The Hotham Arms — Restaurant in England

Please read this before BOOKING I was invited to a 60th birthday party and being a special occasion they booked a table at the Hotham arms Hotham. On arrival I was impressed with the ambiance and thought we were in for a great evening. This was the middle of December and the place was packed solid that the waiting staff could not get to the tables without getting people to move their chairs in. The six of us were put into a corner which turned out to be very cold as was the red wine. Immediately we sat down the drinks order was taken. Shortly after the waitress turned up with a bottle of chilled white and a bottle of chilled red. When I mentioned it to the waitress she said she could put it by the fire !!! Couldn’t believe it. What idiot trained this girl. Possibly the owner. After 30 minutes the owner turned up to take our order who was very abrupt and had no customer etiquette what so ever. The waitress arrived behind him and snatched the bottle off her, took off the top and plonked it on the table and said there is nothing wrong with that. Being an invited guest I had to bite my tongue. 1 ½ hrs later the starter arrived. Followed by the main. The plates were cold, the vegetables were warm, as was all the main dishes. I had garlic chicken with supposed garlic butter. I am in food development and know the difference between butter and margarine. It tasted of vegetable fat on top of warm chicken. The chips were skinny fry’ with scraps. I didn’t think it could worse. Every one ordered dessert. I had some sort of sticky toffee sponge which was dry and sandy. By this time I thought he must have it in for me. When he came to clear the table he said abruptly, what’s the matter with that ( this was his weird sense of hummer ) I told him and he said it must be from yesterday. The pub itself is very unique in style and appearance but what let it down was the owner.. Too greedy, cramming too many people into one room which obviously gave the kitchen staff a big problem which is the only reason I can think why an establishment could turn out such poor quality food and presentation. Be warned. Do some checking on this place. I can see trip advisor has a number of good reviews, but if its a big celebration time be aware. Book somewhere else to avoid giving your money to...

We’ve frequented the Hotham Arms for many years and we’ve always had excellent food & service. After Joe sadly passed away we were generally looked after by Joe’s daughter, who always made us feel very welcome and was always attentive.

Unfortunately our experience last night was at odds to our previous experiences. The food was excellent as always, but the attitude from the staff was poor. Our table was booked for 19:30, but we arrived early and after confirming we had a table booked for four, we sat in the bar area to enjoy a few pre-dinner drinks. 19:30 came & went and I had to go to the bar to ask if our table was ready. The same woman who I checked-in with then said, “yes, how can I help you?” in a surly manner, clearly she didn’t recognise the fact I’d already spoken to her about our booking! Without acknowledging me she just turned to a colleague, who she told to show us to our table!

The guy who served us at the table was okay, not great, but okay. However the same woman mentioned above continued to display the same negative attitude throughout our stay, it was apparent to us that she really didn’t want to be there.

Of course we will continue to visit, but the proprietors really need to address their staff’s attitude, which is such a shame as we have never had cause to complain before…and they’ve cost the establishment one star in our...

Visited today with our local walking group after seeking permission by phone to use the outside benches for our lunchtime break.We bought drinks to go with our sandwiches ;there were no other customer using the outside tables on this cold and foggy day. The man,who said he was the manager,came out with a woman and both told us we were not welcome to eat our own food there.He questioned us on who had given us permission.This group of walkers is made up of local people, some who are retired medical professionals, teachers and local councillors.This 'gentleman', and the 'lady'were rude and unwelcoming despite receiving our custom for drinks.Not somewhere I will be going back to. (Some of our group had planned to eat at the pub on returning from the second leg of our walk, hence their use of the car park - this being a quiet, cold mid week daytime ;the rest of us parked elsewhere.)I am concerned for the staff member who gave us permission as I understand they acted in a professional and friendly way ,advising us to come back after our walk and eat at the pub-an approach guaranteed to generate new custom on a quiet weekday-they are clearly destined for...