Chequers Inn, Hanham — Restaurant in England

A quick Google for the best roast in Bristol highlighted.... as a must try. So I did and this is what I found

Location It's on the outskirts of the city, well to be accurate around a 2 hour walk. We walked it after a heavy Sunday morning breakfast and because its majority alongside the river we really enjoyed the walk! Would reccomend this as on a nice day. As we approached we could see that there is a beer garden directly on the river and the carpark is ample for the pub size. I cannot imagine that getting here is difficult by car and it is very picturesque!

Interior It's a lovely pub, it's got some nice stuff on the walls and counters to keep your eyes busy. Standard mix match of furniture making each table special and super clean throughout. Toilets were very nice (the hand soap smelt lovely haha). Our table was a bit wobbly so had to put a napkin under one of the legs and it was directly next to the window and in the sun, it was incredibly hot, not really something they can help but it did make it slightly uncomfortable

Service No complaints with the service, we were warmly welcomed and shown to our table, before drinks orders and mains. The food arrived quickly and the team were able to answer questions about what some of it was (mashed celeriac) as well as getting this northerner another pot of gravy! The only slight complaint I could have was that getting the bill was quite painful, but they were super busy focusing on getting the roasts out.

Food/drink Let's start with a huge issue, the drinks tap was broken so no draught soft drink on a super hot day... such a let down... completely our of their control but it did ruin the experience somewhat. We had the: [  ] Lemon and time half roast chicken - absolutely beautiful, really juicy and a good amount of seasoning on the skin [  ] Pork and sage stuffing - been a whole since I had stuffing, absolutely loved this, a good amount of meat in it [  ] Garlic & thyme roast potatoes - these were massive, almost too big perhaps as they were a little bit crunchy inside. Beautifully crisp on the outside but I prefer a bit of a cloud inside and these were still a little hard. [  ] Roasted carrot and spring greens - pretty standard, the carrot was half a carrot roasted so it had a good sweetness, for me these were staple additions to the plate [  ] Celeriac puree - WHAT IS THIS AND HOW DO I GET MORE? Oh my I remember a friend at uni ate this stuff and it never tasted great however this was the highlight of the plate. Loads of flavour, really smooth and just bloody fantastic, *googles how to make it at home! [  ] Yorkshire pudding and gravy - I am from Yorkshire so I simply have to rate these, especially when the gravy was 50% chicken fat and the Yorkshire was massive. Top job!

Price Toby Carvery - £11.99 Chequers Inn - £15 That's all I am saying here, would you pay 25% more for a meal that is simply 300% better?

Overall Google smashed it here, the reccomendation was spot on! Have not enjoyed a roast as much as I did this for quite a while. I just wish the drinks had been working and the sun hadn't been so hot burning my face...

Unfortunately I have to write a bad review. I don't like doing this especially with the hard climate we are in at the moment with restaurants and pubs closing down. But feel it must be said in the hope they take it on board and up their game. I booked online for a party of 9 originally for my partners 30th birthday. We arrived but had to tell them 1 of the party couldn't make it. We was shown to our table which wasn't made for a party of 9. We was asked if we would like this table or seeing as we have 8 we could go to another table. I said this one would do. So I had to help put 2 tables together. The manager started helping with all the cutlery and chairs. Then wandered off leaving me and the party to finish arranging the table. The rest of the party arrived. We then ordered the drinks at the bar which took a while as no one was there to serve. Eventually got our drinks. Sat down at the table. Then chose our food from the limited expensive menu and ordered at the bar. 3 of the party ordered beef shin pie. When it came it was small for what the price was. Served in a bowl. A couple of minutes later the waiter arrived asking if everything was alright with the meal. We all initially said it was fine. As not tried the pie as of yet. When we did get round to eating it. It was like chewing on a leather boot. It was disgusting. I would of sent it back for a replacement but the other 2 said theirs tasted the same. I didn't want anything else on the limited menu as there was nothing I really fancied and I was hungry so just ate it. My mum couldn't eat hers as it was just gristle. Really un-impressed especially with how much it cost. The kids menu was extremely limited 3 meals available. My sons sausages was overcooked. My step daughter only ordered chips as there was nothing else she liked. We all finished most of our food. Then waited around 10-15 mins for someone to collect our plates. In the end, I cleared it for all of us so we could do the birthday cake. The manager bought the birthday cake out and then spoke to us. Asking us if we had a nice time. We said it was OK. But explained about the pies. She offered to clear our £10 tab as good will gesture. Its such a shame as its such a nice pub and I have had ok meals previously. Maybe they was short staffed. I don't know but when your spending good money you expect a better service. Unfortunately won't be going back. The pub has potential. It needs to lower its prices and have more pub grub on offer. Hate leaving bad reviews but felt...

Unfortunately a very bad experience for me. I was part of a Christmas dinner group, so we were given a list of options to choose from beforehand. I ticked all the ones marked as vegan for my starter, main and dessert.

When the starters came, I was given a crab dish and was told that was the artichoke tart. Luckily, someone else had the artichoke tart by mistake and we simply swapped. The vegan main, compared to the roast and veg everyone else was having, was about third of the size, so not very filling, but a good flavour. The dessert, however, was a syllabub. Odd seeing many others picked the same option. I asked the staff if they were sure it's vegan, the waiter even went to the kitchen to confirm, and came back saying it is, so I didn't give it a second thought.

Boy was I wrong.. Not to get into the nasty details, but my stomach didn't agree with it and I spent a good amount of my morning the next day on the white throne.

I did some minor investigation, and it turns out in their own menu, the syllabub is vegetarian, not vegan. But when we were filling the poll on who's getting what (provided by Chequers, not our own made poll), it was marked as vegan. Same as the brownie (which also isn't vegan). I get that it could be a mistake when creating the poll, but that's why I double checked with the staff. I'm more baffled that the kitchen staff don't know the difference between vegan and vegetarian.

I feel that Chequers needs to invest a day into some solid training for their staff regarding dietary requirements. If the vegan and vegetarian options are offered, then they should be correct and the staff should be aware of them and what they entail. Otherwise this can get very nasty very quickly with the wrong person getting...