Narrow Boat at Weedon, Canalside Pub, Country Kitchen, Rooms — Restaurant in England

Came here today, what an experience. We travel up to Northampton from Hull a few times per year and always just after the new year to visit my elderly parents. We come to the narrow boat every time, its a part of the trip we very much look forward to.

When we arrived we noticed that the pub had been repainted, we were very excited to see the refurb... Sadly the budget seems only to have stretched to the outside. The exact same decor for at least the 3 years we have been frequenting , the place looks very tired indeed. Patchwork on the bar soft seating butted up against tired looking walls and window frames.

Not a great start and it was down hill from there. Service was slow to begin with.. The pub was not busy at all. This was annoying but forgivable, especially as the wine was very nice once it arrived. Then it came to ordering the food my celiac partner ordered the GF salad starter when ordering her main the waitress asked 'are you GF?' When told yes the waitress went to the kitchen "To check something" when she came back we were informed that the GF advertised dish was in fact not GF nor was her second choice also denoted on the menu as GF. When we asked why they are being advertised as GF we were told "The dishes used to be GF however the boss came up the other day and kicked off and sacked the head and sous chef. The Chef in the kitchen today isn't sure of the recipe to make it gluten free."

In this day and age I find this absolutely disgusting. You will make someone very ill... Had my partner not ordered the starter the conversation of her being GF would not have been flagged by the waitress. We understand that people with intolerances should inform the staff but you are advertising GF when it is not.

Celiac is not a choice it is an allergy

We thank the waitress for her diligence as should her bosses!!! You would be speaking with a lawyer had my wife eaten gluten and fallen ill.

We will not be returning nor ever recommending this place to anyone.

What an...

My original 5 star review is below but today I update to 2 stars.

We booked a Sunday lunch here about 2 months ago and asked for a specific table, which despite being confirmed when we booked, we didn't get. Front of house did their best to accommodate us but we were then seated 30 minutes after our booking time.

We ordered promptly and waited 45 minutes for our meal. Bearing in mind our table was for 2pm, we didn't eat till 3:15pm. We ordered lamb and were advised by a grumpy waitress that they were out of mint sauce. We asked another waiter who "found" some.

By 4pm our table hadn't been cleared so we asked for dessert menus to prompt them. This took another 10 minutes before they came over to clear. As we had waited so long, we decided not to bother with desserts as we did not want another long wait.

The saving grace today was the barman. He was super friendly and recognised how bad our experience had been. He did his best to apologise and knocked some money off our bill. He was a very nice chap. No one else seemed bothered.

This experience was a huge contrast to my last experience. I will never go for Sunday lunch again, but want to try it again perhaps when they are not so busy. I have left my first review below so you can see what a huge contrast it is. Such a shame.

• FIRST REVIEW *

This is an extremely friendly pub in a good, busy location.

We were greeted with a smile and had great service throughout the meal. We interacted with 2 or 3 different staff members and all were super friendly, had great people skills and made our experience a good one.

Food was tasty, good value and great portion sizes. I had the tiger prawns, which were absolutely fabulous - I can recommend them

We will definitely be visiting here again soon in fact, we have already booked our...

Stayed at the Narrow Boat for the weekend whilst visiting Silverstone. When we arrived we where made very welcome by the french guy (sorry don't remember asking your name) he was so nice and helpful, had time for a chat if he wasn't busy, which he was very busy in the evenings. The owners definitely made a great choice employing him. The room we stayed in was not in the main building, but towards the back of the parking to the rear.. which was a great thing, was super quiet and we did not hear the guests staying next to us. The cleaners where very helpful and lovely, we asked not for our beds and towels to be changed... But did want biscuits which they let me choose. The parking was right in front so easy unloading of our car. We ate in the restaurant both nights as the food was very good, and the staff very helpful and friendly. I had lamb on the second night which was perfectly cooked and a lovely blackcurrant mousse to finish... And as long as you are sensible it is lovely that they will switch things a little on the dishes if there is something you don't like. On the first night we asked for some olives and the young male waiter was a bit thrown as it wasn't on the menu, but checked with the kitchen and shortly after returned with a small bowl of olives... He could have just said no as some places will but fulfilled our request which my wife was super happy for. So thanks to him 😊 The other waitresses where also super helpful, and if not too busy also had time for a small chat. So this is definitely our place of choice if returning to visit Silverstone which is about 15 minutes away. We obviously didn't see much of the chefs but you are doing a great job, and the food was lovely so thank you also. A big thanks to everyone for making our stay so lovely and welcoming.......