The Quarrymans Arms, Box Hill — Restaurant in England

We recently stayed for a night as we were celebrating my husband's birthday and our 1 year wedding anniversary. When we arrived the car park was busy but we managed to get a space, upon entering the Quarrymans we made our way to the bar stepping over 5 dogs laying on the floor along the way to check in. We were shown to our room which was not what we were expecting comparing to the photos on their website. The room was dark, the bathroom had cracked and broken tiles, black mould on the silicone, toilet seat was too small for the toilet and there was a garden bench directly outside our window which was about a foot from the bed. We also noticed that around the pub, hallways and bedrooms the paint was in real need of some TLC as it was chipped/scraped/marked and what appeared to be damp coming through. Not happy with what we had seen we spoke to someone behind the bar who then moved us to another room. The room was better and larger but there were still issues. The TV screen is damaged so there are lines going through the picture, the cushion covers had holes in, the bathroom smelt like drains so we had to keep the door shut, the fridge was so noisy it sounded like it was on the way out, the room again was quite dark, the bed was super king but were 2 beds pushed together so you could feel the gap down the middle, the hand lotion bottle pump in the bathroom was broken, the shower fluctuated in temperature and dribbled out....... I could go on. We later then had something to eat in the pub which again was disappointing, I had a beef burger and my husband had a chicken burger. My husband's burger was ok although lacking in sauce but my beef burger was dry, lacked any real flavour and again barley any sauce. At £18 per burger we expected more for our money. In the morning breakfast started from 8am until 10am, at 8.10am we headed up for breakfast but the door was locked so we had to find someone in the kitchens to open the door. We were told we could sit anywhere so sat by a big window which overlooked the beautiful countryside. We pre paid for breakfast so we were confused when we were handed menus with prices on, I asked if we can order anything from the menu which we were told yes apart from the full fry up which came at an extra £4.50. I asked if we could have more than one item and more than one drink which we were also told yes too. I think the breakfast system needs to be made a lot clearer for those that have pre paid. Myself and my husband both had porridge which was lovely, followed by a bacon bap and poached eggs on toast. My husband's bacon bap was described on the menu as stacked with bacon (or words to those affect) but came out with about 3 rashers of streaky bacon. My poached eggs on toast were described as buttered sourdough with choice of eggs but it came out with no butter which meant the water from the eggs had made the toasted sourdough wet. My husband had a coffee and I had an apple juice which were both nice. We checked out of our room and headed on our way. During our entire stay we were not asked how our stay was nor were we asked how our meals were. It's safe to say we will not be...

Ultimately we had a lovely meal and enjoyable time in The Quarry Man’s Arms near Bath. We arrived late Sunday afternoon after previously booking a table  for two via the Butcombe website for 5pm.

When we arrived the bar and outside tables were busy comprising of a nice mixture of locals, visitors and families refreshing themselves after a walk in the beautiful surrounding countryside.

Although we hadn’t booked a room (they were fully booked) we did chat to the guests who had booked and were more than happy to share their feedback. All good.

We were greeted warmly by an informative barman who was keen to show us the good selection of local Ales and non alcoholic alternatives. Both were good. We were then shown to our table in a small off room that was clean, pleasant although the location of the bars telephone was a little too close with that ring that anybody who remembers a landline would want to distance them selves from.

We ordered promptly, a plate of whitebait to share to start with which was devine and a generous portion even for two. We had both opted for the traditional Sunday Roast, beef, which was advertised as medium rare with all the trimmings. When it arrived we both experienced that ‘Oh dear’ moment. The beef was thinly cut and although not ‘well done’ it was discriptionless and the same colour throughout. It appeared that the cabbage had only experienced hot water when it was washed and then argued to leave. The potatoes and the large impressive Yorkshire pudding seemed to have been kept warm by a 60W bedside lamp. The side order of cauliflower cheese was piping hot with a very agreeable crumble on top. It did however come with ample gravy although that seemed more of a distraction that an accompaniment. We gave each other ‘that look’ and informed the barman.

In fairness he was very professional and apologetic and removed our plates immediately

In what seemed a completely reasonable time to prepare hot food our new laden plates arrived. The beef was succulent, the potatoes crisp and when cut open steaming hot. The Yorkshire pudding a success and the vegetables, a mixture of fresh and roasted another delight. We had even been upgraded to a larger portion of the heroic cauliflower and cheese (an extra option but in our opinion a necessity)

Our meal was a triumph.

In the time waiting for our food to return I managed another glance at the menu and it seems there are options for all.

As we waited we had time to look out at the outstanding view, a view we both know but in a different light you always see something new.

Having dined out extensively and associated with the trade these things happen occasionally to the best establishments, it’s how the problems are rectified that makes all the difference.

The staff handled the situation professionally and smoothly and to show our appreciation and gratitude we left two very empty plates.

We will return. Maybe next time look at desserts and leave a couple...

Booked for our annual ‘between Xmas and new year’ lunch as never been here before and after seeing it was a Butcombe pub was really looking forward to it. Location is good, it’s a really hidden away pub. It’s called the Quarrymans due to the vicinity of the many local quarries nearby and inside has a lot of pictures which is quite interesting. The view from the dining room shows a really good view of the hillside. Parking at the pub is quite plentiful. However it was pretty much full when we arrived and there were nowhere near the amount of customers in the pub as there were cars in the carpark so assume people use the carpark to park for dog walks etc. Menu choice is pretty much the same across all Butcombe pubs but with a few variances. Unfortunately my partners starter came out cold and when she actually had some from the middle of it she had a crunch and it was still frozen inside. The staff were apologetic but although offered to not charge us, they didnt actually offer anything else I.e a complimentary drink or anything which we felt was a bit off. My starter was good and the presentation tbh of both starters was really good (just a shame one of them wasnt fully defrosted!). My main course was the sausage pinwheel which was ok but there was too much of the mustard sauce and it said it came with bubble & squeak but tbh it just looked like mashed carrot. My partner had the pie of the day which was vegetarian I believe which was butter bean and vegetarian chorizo which was really tasty. The chips were really good too. Overall we were disappointed, we went to the Northey Arms in Box last year which is nearby and we wished we had booked again as the food and whole atmosphere was way better. Real shame as was looking forward to the lunch but was very disappointing. One other thing is it’s not cheap at all. We had 2x pints and 2 glasses of wine one starter (would have been 2 if it hadn’t been frozen) and two main courses and it was £80. They apply a 10% service charge to the bill that they never gave us the option to pay or not and based on our experience we definitely didn’t feel it was worth it. Will we be back god no, definitely not for food but maybe might pop in...