Hare & Hounds — Restaurant in England

This is not a bad review. This is definitely constructive criticism. My childhood holidays were spent in Westgate and evenings in this pub. Me and my brother have camped in the area a few times with our own children. We love Westgate and will always return. However, after previously not being able to get food without booking, this time I booked in advance for the 6 of us who were camping at Westgate campsite. Unfortunately this pub does not allow dogs. That's fine as not all places do. On arrival we asked if seating outside was available as we had a miniature Yorkshire terrior with us and still wanted to eat as this is the only pub in Westgate and we had walked for miles during the day. We were encouraged not to sit outside as it would be cramped and full of midgies. We decided to not stay and drive to Stanhope for a fish shop tea instead. After talking to others on the campsite, all with dogs, they had the same experience. We were expecting to be spending about £150 in that pub that night for 6 people, probably 2 courses each and drinks. The other people on the campsite with dog's had said they would also have probably had 2 courses each then drinks. The menu is in the window so we knew what was available. All other pubs within a few mile radius allowed dogs so we assumed that the Hare and Hounds would. We would have loved to have supported a local business and were shocked that such a rural pub could turn...

The worst meal I've had in years. We visited last night (7th Aug 2021), the 4 of us ordered starters which took 40 minutes to come, the wait for the main was even longer. The 4 of us are quite easily going people but to get to our table at 730pm and not have your main until 10 past 9 is ridiculous, we probably wouldn't have minded so much if every meal wasn't completely awful. The steaks were tasteless, the pork came drowned in a plate of what smelt like warm milk & the beef was dry. We were given one small bowl of chips between the 4 of us despite the menu saying each main came with chips & veg. I asked for a glass of water which took 35 minutes to come & when we asked for the bill the waitress told us just to pay at the bar because she was "swamped". The place wasn't even that busy, when we went to pay at the bar they'd tried to charge us for drinks we didn't have. I'm understanding of the odd mistake or things taking slightly longer than expected but this place was just so unorganised with unhelpful staff and...

We visited this pub several times for beer and food during a holiday in the area. Beer and the several menu items we tried during the week were all wonderful. The chef was very pleased to tell us about how he prepared and cooked the rabbit. The rabbit in white wine sauce was possibly the food highlight of the holiday. The beer was wonderful, £2.80 a pint for a 5% Porter style ale, reduced to £2 a pint on Wednesdays. As well as Sam the chef, Diane the barmaid and Charles the waiter were all very pleasant and accommodating and a credit to...