The Old Talbot Restaurant, Pub, Hotel and Takeaway — Restaurant in England

Christmas day. Now that we have all had time to reflect, I am writing to express my deep disappointment regarding the Christmas Day meal my party and I experienced at your establishment. We had high expectations, especially considering the substantial cost of £85 per person for our group of twelve.

While the starters and desserts were acceptable, the carvery, which is a significant part of the meal, fell far below the standard I would have anticipated. The quality of the dishes did not justify the hefty price tag. The potatoes appeared reheated and lacked freshness, resembling leftovers from a previous week as were other vegetables. Additionally, the serving of only one pig in blanket per person was notably stingy, given the occasion and cost. The beef was tough and unappetising, and the cauliflower cheese was disappointingly watery. Moreover, our dining experience was further marred by delayed service, as we had to remind the staff regarding missing straters and desserts.

To compound matters, our seating arrangement was unsuitable. Being placed adjacent to the toilets, we were subjected to a consistent odor of sewage throughout the meal, which severely affected our enjoyment of the occasion.

Furthermore, the demeanor of the staff member attending to our table was notably dismal, contributing to the overall negative atmosphere. We also encountered issues with cutlery, having to request it repeatedly.

Given the significance of this festive occasion and the considerable financial investment made by our group, this experience fell well below our expectations and left us deeply dissatisfied. We expected a higher level of service, quality, and ambience, especially on Christmas Day. We felt as though you were trying to get as many people in as possible and charge as much as you can for...

We arrived early for the birthday lunch for my special neighbour. We were told not to looks at the prices as they had gone up “a few pence” We chuckled and ordered a latte and pepsi. We asked about the Halloumi sticks starter and were swiftly informed that there none available. So, we opted for the Warm rustic bread, with butter and balsamic vinegar. What arrived were slices of white and brown toasted usually an indicator of hiding stale bread (we were told it was sour dough, looked like the leftovers of a loaf). Wish I had taken a picture. There was hardly any butter, and was presented on a wonky board We were starving so had finished bread before meals arrived, this included me having to ask for more butter. Waited 45 mins for meals (lasagne and fish and chips), without even being asked if we were finished our BREAD. I mean how long does it take to eat some bread?? 45 minutes apparently! The people on the table next to us got food within 15-20 mins! When I asked about the food I was rather abruptly, told I had it wrong because they were waiting for us to finish our starter, but he never even checked on us so I had to go and chase the meal in the first place! We ended up walking out because we were made to feel unwelcome, waited another 15 minutes and lost our appetites. Just as we were leaving he was bringing the meals, that had clearly been left in the under a hot lamp, as the lasagne was charred and hate to imagine what the fish was like. When we said we were going not even an apology, just turned on his heel and took the food back. I left money for the drinks and starter. I have never experienced such awful service, in stark contract to the ladies on the other table who had constant attention. Will never go back. Disgusted and disappointed. Will wait for...

Terrible!! Poor Quality!! Poor Service!! Went here for a birthday meal after seeing positive reviews and hearing positive feedback. The pub and decor was what you would expect from a country gastro pub, however the service and food were among the worst me and family have ever experienced. Firstly we had to wait quite long for food despite the pub being fairly quiet. They waiter took our orders and failed to tell us the special had run out, he then came back to tell us. We reordered, when the food arrived all the orders were wrong to some degree, either thick cut chips, fries or mash were put with the wrong orders, onion ring were missing and eventually arrived when I was nearly finished with my meal. Portion sizes were small with all meals, each meal had about 10 chips, the pork belly and mash came with 1 slice of pork. The huntsman chicken was dry, no BBQ glaze/sauce and came with one small sorry excuse for a piece of chicken. The chicken curry pie was dry, and every meal was over cooked and very dry. One order we ordered an extra burger and one we had a burger removed, however they still charged for an extra burger. The only thing that was semi acceptable were the desserts. There was a very limited selection of beers/lagers and drinks on the whole were quite expensive. I don't normally write reviews, however it was such a bad encounter, I felt compelled to share our experience. Needless to say, we will not be going back as there are far better places, with good quality food, good service which are good...