Horse and Jockey Inn — Restaurant in England

---Update ---

Me and my family came here on the 20/05/2022 at 20:40. I would never of thought this place was here and my father spoke highly of this place so at the time i had high hopes about this restaurant. From first impressions from the outside it looked really good.

We entered the restaurant via the side entrance next to the smoking bay on the right as you walk in(with the nice heater btw).

As we entered the bar area we were directed by a member of staff to the seating area which was in the next room on the left in the corner. There was a few people in this room one lady being particularly overally loud may i add.

As we seated a waitress came over and asked what food we would like . We mentioned to her that we would first like to order a drink before we took a look at the menu as we had only just walked in . To which point she cut us off mid sentence to say i don't take drinks so if you want to order drinks we need to order at the bar around the corner.. ( a bit odd for a restaurant to do this i thought but okay we will roll with it )..

She disappeared for around 5 minutes and came back.

We were told upon arrival there was no cod available . So we ordered 2 x white bait 2 x mixed grills and the The Guinness and ale pie, and a garlic bread.

As my mother was still reading through the menu she wasnt sure what she wanted and felt under pressure as the waitress appeared to be slowly getting frustrated waiting for an elderly woman to choose her meal ...and so she just opted for the garlic bread instead of an actual meal..once she got the order she just walked off. We had to ask her again later for some cutlery as there was non on the table when the food actually arrived...

At the bar

Myself and my father went to the bar to get the drinks abit effed off regarding the young lady who we just had to deal I let it slide. Its almost 21:00 must be tired a one off. So as we ordering drinks of the bar there were 2 members of staff behind the bar one of them the young brunette was initially serving my father gave him a proper dirty look to which then got swapped to another lady for some unknown reason to which the 1st bar staff went round the corner of the bar and stopped mid service for so they could whisper something . (Now I'm not being funny but that just damn rude, you don't just serve a customer and stop them mid service .. twice! ) so the lady took over the previous woman took our order when reading it back to us my father didn't quite hear and asked her to repeat what she said and she just rolled her eyes at him clearly becoming annoyed + frustrated at the situation whilst the previous member if staff was giggling at wat was going on aound the corner for some reason ?.

I noticed this and took my self to the toilet to chill out as clearly ( which was in the room next to the bar on the right).. returned to the bar and took the drinks to the table..

We had our meal and left shortly afterwards..

So to summarise

Wasn't made to feel welcome

Arrogant/impatient...

Really nice vibe and restaurant, though unfortunately the food is shocking, not sure if we ended up going on a bad night, though it was absolutely appalling. Party of over 5 of us, not one enjoyed their meal apart from the guest who ordered the pie. The pizza is made with cheddar cheese and mozzarella, though it was 90% cheddar, tasted like a slab of the west countries cheapest cheese, on toast! - the over use of cheddar, meant it was the most sickly, oily mess we have ever seen. That alone is enough to put anyone off, and unfortunately the quality overall, really let down this place. I hope that we caught it on a bad night, as the staff and restaurant seem great. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t consider this as an option in the future.

If you are looking for a good quality, well made and homely food… I recommend going somewhere else. It felt like they had a secret kebab van out the back, making all the dishes.

PS, this is the first bad review we have left, in over 40 years!...

Absolutely excellent meal with incredible service. We were attending a friends wedding reception nearby and needed somewhere to eat with our 2 year old and friends nearby before the reception. Due to the timings of the reception, we really struggled to find a pub to accommodate us. Nikki the landlady went above and beyond when I contacted her to ask if we could book a table. She was kind enough to keep the kitchen open for us from their lunch hours and made us feel so welcome. The food was delicious and we cannot thank all the staff enough for going above and beyond for us. In particular, one of the bar staff who my toddler took an immediate liking too. Being very nosey, he wanted to see behind the bar and she was wonderful letting him help her put some bottles in the bottle bin and making him feel useful. Would absolutely recommend this place to others and will definitely be sure to visit in the future if we are back...