Bathampton Mill Bath — Restaurant in England

Having never been to the Bathampton Mill, but always having heard great things about it, I was so excited to take my partner here for his birthday. However, I have to say the experience was underwhelming and disappointing.

Firstly, their recent re-furb in the restaurant seems to put all tables for two tucked against a wall in the main thoroughfare so that there is always constant traffic right by you from waiters going back and forth delivering food, etc and also with only larger tables (seating 6 to 8 people) nearby, which when full, makes it so loud you can't hear the person you're across from. Luckily, we sussed this before ordering and asked to move to the bar area which we were allowed to do and was a better dining experience. It's a nicer space with more room between the other tables meaning you feel more like you can have a private conversation than in the restaurant (though normally this would be the reverse!).

However, from here, ordering at the bar wasn't a very comfortable experience. I was left to stand at the bar for 5 - 10 minutes while the man who appeared to be the most experienced of the staff in that day made drinks and directed the other staff, whilst also griping at them a bit in front of customers about taking orders down wrong, etc. To be fair, I don't think this was his fault; it actually felt like there perhaps wasn't enough resource for how busy it was and that there was a distinct lack of experience in staff besides this one guy. Impression was that he was doing his best and kind of holding the ship down, but was also frustrated which I can understand, but didn't make for the best experience for us.

Then, having ordered the shrimp, crab and chorizo linguine, I was even more disappointed to find massive chunks of garlic just thrown in. Still can't understand why or how these were cut so large as normally I'd mince garlic and cook down with onions if making a pasta sauce. Photo is attached of these chunks; bear in mind these are only the ones I actually managed to fish out whereas some of my mouthfuls were ruined by a chunk of garlic I didn't catch in time. Garlic also didn't appear to even be cooked so I feel like it was forgotten about and then thrown in at the end when the chef realised.

Overall, gorgeous surroundings by the riverside, really nice interiors that have obviously been improved since the re-furb, but staff lacked experience, service wasn't great and food really disappointing which is especially upsetting when prices make you feel you're in for a luxurious dining...

Ian Gruncell 6 reviews·1 photo £30–40 Stopped by on our way home from Bath. Ordered 2 starters, 2 burgers and 2 beers. In fairness, my wife's chicken liver and fig parfait was ok. My cheddar and port mushrooms was awful, a powdery white sauce that tasted as though it was an …More EVE Cowell Local Guide·17 reviews·48 photos 3 weeks ago New Quiet family friendly hotel. But must admit there was a wedding the next day, and they had paid for single use of the hotel and their 23 rooms. The main room where the wedding was taking place, looked beautiful overlooking the garden. …More Photo 1 in review by EVE Cowell Photo 2 in review by EVE Cowell Lauren Danielle 4 reviews·5 photos a week ago New £20–30 Great selection of food and drink. The food we had was delicious especially the sticky chicken, credit to Matt. The staff were lovely, especially Adrian …More Photo 1 in review by Lauren Danielle Photo 2 in review by Lauren Danielle Bathampton Mill Bath (owner) a week ago Thank you, and have a fantastic day! Kira Khoroshilova Local Guide·94 reviews·165 photos a month ago Lovely refurb, however, everything else was lacking. For a restaurant that is on the pricier side, you would expect a bit more. Starting from our arrival, we were met rather coldly by the front of house, told to pick any table of our …More Photo 1 in review by Kira Khoroshilova 1 Ian Gruncell 6 reviews·1 photo £30–40 Stopped by on our way home from Bath. Ordered 2 starters, 2 burgers and 2 beers. In fairness, my wife's chicken liver and fig parfait was ok. My cheddar and port mushrooms was awful, a powdery white sauce that tasted as though it was an undercooked packet mix. Absolutely no taste of cheddar or port and barely warm. I commented on this to the waitress who told me would inform the chef, but we heard nothing more. After a very long wait, the burgers arrived. Both burgers looked to be made of decent ground beef but had no flavour or seasoning and were nearly cold. The chips were barely warm, as was the greasy beef dripping sauce. The pickles just tasted like raw cucumber, with no hint of being pickled. and with little change from £70, we expected better. We won't be going back...

It was a disaster. Firstly, the food order was taken, then throughout the next 40 minutes, staff kept returning to say the food we'd ordered wasn't available. 3 of us had to reorder. First no pizza bases, then no burgers. Coeliac in the party too which was advised when we booked - menu makes no reference to GF options, we were just given some iPad with ingredients to trawl though. No guidance, very little options given the chicken was also not available. Really unacceptable to expect teenage (or any for that matter) coeliacs to be identified, isolated and treated in this way. Why not just identify GF options on the menu like Veg/Ve? Then, it took absolutely ages to come to the table; and came out at different times. The first people had finished their food by the time the last order arrived. This was a family reunion with family having travelled from Wales. When you're spending £200 on a meal, you expect much better. No table service for food order or drinks, which as a table of 8 was a nightmare trying to order at the bar and then have to reorder 3 times. When the food eventually came, it was utterly dreadful. Chips were stone cold and had to be returned. Sea bass was stone cold and was microwaved as "it was the last portion of fish". Noodle salad was not even fit for the dog. Seriously, the dog would even eat it! The duck was disgusting, raw fat an inch thick and the edges were dried out and unedible. Literally was more like road kill that has been baked in the sun. And added to that, the noodles weren't cooked - still crunchy. The battered fish was soggy and oil drenched, with flour still around the fish, soggy cold chips. And lastly the dirty burger was overcooked, cold and not edible. It really was the worst meal we could have ever imagined and not worth a penny of the £200 we paid. The only edible item ordered was the carrot soup. Waiting staff weren't very helpful, the general manager...