The Cove House Inn — Restaurant in England

This is my first ever review as I generally just get on with life but felt the need to write this as I was so dissapointed. This place was not easy to find on a dark winters night when you don't know the area but eventually found the car park which is best suited for off road vehicles with the large stones and rugged terraine more akin to a building site and we had to negotiate a large puddle below the steps to get in. We were shown to a table where all the kitchen staff constantly pass and had a couple not vacated a table near the fire I doubt we would have stayed for the meal which would probably have been the better outcome. There are several reviews on here that crticise the staff however i found them friendly and helpful but for me the meal was possibly the worst i have had in a pub, my starter was the king prawns which were nice but 5 for £7.50 i just could not believe the cost for such a small portion this was followed by the brisket burger which was tasteless even with the blue vinney cheese topping although this was in very short supply. I persevered and thought at least there is the apple and blackberry crumble to look forward to which is a favourite but this came in a individual ice cream tub size dish with a very dry oat and sugar crumble level with the top. It came with a thimble size portion of custard but there was nowhere for it to go so had to pour the custard onto the spoonful of dryoats to eat it. Surely for £6.95 it would be better in a bowl and then given the opportunity to smother with custard. my wife had the whitebait which was good and far better value than my prawns and had the fish pie which again lacked flavour and was quite dry. Overall not a good experience and shall not return and on reflection should have eaten...

There were a few annoying things tonight but the low rate is simply due to the quality of food. We booked over the phone and no one told us that Mondays were fish and chips days so they had a really reduced menu: 3 starters, 3 mains, 3 puddings. Annoying… but fine, who cares after all. One of the staff apologised but added she struggled to see how that could happen as they advise everyone over the phone who book a table on Monday. It felt a bit as if I was called a liar. Again, a bit annoying. Beautiful views, amazing building, clean tables etc. That aspect was absolutely fine. The halloumi was really tasty, the king prawns rather average. All three of us ordered fish and chips and all three of us left half of it on the plate. The batter was tasteless and horrible at the same time and so was the fish. Batter too thick, soggy inside, and the fish had an almost mushy consistency. Honestly, one of the worst meals I have ever had. We asked about the puddings and if they had ice cream (which wasn’t on the board). The waitress said they did, vanilla, and she added that she would be back once she cleared our table. We never saw her again and no one else seemed to pay us much attention so after 10-15 mins we walked to the till, paid over £80 and left. We certainly will not be back. As I am writing this review, 2-3 hours later, I am having heartburn because of the food they served us. In all fairness, as we were leaving they asked if everything was alright. It wasn’t but at that point we just smiled...

Absolutely and completely essential you book some days in advance for food.

Advertised as a pub doing food, we turned up on attempt #1 to be told there was no food available without a booking. Attempt #2 we booked but only outside tables were available, and we were advised at the time that if the weather wasn't suitable, food would not be served outside. Kept a nervous eye on the weather all day, and arrived for our 7pm table with rain due around 10, which we thought wouldn't be a problem. We were told by staff that heavy rain was on its way any time, and that we were welcome to take our chances, but they didn't recommend it... We ended up leaving because the owner had just received word that the rain was lashing down in Weymouth and heading our way. As it turned out, the rain didn't arrive in any substantial way :( To be fair to the place, they're incredibly popular, on both occasions they were absolutely rammed and the staff were rushed off their feet. I overheard good things about the food from others more than once - it's just a shame we weren't able to sample it. When trying to book the table, it took multiple phone calls to get through and do so, about a half...