The Ship Inn Holy Island — Restaurant in England

Was in here yesterday..Sunday 11th August...and today I was reading some reviews about this pub and it seems a lot of people are knocking the manager and staff and even though I dont normally do reviews I felt I had to stand up for the guy. Me and my wife had just walked the pilgrims way and were definately in need of some refreshment so headed in to the Ship for a pint and a look at the menu and after seeing some of the food coming out to other customers we decided on coming back later after exploring the Island. Fast forward 2/3 hours and we were back..now some reviewers have accused the manager of rudeness and being a little grumpy and while i concede he can appear a little distant the guy was on his own serving drinks,taking food orders and doing the glass washing in what is not the biggest bar you

ve ever seen. Clearly on the menu it asks customers to state their table number when ordering food..the guy is not a mind reader so its not his fault that YOU didnt read the menu properly. Another gripe I

ve seen is the wait for food..we and everyone else were clearly told there would be a short wait for food so decide if you want to wait or move on..your choice. I never found out the fellows name but he seemed a decent sort and we had a bit of a conversation and he helped us out on a couple of enquiries we had and the interaction we saw with customers was polite and humorous particularly a funny exchange with a party of Italian ladies. Finally to the food and drink...well the Holy Island Blessed Bitter was superb and the Fish & Chips were probably the best I`ve ever had,great size portions and cooked perfectly. Sometimes it pays to try and understand before posting a scathing review..I know that the guy had put 8 hours work in before the pub opened its doors.

We would...

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The atmosphere of what should have been a welcoming pub was muted, the bar man was gruff not such a genial host, he was just short of rude with 3 customers whilst I was at the bar, telling one couple they can't move table until there food arrives and another that hot drinks were not available at lunchtime even with food he then moaned about those customers to me and another customer, so unprofessional, his attention was mostly on his Alexa machine trying to get it to play YMCA and got so annoyed with the unobtrusive black box when it failed to honour his command. I ordered food and drink for us both after finding out the soup of the day was Tomato, I was happy with that but it was not a favourite of my wife's some got her a ham salad sandwich and we were to share a bowl of chips. We noticed worryingly how the food was delivered to other tables, there was no finesse and on occasion the young girl came from the kitchen with food took a lap around the bar and returned the food back to the kitchen. My wife's sandwich arrived and the chips, I said to the girl that I'll wait for my soup she said nothing and never came back either to deliver soup or explain why I wasn't getting any. The food we had was very good and I have no complaints. Later I totted up my bill from the menu and realised that the soup had never been ordered in the first place. This is an established venue in a very vibrant location with much passing trade, I not sure that the staff realise that their personal touch is actually impersonal and will mean this reviewer...

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There are only three pubs actually on the island, all serving real ales and meals as well as having accommodation. While visiting the island we tried all three pubs which had varying menus. The Ship Inn is a traditional inn with a warm welcoming atmosphere serving a wide range of wines and spirits and three hand pumps. The meals are freshly prepared and served to your table either in. the bar, restaurant or garden. My wife has an allium intolerance and I am a vegetarian which restricts our choices. However, on our three visits I enjoyed three different and enjoyable vegetarian meals, my favourite being a risotto. My wife had the Whitebait, small plate fish and chips and best of all the Lemon and butter baked haddock. All the meals were freshly prepared and served hot. The meals are plentiful, so for desert we plumbed for the Doddington ice cream, highly recommended. After a long walk round the island we even popped in for a relaxing drink, as they serve the best pint on the island, Northumbrian Gold. My wife enjoyed the house Pinot Grigio. Overall, a very welcoming and traditional pub with fine ales and good food at a reasonable prices. We did not stay at the Ship Inn, so I cannot comment on the rooms, but the bar and restaurant were clean and well looked after, so I should imagine guests would enjoy clean rooms and a...

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