Heron on the Ford — Restaurant in England

I went to the heron on the ford today for lunch with my son and met my parents there. It was the first time we went there, initial thoughts were this is nice but I can smell sewage. Which is never a nice smell when looking to eat. Anyway, we chose this place as it was near to where my parents had to go and the whole place that looked nice AND had a kids play area. The play area is dubious. There is a swing attached to the monkey bars, which when someone is swinging on it, makes the entire equipment shake. It was very unnerving letting my 3 year old climb up to use the slide. Also there is no ladder and the way up is a very steep climbing wall, so I would say the apparatus is better suited for 7-12 year olds. We sat down and was bothered by wasps and flies out entire visit which is awfully annoying and gross. The price of the food is ridiculous, especially after tasting it. My dad and I had the buttermilk chicken panini with a sad side salad and sweet potato fries, my son had the burger and chips and my mum had the venison scotch egg and sweet potato fries. Mum seemed to feel her scotch egg was quite nice, not any complaints but not raving. My sons burger seemed a bit adult for him, it had lots of herb like things in it which im sure is great but not for a 3 year old, he liked my chips though. Mine and my dad's meal.. well.. it was absolutely disgusting.i ate it all because I was starving but the buttermilk chicken was stodgy and the flavour was not nice at all, the salad in the panini was bit wet and lame and the side salad was also lame and sad. It was completely disappointing and a bit of a disaster. Wouldn't recommend eating here at all, and for the prices its ridiculous. £12 for a disgusting panini because the burger is £18-19... high prices for poorly made food. Oh I almost forgot, I had a side of breaded halloumi which was nice enough but tasted like ones you get from the freezer section in lidl, and the sauce.. paprika sauce or chorizo mayo.. absolutely vile. The service was ok, the lady was nice enough but she did fob my dad off a bit which made me sad. All in all, not a great experience. Pretty garden, minus the sewage and wasps, and alright inside but nasty expensive food.

Update: my mum has food poisoning following eating this. So turns out her scotch egg wasn't good at...

Sadly my visit to the Heron on the Ford today was disappointing. After hearing such wonderful reviews, I was looking forward to my Mother’s Day lunch. After arriving early we were seated and received our drinks and starter promptly. Unfortunately, the service after this was very slow and it was clear that the staff were stressed, as they were snappy and impatient. We spoke to the manager, who we could see was very stressed and appeared not to want to address the issue or offer any apology for the lack of attention and service. She sadly came across rude and dismissive of anything we were trying to share and explain. It was only when we explained that no one had offered any apology, did we finally receive some acknowledgment for the poor service. We decided not to stay for our meal , as we were taken aback by the attitude of the staff.

I’m not suggesting people not to go to the pub, as I have only ever heard positive reviews in the past. This review is to highlight to the manager and establishment that the customer service on this particular day was sadly disappointing. It’s ok to be stressed and busy on what I imagine has been a tiring day, but if your customers are highlighting an issue, please take the time to listen without interrupting and being confrontational.

I found the whole experience today very strange and surreal, and felt I was the victim of a hidden...

I have been coming to Heron on The Ford for many years, as it’s my local & it’s situated in a beautiful location right by a Ford.

We always walk to the pub as it’s only 15minutes away. Great for kids to use their chosen mode of transport for the short distance as the roads around the pub location is fairly quite.

Heron on the Ford has plenty of free parking to the rear as well as to the front. The rear parking area is gated with access only during opening hours.

The pub upgraded the seating area to the rear including an added play area for the kids just over a year ago which makes this a key visit for me during the summer. Nothing beats a nice cold beer outside in the sunshine with the little ones happily playing along in the gated playground 👌

The inside is has a cosy and relaxed atmosphere with very nice touch to the decor. The food is brilliant, quick service and tastes lovely. The change of hands a few years ago has defiantly made an impact to quality of food served Good clean facilities also.

Highly recommend a visit as after the food and drink a nice walk to the Ford to watch any brave drivers spear through the stream is always...