Merlin's Cave — Restaurant in England

We showed up with a reservation and walked most of the way around the building before we found someone to ask to show us to our table. Unfortunately, he couldn't find the reservation in the system even though we had called only ten minutes before. Fortunately, the place was mostly empty so it was easy to find a table. Eventually someone who seemed to be a waiter took our order. Long waits seemed to be a running theme, but also somewhat puzzling, given the largely empty nature of the establishment.

During the long wait for the food, we went up to the bar to get a half pint, a task we succeeded in only after being ignored for about more than five minutes by four different staff members who were right in front of us cleaning glasses and buzzing about.

Eventually, the food arrived. Unfortunately, the plant-burgers were missing half the ingredients. The "beer onions," cheese, and pickles were notably absent, and the tomato that did come was a remarkably small and anaemic-looking slice, largely bereft of flavour.

The fish and chips arrived without the advertised mushy peas but with a side of soggy paper, part of which was accidentally consumed. When the issues of missing ingredients were raised, we were informed that there were no pickles and that the 'beer onions' were not vegan, and so could not be served as we might be allergic to the beer with which they were made, even though the dish was marked vegan. All very bizarre logic.

We were, however, provided with an additional morsel of tomato atop a cold slice of cheese to put in the burger, or slider, as they might be more aptly described, given their diminutive size. After prompting, the advertised mushy peas were also provided to go with the fish and chips, though they were more like mashed garden peas, which were not adequately cooked and had excessive amounts of mint.

All in all, a rather strange and disembodied eating experience. The staff could certainly use some proper training and the same is true of those in...

Our family recently had Sunday lunch at Merlin's Cave; we were a big group of 14 comprising 8 adults, 4 children and 2 babies. This is a gorgeous pub with a huge dining area, nicely furnished, very attractive and bright with a wall of glass open to the lovely garden. It's a perfect place for a big group - or smaller, more intimate ones too - and children can easily get out into the garden when they've finished eating. However, when we arrived we found that we had been seated in what they call 'The Cave', which is shut off from the rest of the room, a long, narrow and dark space only just wide enough to accommodate the table and the chairs on either side. It wasn't possible for the people further back in the space to get out without the others getting up and moving out. It quickly got too hot and decidedly uncomfortable and one of our group - not usually nervy or prone to being claustrophobic - who was seated half way along the table started to panic. At that point one of our group spoke to staff and, to be fair, they all rallied round brilliantly and quickly set up a row of tables and chairs in front of the windows in the main room, and that was a brilliant place to enjoy the rest of our time there. The food was so-so. There were some mistakes - my goats cheese salad had almost certainly been heated at some point so that the cheese was hard and dry and the water cress was exactly how you'd expect it to be if it were accidentally heated! The belly of pork was very nice. So there are some great things about this pub, particularly its lovely room and garden, the food could be better, and in the opinion of everyone in our group, the Cave shouldn't be used for large groups particularly in the daytime but maybe kept for 4 to 6 people in the evening when its more intimate. The staff were all great, and very hard working, so thank you to them for sorting us out. Like a lot of people, we really really want Merlin's Cave to do well because we...

We had a lovely Merlin Cave experience today with a client , Merlin Cave is a well furnished and decorative establishment with many hidden gems inside , The Board games area and plenty of garden space outside .Very nice quality seating and furniture, Old fashioned building steeped in history and oak beams. Merlin Cave has a great feel to place , friendly courteous staff. Today we didn't see am open fire 🔥 We could choice between the restaurant or bar area to sit for table service. We preferred to be seated in nice comfortable seats, couches. The Menu is just as impressive , stylish with lots to offer with a specials board on display. Note: A New Menu 🍽 will start in approx 2 weeks with a few changes in place, staff shared. Merlin Cave has a large outdoor space with heated lamps for this time of year, Well lit I choose the Pitchford cauliflower cheese dish and Merlin Cave Burger. We were served with fresh napkins, cutlery between each meal and the staff- Eathan, young lady were all very accommodating and friendly to talk to helping my client feel at ease The cauliflower cheese dish was just how I like vegetables cooked - Ala dente , with a bite, cheese was nice and rich. The Merlin Burger was good , Only slightly over cooked on the top of Burger for my tastes , still good and medium rare. I had asked for more salad being on a keto diet . The salad was fresh and delicious , chopped small , Both compliments were good, Horseradish had a good kick to it along with the tarter sauce being creamy and fresh taste of lemon 🍋 with the scampi. I did try the Cumberland sausage and that was delicious in flavour . My client enjoyed his bangers, mashed potatoe and peas with brown sauce and a section of ice cream for dessert ( brandy- strong flavour, vanilla and chocolate ) We spent a good 2.5 hrs enjoyed our meal with Merlin...