Black Bull — Restaurant in England

This a real dichotomy of a review since the service was very friendly and I love the atmosphere in this pub but unfortunately the food quality and quantity has diminished in the last few years. I feel as if I can't be too hard on the Black Bull since they've been put under the same stresses as every other pub and restaurant during the nonsense years of the covid madness. However, as a business owner myself I am very much of the opinion that the product (in this case the food) should never be compromised when times are good and especially when times aren't good. Unfortunately the quality and quantity of the food has been reduced since the pre-2020 years and that is very disappointing. To be fair the vast majority of places I have visited since the events of 2020 kicked off have reduced the quantity and the quality of the food on the menu - for some of my local pubs and restaurants that has been fatal and I'm glad that until this point it has not been fatal for the Black Bull but if they continue down this route of reduced portions, inflated prices and reduced quality they may go the same way and I don't want to see that happen since this sort of business is a critical central focus for a village like Corbridge The starter on my most recent visit was garlic mushrooms so I naturally expected whole button (or at least half button) mushrooms in a well seasoned garlic dressing. What I got was thinly sliced wet mushrooms (from a can?) in a weakly seasoned white sauce over a couple of pieces of garlic bread - I did not order garlic bread and I wanted garlic mushrooms. The main course was a steak pie with seasonal vegetables and home made chips and that should have been a simple dish to put together. The pie was small, barely filled and the seasonal vegetables were minimal with a few token gestures of a 'home made chips' side to the dish. I've given the Black Bull 3 stars as it's sadly become a middle-of-the-road pub compared to the Black Bull we visited pre-2020 which was always 5 stars. I really hope it can get back to offering good value for money and I certainly wouldn't want to be involved in the hospitality business as I can only imagine how hard it must be for them now. To put some sort of context to this review everywhere we've visited during and after early 2020 has resulted in disappointment so the Black Bull is not an outlier for the consumer experience. I'd probably give 2-3 stars for most of the 'dining experiences' we've had in the last 4 years. I genuinely hope that they can get back on track and once again be a great experience for diners. As soon as I see an upturn in reviews from other diners I will be back and no doubt enjoying the experience and I genuinely wish the Black Bull all the best even though I've only given 3 stars in...

Visited today for Sunday lunch as we do every month as is normally a 4 or 5 star food experience. But today was a total disaster. The kids food was adequate yet one order was wrong and instead of a chicken burger he got 6 chicken stripes. The said it would take seconds to rectify which it did. They promptly took 4 stripes and put the remaining 2 in a tiny bun 😆. Then the mains. We ordered trio of meat for 2.we knew as soon as we saw the plates there was going to be a problem. All the food or lack of it was on one side of the plate with the other half totally empty? Vegetables contain some frozen peas and 2 very small pieces of carrot which had been boiled to an inch of its life. 3 very, I mean very small roast potatoes and the meat contain 3 very small slices of meat with a rock hard piece of stuffing and no cracking. This only covered a quarter of the plate and was only made to look slightly bigger by the addition of a huge Yorkshire pudding. I know reviews get the same old reply of thank you for your honest feedback and we will try harder next time and look forward to seeing you again. I find this at times quite insulting at time when a family spends over £100 at a time when money is tight. The food should have at least passed the food manager who should have at least red flagged what was leaving the kitchen. It wasn't that the food was at the end of service but was only an hour into it. I'm sorry but I won't risk another negative experience...

As suggested I gave you another go this lunchtime. Before ordering I asked the waiter if there was kimchi, pickled Cucumber ribbons and sesame seeds available. She told me they were. I asked if she could please double check and again she told me they were available. On that basis I went ahead and ordered the Korean chicken dish. When it arrived the cucumber ribbons and sesame seeds were missing. I immediately asked if they could be added to my dish. She went away for about 5 mins and when she returned she told me the chef couldn't find any. I asked if she meant he didn't have any and she said yes. I explained I wouldn't have ordered that dish if shed told me this when I asked. So frustrating and disappointed with service, meal and response to my complaint. No 3rd chances here. No discount or alternative offered. So indifferent and rubbish customer service..

Popped in for early evening food. It was very busy and had a lovely atmosphere. I ordered duo Korean chicken which was delicious, however it was served minus the kimchi and pickled cucumber ribbons. When eventually I managed to catch someone to ask where they were I was told there hadn't been a delivery. I know this happens but should be told on ordering. Very disappointing. My husband had wild boar sausage and mash. Again beautiful but only 2 sausages and a little mash for £14.99 and extra cost if you wanted to add veg!!!. Totally...