The Masons Arms in Kemberton — Restaurant in England

Booked a table at the Masons Arms after reading good reviews.

My dining partner and I arrived with the excitement of trying somewhere we had not been before. As we walked in we were greeted rather rudely and bluntly by a member of staff, who snapped “Just go to the bar !” which we were trying to but the bar area is relatively small. Mr Crabby Pants was obviously in a rush that day to get home as he barged past. Not the best first impression.

We made our way to the bar ordered drinks and were taken to our seats quickly where there was also another table of diners enjoying the food. The menu was not overly large but has a nice selection and is keenly priced. Our order was taken quickly and we had to wait about 25 minutes for food to arrive, this is no biggie as good food takes time. I am pleased to say the food did not disappoint. The hand cut chips deserve a 5 star review all day long, each bite of them was a little piece of heaven, the rest of the food while didn’t live up to the amazing chips was still really good, tasty, piping hot and nudging a 4 star. This helped overlook the initial impression we had. Unfortunately this was the high point.

From there it spiralled into the depths of despair. The service became virtually non-existent over the time we were there, staff were seen less times than Halley's comet. A couple across from ourselves were waiting over 30 minutes for their orders to be taken and looked like they had lost the will to live, at one point I thought they might chow down on the actual menus. A table of 4 dinners sat next to us, 2 ladies were busy looking at the menus, when eventually 2 gentleman returned from the bar complaining they had been waiting 15 minutes and still had not been served, so they all decided to leave. Looking over to the bar it was easy to see why, the tiny bar was crowded, all the stools at the bar were taken effectively making a human shield to prevent any non-local wanting to order or actually pay their bill. There was an unacceptably long wait for our plates to be cleared, we were going to order dessert and more drinks, however seeing how the service was going with only a handful of diners in at the time and not wanting to wage a full scale war to get to the bar, when the waitress did finally looking very harassed we asked the for the bill. We paid, left and bought dessert from Asda on the way home. I will give an extra star for money saving.

I was expecting good things based on the reviews and you clearly have the potential to be something special, The food served was good and it looks like you have someone in the kitchen who knows what they are doing. Your service however lets you down, as it puts a rain cloud over the whole experience. I would love to visit again and hopefully get the 4.3 star experience that the reviews suggest this place has . However you need to look at yourselves! As mentioned above, you lost 4 customers that night and if service was slicker myself and my dining partner would have spent more money. For everything mentioned I can only give 2...

This is the 2nd visit here, the 1st sometime ago when I vowed never again. How things change. The place is now under new management, when the change took place I'm not sure, however, suffice to say it is noticeable and has a nice friendly atmosphere. I and a party of fellow walkers had lunch here after our walk, and it seems that all were happy with their lunchtime menu, at least I never heard acomplaint. We all ate various set meals, for my meal I chose a good pub favorite of 'fish & chips' this choice was from the main menue. I have to say that this was by far the best fish and chips I have had outside of a very well known fish restaurant. The fish batter looked good and was nice and crisp and the fish (cod) was cooked to perfection, nice and moist throughout the flakes. The chips looked to be hand cut? Were coated with a dip before frying and were delicious. Tarta sauce and a slice of lemon as a garnish finished it off. If you are wondering if the meal would be sufficient for you, then wonder no more, I would like to say I had to leave some because of the size I was presented with, but I didn't, I struggled on and ate the lot. Good job we weren't walking after the meal. Would I go again? You bet I would. One little niggle, large parties be prepared to wait awhile before your meal is served, other than that...

Lovely place. I have been here quite a bit in the past and always thought it was good. Specially in the winter when they have an open fire and the atmosphere is great.

Just been today with the family. My sister and Dad both had a spicy bean burger which they said they really enjoyed, and my Mom had a Chilli which she also said was very nice. I had a Masons burger (Burger with Bacon and Cheese) which had plenty of flavour without really needing additional sauce.

The onion rings were lovely and light, with very crispy batter and the chips were cripsy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

The garden area at the back offers plenty of places to sit in the sun and also has a good few shaded areas. The view out of the back of the pub is also fantastic with a field and then just miles of countyside.

The table service was spot on as well with the waiter and waitress both being...