Halfway House Inn, Bridgnorth — Restaurant in England

My wife and I have just returned from a very disappointing and frankly upsetting visit to this establishment. Having had an enjoyable stay there with our camper van last year and a great meal in the pub, we thought we would return. Last year we were looked after by the owner's son, who was most hospitable; This time we were greeted by his father, Peter, who at first made us welcome and we enjoyed a bit of banter. We booked to stay the night in our camper and asked if they were still serving food. We were told we would have to order immediately as the kitchen was closing. We ordered straight away and took a seat outside. After approximately half an hour, a member of the kitchen staff came outside and asked Peter's son where the ribeye steaks were. He replied they were in the cellar. Approximately half an hour after this our food arrived - two medium rare ribeyes. The steak was chunky and did not look like ribeye - we eat a lot of ribeye so have some knowledge, mine had a thin white layer about 2 mm thick and the steak was anaemically red towards the centre. The meat was really tough and frankly unpleasant. The peppercorn sauce arrived and although it looked like peppercorn sauce, it tasted of mint. I told the waitress that we were not happy with the steaks and asked if we could have something else. I did not want to try another piece of steak as the pieces served had put us off. We were asked if we'd like some smoked gammon, not offered the menu. My wife does not like smoked meat but didn't want to make a fuss but asked if anything else was available. The waitress suggested lamb and my wife said that would be great. The waitress then returned and said they had a piece of unsmoked gammon and again my wife said that would be fine. The second meal arrived approximately an hour after we had first ordered. We ate the gammon which was fine (and went surprisingly well with the peppercorn 'minty' sauce.) We returned to our camper, Peter was at our pitch like a flash for payment - no problem with that, I had a tab open and was planning to return for a pint shortly but was happy to settle up. In the pub, I tendered my credit card to Peter who went to take payment. He made no comment about the steak or offered any form of apology but simply started to go through the motions of taking payment. I questioned the bill total as it sounded high and his attitude was hostile. It was then that I said I was disappointed that he had not offered any sort of apology to us about our meal. He was, not to put too fine a point on it, surly and unconcerned. He said the kitchen staff had all tasted the steak and said it was fine. Also, according to Peter, ribeye steak is meant to be "a little bit tough." They had, according to Peter, served 150 ribeye steaks that weekend (we were there Sunday afternoon) and everybody had loved them. I said I would pay for the food but would not pay the £25 to park our camper as we would be leaving immediately, having been there for just 3 hours - mostly waiting for food. He said that we must pay for the time spent there - "I'll bet you have had a shower ", he proudly exclaimed! I replied, somewhat amused, that we hadn't taken a shower! (however, we would have had time, whilst waiting for our food!) "I shall contact all the sites in the area and make sure you don't get accommodated", he went on. "Never come back here", he continued to rant. So Peter, I hope people read this and take note that whilst you seem all sweetness and light and full of bonhomie, you are without doubt, a quite unpleasant individual underneath that false exterior. Indeed, having read other reviews on Trip Adviser, since we returned, we realise we are not the only ones to discover this. We will not...

My husband, 8 year old son, and I have just come back from a weekend here. My husband booked for the three of us on booking.com ( double checked and correct booking for three not two as owner stated to me). The reason booked was for sister in laws 40th weekend who were staying on a pitch in their motor home on site as well. ||Following our experience if we could have canceled and stayed elsewhere we would. However could not as family had their pitch there as well. ||We originally were given room 21 which was large and clean. Very happy until the heating and hot water went off in the night. So we spent a sleepless, | cold night with the wind howling through the old windows. Then to wake up to freezing water, and no way of getting a warm shower. I contacted Peter the owner to fix this which he did. By then we were desperate for some warmth and showers. Peter's only solutions were to wait for the boiler to heat up or move to an outside room which had its own boiler. || At 8.30am packed up and in our PJs we agreed to move rooms to guarantee hot water/heating.We were told the only room available was in the barn #27. This room was very small, squeezed in was a huge bed and a bunkned. Hardly any room to move around, one bedside table with tea making facitlites on it. Simply no room to do anything. The shower door opened out into the room so no privacy. The toilet area very dirty and toilet brush had old poo and toilet paper. The main room itself clean and beds comfortable. We felt we had to kept this room as it had its own boiler so could guarantee hot water and heating. Despite it being very unsuitable even for our family of three.||When I spoke with Peter he told me the strong winds that evening had blown the boiler out. However even my other family who were staying had not heat or hot water in the shower block. When they asked about their hot water issue. Peter told them the water is only on between 8 and 10am and then again for a few hours in the afternoon. No where is this shown on any signs or even when they booked. We suggested guests are told this or a sign put up and Peter made out guests were just ment to know. ||Please do not book this place for a special family gathering. You are not made to feel welcome and more an inconvenience if you mention something you are unhappy with. In our case it was simply no heating or hot water. I cried I was made to feel like a little girl being told off for simply wanting what we paid for. A comfortable, warm, clean room. I was told the reason our toilet area in room 27 was unclean was because "we are in the countryside!". Just no words how upset I was about the way I was spoken to. || We were told to apologise we were not charged for our son staying when we had paid for him on booking.com! . The breakfast was not included in our booking. So paid for first morning but not second as is small and not worth the extra £10+ charge. ||The service in the tiny bar area is very slow but evening meal was delicious on the first night. Might he worth just going for food. ||This could be a wonderful place to stay if it was updated and better customer service. Very sad as staying here was the low point of what was a lovely family...

A family group of 10 (with Dotty the dog) stayed here last weekend to celebrate my Dad’s birthday. Peter, the landlord and his son, Matt, were the PERFECT hosts! Nothing was too much trouble. We thoroughly enjoyed a weekend of roaring fires, lovely company, real ales and delicious food. On the Saturday night we used the conservatory for a private meal – Matt offered to cook us a special vegetarian dish of our choice (2 of us are vegetarian) to add to the already delicious options on the menu. He even organised a sound bar so we could listen to (Dad’s) favourite music to create a party atmosphere during the meal. Afterwards we moved into the bar to play a new board game that Matt helpfully gave us full instructions for while still juggling the perfect service of our drinks! The 16th century inn is wonderful - the bar is so cosy with a huge fire and interesting furniture and even a wonderful example of an Elizabethan wall mural that has been beautifully preserved behind glass for all to see. Being just outside Bridgnorth was a great location for us as it gave us the chance to walk across the fields into the town centre – this lovely walk took us just over 30 minutes. Peter and Matt were so helpful recommending things to do and local places to visit including the Steam Railway in Bridgnorth, Long Mynd in the Shropshire Hills for fantastic views and walking. They also suggested that in the summer they can arrange a canoeing trip down the River Severn returning on a steam train – thankfully not having to paddle upstream! Two of our party stayed in a room in the pub, while we stayed in the converted barn, and a family of four stayed in Coach Cottage – all in the courtyard outside. The accommodation worked well for us and we hope to return to use their campsite when the weather improves! REALLY impressed, we all had such a wonderful time. Have recommended to so many people already. Will be back...