The Half Moon — Restaurant in England

We came here for lunch today, hoping for a nice birthday meal, and to try somewhere new locally to add to our favourite list - but it fell far short.

From the start, we weren’t even offered ice or lemon with our water. It felt as though our choice to drink tap water instead of paid drinks wasn’t appreciated.

My partner ordered the vegetarian roast without the vegetarian pie as doesn't like peppers and was offered a veg-only roast, choosing the large option. What arrived was small and underwhelming: four small pieces of potato, two bits of parsnip, two hard carrot halves (one inedible), two tiny Yorkshire puddings, and a side dish with two pieces each of broccoli and cauliflower, plus a little cabbage and carrot. We expected something to lift the flavour – perhaps cauliflower cheese – but it was bland.

It's also strange that when we spoke to the chef about options, he said that he could do some fishcakes but they also had bacon in them. We didn't want bacon, and I find it strange that they couldn't modify the fishcakes - maybe they aren't homemade. Or if they were already prepared, why could they not have prepared one without bacon, we would have waited longer.

No one checked if everything was okay. When we asked to take the leftover veg home (to add some flavour) the waitress acted as if it was an odd request. This is despite the fact that it is quite commonplace these days to take food home to avoid waste.

We skipped dessert, having seen the small portions being served for £8, and, to be honest, out of principle because they had already served such a poor meal to my partner.

Although my partner’s roast was charged at the price of a ‘small roast', £15.95, it was still poor value for money, and cost them very little to make. He was still so hungry after it, and he joked after that he had a starter.

In all other pubs nearby, you get a much better portion for less money.

It was my birthday, and we left disappointed, heading to our regular spot, The Admiral Hood in Mosterton, where we enjoyed generous, delicious desserts – everything this meal wasn’t.

If you’re looking for good value, generous portions and helpful service, this...

This is my first poor review but I felt obliged to report. Very disappointing experience. The food and the setting was nice but I would not come here again. I would recommend avoiding with children. We felt very unwelcome from the moment we arrived. The weather was very nice and I kindly asked if there was any possibly to move to an table outside, only if available and if no trouble. We were accommodated but made to feel like it was a massive imposition and our children were told off for touching the table setting at the table we were originally seated at. I felt uneasy the whole time we were there and we were told off once again, adults and children for their behaviour later on. We were aware we were a bigger group and had tried to manage the kids being noisy. Neighbouring tables were very friendly towards us, so I don't think we were disturbing others. I've never before felt so unwelcome with children at an establishment. Avoid with children is all I can say. Even if well behaved, I felt judged the moment we walked in.

Update: I think the reply from the owner highlights the hostility we felt. There were no customers seated at the grass area at the back, a few joined us in the marquee towards the end of our meal, Our children were playing on the empty grass for the majority of our stay. We definitely weren't spoken to about the behaviour of our children by every member of staff, all those serving us were very friendly to us and there were no near misses of glasses and trays. I feel disappointed that the owner has felt the need to lie about this. When we did find the children had accidentally gone out of bounds in a game of hide and seek at the end of our visit, we were hugely apologetic but the owner didn't accept my husband's apology and he was instead shouted at. We took the same children to similar garden pubs over the course of the holiday and we were extremely welcomed by...

Disappointing Stopped off here for a meal after a days fishing with a friend on Chesil beach. We'd eaten here previously and always had a good meal. I started with the whitebait then ordered a steak and chips. My friend ordered a burger and chips. The whitebait was very good, as was my friends burger and the Palmers beer. My steak however was a disappointment. When I ordered, I asked if I could substitute the salad with some mushrooms or peas as every pub meal seems to come with a handful of leaves these days. I was told no by the waitress. When the steak arrived at the table, a large percentage of the plate was occupied with a porcelain bowl containing a handful of chips, " Whats that all about?" another part was filled with the obligatory green salad, virtually identical to that served with the whitebait. And the disappointingly tough litte steak occupied a small area of the plate sat on a soggy piece of paper. Frankly I came away feeling ripped off and still feeling hungry. A few mushrooms, peas, and maybe tomato and onion rings would have made such...