The Ring O Bells Pub compton martin — Restaurant in England

White Tomato Foam!!!

We visited this beautiful country side pub a few years ago as my partner used to go there with her grandparents as she remembered a child friendly garden, sure enough we found the pub she remembered although the garden was in need of some TLC. At the time of that visit and several more frequent visits that summer. On those visits we had the best ploughman's you could hope for.

Several years have passed and we now have a 2 year old.....

Our 2 year old had his 1st sleep over with grandparents Saturday just gone, so we decided to give the Ring O Bells a visit. We called in advance to see if we needed to book a table and where informed there was no need to book if we sat in the garden. I also asked if they where still doing there amazing ploughman's. The answer was no but they doing a "charcuterie" which without my thesaurus I had to have explained to me , its nothing like a ploughman's!! We still went ahead and visited anyway.

On arrival we fell in love with the fantastic child friendly garden and it had definitely received the green fingered touch it needed. We grabbed a menu which once again requires access to Google to see what some of the dishes are or include (still no clue on the white tomato foam) as a side order / garnish. We played it safe and went for a couple of burgers. I had the chicken burger with added bacon and smoked cheese and my partner had the roasted veg and halloumi burger, real effort had been made to make a 1st class burger and we both very much enjoyed our meal very much.

Few reasons why I didn't go for 5 stars on this review where as follows.

1 - We ordered an orange juice and lemonade as well as a cider, the OJ and lemonade was flat and powder like and the cider was disappointing and slightly flat. I went back to the bar and told them about the OJ & lemonade, to which I was told the lemonade had ran out. I asked if I could swap it for another soft drink which I was promptly charged for and no refund was offered for the poor excuse of a OJ and lemonade. I didn't waste my breath on the cider issue.

2 - When my burger arrived I had a look inside and couldn't see anything that looked like smoked cheese but there was a dollop of something off white inside the bun which I could not identify. When the waitress returned with our condiments I questioned her about this "blob" she was unsure as to its origins but confirmed it was not mayonnaise as they don't put mayo in there burgers.

3 - No one came out to check if the food was ok.

4 - Garden diners could not open a tab even if they leave a card behind the bar.

5 - I re-address the issue with the "trying to hard" English literature on the menu, some of it may as well be in Latin!!

I will go back again but I'll be better prepared with some cash and I will try a sip of the drinks...

I'm almost afraid to post this in case they blow up to the point that they're booked up months in advance and my disorganised/impulsive self can't get back in...but I can't gatekeep an exceptional dinner! The pork porchetta just melted in your mouth and had intense flavour throughout, the homemade gravy was rich but not overpowering (they even brought out a cup size copper saucepan with some more for us!) the maple glazed parsnips and roast potatoes were cooked and flavoured perfectly (though their crispness had been lost slightly to the gravy). I'm not sure how they made that apple sauce but we want a jar of it - it worked very well with the crackling (particularly where some had been softened by the gravy by the end of the meal). I could have easily eaten a bowl of those buttered greens on their own and I have no idea what kind of magic they cast on the carrot and swede mash to get me wolfing it down first - I usually can't stand it thanks to school dinner PTSD! We ordered a side of cauliflower cheese which was so moreish that my mother in law licked the spoon and pot clean! We were so full from the main that really we should have been sensible, but the dessert menu sounded so tempting that we ended up sharing a sticky toffee pudding which was refreshingly light and paired beautifully with a locally produced rum & raisin ice cream. It was exactly what we needed to round off the best meal out we've had all year. I honestly cannot fault this place, the food is locally sourced and exceptionally made, the staff are warm, friendly and clearly take real pride in their work, and it's in an ideal location for relaxing after a lakeside dog walk, with a huge beer garden that we'll be sure to enjoy on a drier day. I'm already making plans to return with visiting family! They deserve all of the accolades of some of our best known city centre places, but I hope I can still book...

A booking was made for myself and my grandson, upon arrival We went to the bar to say we had arrived, The man stood at the bar took my name and I asked politely if we could have a table tucked Away in a corner, His reply was we are very busy tonight and only have this one or this one, Pointing to 2 tables, We chose one and sat down, I can actually confirm the whole time we were in there that three couples came in for food and drink and when they asked for a table they sat where they wanted, There were also no reserve signs on any tables, he made us feel very uneasy, By looking at us the whole time we were seated as if we were going to run without paying the bill, I have no idea if he was in charge of the young girls working, But certainly put on a very good show that he was somebody rather Special, as he took a pen from behind his ear and went along the glasses that were hanging ready to be used for wine, not once but twice why he thought it sounded nice to hear the chime chime chime and obviously to impress the young girl behind the bar that he could play music, I thought how disgusting ,when half an hour later two of the glasses were taken down and used for wine if only those customers had known that they were drinking from a glass that he had just made a tune on with a Pen from behind his ear, How unhygienic, and yes, a good tip was left. I think the girls deserved it but my tip for him. Every person deserves respect, no matter Who they are or what background they are from, Just because we all look different, doesn’t mean we get treated different , Each and everyone of us come in the world the same Way, and we all end up with the same size hole , and 6 foot box going out too, hospitality really is not the...