read the menu and see the food properly. The lack of brightness made the entire dining area feel gloomy and uninviting. I highly recommend increasing the lighting levels and adding extra lights to create a more pleasant and welcoming atmosphere for your customers.

Moreover, I encountered a significant issue with the drinks machine. Despite reporting the problem multiple times, it took four separate instances of reporting before any action was taken. The drinks machine consistently dispensed flat and unacceptable drinks, which detracted from the overall dining experience. It was disheartening to observe that even after our complaint was acknowledged, other customers continued to receive the same subpar drinks. This not only reflects poorly on the quality control of your establishment but also on the service provided by your staff.

Although I appreciate that our bill was eventually adjusted and we were offered water as a replacement, the resolution took an unacceptable amount of time. By the time this was offered, we had practically finished our meal, which significantly detracted from the dining experience. I believe that prompt actions should have been taken to rectify the issue, ensuring that we could enjoy our meal without unnecessary delays or inconvenience.

I kindly request that you address these concerns promptly and take appropriate measures to improve the quality of your food, ambiance, and service. As a loyal customer, I believe it is only fair to expect a higher level of satisfaction from your establishment.

Thank you for your attention to...

Disaster!!! Me and my partner came here to meet during his lunch break. As soon as I was shown my table, before I even sat down I had asked to order right now as “we’re on a time crunch” ( I ordered before my partner came to execute the most time together) he said it was fine and placed my order and sat down. My partner came shortly after and we waited for his order as it wasn’t a carvery. Almost an hour goes by. I grab the waiter and mention we’ve been sat a while and we haven’t received the food. He ran off and apologised and said it was put through but no one was told to do it. He said it would be 5-6 minutes I said that was fine even though my partner had to go in 10. Around 15 minutes later I flag him down again and asked to remove his order from the bill and we still haven’t received it yet. He took off the order and said did we still want it if it was to come out now. I refused as we’ve been sat here an hour and my partner had used his full lunch break and has to go back. He took it off but he did not compensate the inconvenience and loss. Granted he apologised but apologises not feed. On top of that, the potato’s were anaemic, rock hard and lukewarm. Mac and cheese was hard and chewy. They hadn’t replaced the stuff that was used very well and when the waitress came round with the drinks she said quite bluntly “what did you order!?” No hello it crack or a smile and walked off. Therefore we suffered a loss of precious lunch break time as people in hospitality would understand how precious lunch breaks are. They fell below the standard of a restaurant by not expediting food orders especially when they’ve been enquired about after a long wait and now my partner has to go back to work with no lunch and will only be able to eat when he gets home after his long shift as this place failed to execute a simple basic duty of a restaurant. I feel compensation of some sort would’ve been appropriate as we suffered loss to their negligence. Even if they were to have removed the drinks this would’ve been acceptable but we did not receive this and felt the whole experience was...

Absolutely amazing staff, the best allergy awareness of any food establishment I have ever been in, very thorough and non judgemental of my way of eating, which was refreshing.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal out for a relatives birthday, the music wasn't too loud, so we could actually hear each other talk.

Plenty of parking, proper large, wheelchair friendly, disabled bays are actually large enough for wheelchair accessible vehicles.

The ramp to the side of the steps is a bit of bump up and down, but doable.

All the staff were very friendly, helpful and professional, the wheelchair lift was great, in working condition, which isn't always the case on a lot of places.

The accessible toilet was actually accessible, large enough for a large electric wheelchair, and not used as a storage area.

The food was impressive, the meat was well cooked, pigs in blankets were tasty, and the cream was delicious,

The rest of our party enjoyed their carvery meals, vegetables and large Yorkshire puddings, as well as a honeycomb Sunday, which they loved.

I would recommend the Toby Carvery in Bishopstoke, the accessibility is great, food is great and staff were absolutely fantastic.

November update: Went in today for my birthday, it was as great as it was last time, we were sat on the lower floor, next to the wheelchair lift which was perfect as we could see the trees through the windows opposite our table, the service was a little slow today, but the food was fantastic, the staff were all lovely, with a lot of patience seeing as I forgot to put my hearing aids in and have had no voice for the last 2 weeks and my husband had to keep translating everything.

Would still highly recommend, have no complaints, although a better queuing system than the roped barrier would be good, it had to keep being moved for my wheelchair, which was ok, until there were other people in the queue with us, altogether though a really enjoyable birthday meal with my husband, we would definitely go back, especially as they are so hot on allergies and have great wheelchair...