The Kings Head Whiteparish — Restaurant in England

This was our second visit to The Kings Head, Whiteparish; for a Valentines weekend break. The food as usual was outstanding and the young staff professional, attentive and friendly…a delight and credit to the proprietors. However, we had planned to stay two nights but we cut our stay significantly and unexpectedly short due to several shortcomings that left us bewildered and disappointed. First, on arrival, in full view and earshot of other returning guests, we were asked WHY we had come in by the front entrance instead of the back one, it felt a tad chastising and embarrassing and in addition to that, within literally seconds of arriving was immediately informed there was £130 to pay, we hadn’t even seen our room at that point!! Then we discovered that the room we had booked for some six weeks prior which was a ground floor (needed for mobility purposes) and a small garden space, had been given to other returning customers with a dog and we were to be put in an upstairs room. After a little discussion, we were shown a ground floor annexe room, pleasantly decorated enough but unfortunately , due to a low ceiling and small window it felt extremely claustrophobic, we left at 05:30 AM. In addition to the above, we are extremely saddened and disillusioned to report that the overriding factor in cutting our stay abruptly short, was that from the beginning at check in, it was a case of “you need to pay £130,” then immediately on ordering drinks, “you need to pay each round as you go” then literally straight out of the restaurant we were asked to pay straight up again, despite asking if the bill could be assigned to our room (as we were to be staying another night). It felt very much like you turn this way and it was ding ding (£), you turn the other way it was ding ding(£), then turn again, it was ding ding (£). ££££££££££. It certainly did nothing to create a romantic, relaxing mood/stay, the opposite was in fact was achieved! We both felt there was an element of mistrust, where this was not applicable to us, very disappointing as we thought we had struck up a genuine mutual liking, rapport and friendship with Nikki, Patrick and their staff. We had after all, travelled 2.5 hours EACH WAY to enjoy the experience! Being Valentines Day, there was no attempt to set/create a valentines ambience, it felt just like any other eating out experience. Creating the right mood for your chosen venues event is what customers expect, they are buying into an EXPERIENCE! sadly, it was a negative one for us on...

Just the Resteraunt review.

Arrived at 1:15pm food arrived 3pm which was a huge wait. We had to complaint twice. One of the kids meals had been missed off order and so one little boy had to wait hungrily while everyone else ate.

Ordered kids deserts - two ice creams and a brownie which took another half hour or more to arrive after an already huge wait. Manager explained they have a system and everything goes in order. (Clearly the system is not working !!!! If u can’t rush out simple kids deserts that should take a couple of Minutes to prepare. Especially for a table which has already waited ages and had one meal not arrive!!) manager explained they’re not a fast food Resteraunt (really?? We’d never guess). We’re pretty reasonable but the timing here were terrible.

Chicken pie was great but very hot (burn mouth) and quite small portions. (Still hungry)

Great they do a roast lunch but only beef no alternative which is not ideal for a group.

Beef although local was very fatty and hard to cut and most who ordered it left it.

Manager did accept service not as it should be and offered free drinks and free kids meal for the one which didn’t arrive. We suggested that perhaps they could bring some chips for the child missing a meal (just so he could eat something while he waited) - the chips arrived after his missing meal!!

Service wasn’t proactive to keep us informed if things were backed up in kitchen.. to apologise when things didn’t arrive. We had to chase for updates.

I hope they can learn from the feedback. Quality of food generally good but I think the system is broken for...

What a delightful change it was to be welcomed by younger staff members who were friendly, charming, and attentive! Nowadays, a lack of common sense, social interaction, attentiveness, and polite behavior often discourages us from dining out. However, this experience was a refreshing reminder of how genuine hospitality can transform an evening. The staff's warm smiles and eagerness to ensure we had a pleasant time made all the difference. Each interaction felt personal and sincere, making us feel valued and appreciated. This was Monday evening with a young lady and gent serving, just for them, we will be back.

The only drawback was being quite unwell after the basil linguine. I suspect it might have been due to a poor batch of pine nuts or perhaps the cheese sauce not heated up sufficiently, really not sure what it was; otherwise, it would have easily earned a five-star rating if it weren't for this minor setback. The food...