The Snowy Owl — Restaurant in England

Stayed at the hotel for 2 nights and had dinner. Firstly, upon arrival, we went to the end of the bar where you check in, there was also another customer waiting already who had what appeared a son with several needs. 3 times 2 people walked past us and didn't even acknowledge us, until the lady on front of us walked to the 3rd person to ignore us and the stopped and with absolutely no smile or at least showing some degree of interest checked the lady in and then us.

Once we had a key, we walked to the separate building next to the pub/restaurant and, upon entering the hall way coukd smell cheap air freshener that seemed to be masking what seemed a septic tank issue. We were not told anything about a possible issue with the smell, which is irritating. Luckily, in the back end of the annex you could not smell it, especially in the room.

Once in the room, it looked very nice and appeared comfortable. Bed was ok too. There were a couple or so issues within the room, such as water left in the kettle, which to me signals no-one bothered to check it. There were a couple of small bits of wrapper from the free biscuits they give you which was from previous visitors and showed that it was not properly vaccumed as was evident from the dust around the sides of the room on the carpet. The towel rail, in the bathroom also did not work as it barely got luke warm. It would of been nice to have a couple of glasses in the room also aside from the mugs for water but I asked at the bar and they gave us 2.

That evening we had dinner and it was really nice and comfortable in the restaurant, the young lady server was nice too and the food was very good.

The next morning, we went into the bar/restaurant into the pre allocated area and sat down and made a coffee that was provided. We sat there with 2 other members of family that also stayed there. Upon arrival we passed 3 people and not once was there any communication to say hello or any instructions...... so...... we sat in the breakfast area for about 30 mins waiting for someone's to come over and take our order or however they do breakfast. We eventually asked as we just thought there was a delay or issue, and was told we are supposed to go to the bar!!! I said to her that no one told us that upon check in or anyone that we passes on the way in or the 3 or 4 times 2 individuals came in to the breakfast area and saw us waiting. So we ordered the food and the breakfast was very nice, but lack of any real customer service or communication almost negated the lovely breakfast.

Later that day we attended the wedding event held else where and upon arrival, back could still smell the odour upon entering.

The next morning, we were ignored again as we walked to our table for breakfast by 2 people working on a laptop which I presume was the owner or manager and another member of staff. We were however approached by a member of staff who was very polite and he brought us menus and told us to go to the bar, which was nice and should of been done yesterday also.

Upon checking out, we went to the bar and the same guy who checked us in on the Saturday was chatting to what seemed like regulars, we explained we where checking out and rather than pause his personal chat and come over to us he just said from across the room to leave the key on the bar. I was really surprised (or not) that he coukd not pause and just say a thankyou and ask how our stay was etc. But, he obviously was not interested.

Overall. Yes the food was very nice, the room, quite comfortable. But, cleanliness or attention in the room could of been better and the check-in service could of been so much better and not feel like a chore. Breakfast could be pointed out better as where to order and a greeting would of been nice, like we mattered. The communication overall was very poor, and it felt like they were more interested in operating the bar and restaurant than the hotel part.

It's such a shame but, we would certainly not stay there or recommend it to anyone, to stay there.

Very...

So as others have said the service from the staff is spectacular. However there are several main issues which have caused our lowered review of this location.

On arrival : tldr 5*

When we arrived at 6:30pm the car park was reasonably empty and provided ample space for parking. There are several disabled bays available at the bar side of the establishment which allows for easy access to the flat enterance for wheelchair bound guests.

Checking in : tldr 4*

The staff are wonderful. Extremly freindly and approchable as you would expdct for a northern pub, we had a short wait 5 min wait however earlier members of our group had arrived sooner so this may have alleviated waiting time.

Room : tldr 3*

The room itself is okay very reminiscent of a premier inn or similar type chain hotel each room has a name and number so dont be shocked when looking for your room the door numbers are at the top of the door not in the centre.

All 3 of the rooms where made up incorrectly, two as twins and one was uncleaned however the staff corrected this upon request while we where eating dinner.

Our room did come with some unrequested extras as someone had left underwear in one of the drawers which my partner found when looking for a hairdryer. These where removed by cleaning staff upon request.

The bar: 3*

Again server was excellent he was a great guy joined in with the banter and made our meal more enjoyable.

The drinks where as expected of a hotel bar quality but higher price. I will give the barmaid my hat she recommended a cloudy lemonade and passionfruit before my meal which was wonderful as a non alcholic starter and the asahi was poured correctly and had lime added as requested.

The food order was taken at the table which was refreshing aswell as additional drink orders we spent £180 between 6 of us which was a main meal and dessert along with hot drink each (at £30 a head for 2 drinks a hot drink and a 2 course meal you cant complain about the cost)

My partner had the katsu bowl her rice was fresh sticky white rice which she enjoyed the chicken was plain but the panko batter was seasoned which accompanied the curry well. She had a mini bakewell for dessert which she enjoyed.

I had the pizza. It was a fresh stone baked margerita, while it could of done another 30 seconds the base was nicely cooked and had the rough dimension of a 10", the pizza is provided uncut so you need to cut it yourself to the needed slices. I also had the bakewell sponge, the sponge was soft and light and the cherry jam was incredibly flavourful even the custard was fantastic with the small skin of fresh custard.

So, why am i reviewing 3* instead of 4*, because of the delay. The waiting time we sat at our table at around 7 it was gone 11 by the time we ate 2 courses and had our bill provided. The meal should have been a 1-2 hour affair not nearly 4.

The breakfast was okay for a pub breakfast the bacon and sausages where bland and unseasoned but the hashbrown, mushrooms, egg and toast where all brilliant the food was tepid upon arrival with the plate having been heated a normal.give away of microwave or storage heater use

On the second day i got the porriage which was phenominal if not a slightly small portion

This is a 4* restaurant and pub hiding as a luxury inn due to the area if the prices where lower it would be a 5* review as it would have been a gem find but at the cost of £112 per night and £30 per head for meal (with no discounts for the errors in room making or house keeping offered) it is a hard 3*,okay but nothing...

Firstly can I just say that I cannot compliment the staff here enough. Whether it be a manager, front of house member, or chef, each one did their job perfectly ensuring that this meal was one of the best restaurant experiences I've ever had.

To start with, we were not even meant to be eating here. We booked a table of 17 at the Badger in Ponteland which is this restaurants sister pub. We booked for Friday 8th November and the meal was organised by myself and my wife, who due to an imminent relocation to Ayrshire thought it'd be good to get a group of our closest friends together for a going away meal. Unfortunately for us the Badger called 2 hours before our booking at 7 to say that a water pipe had burst and that the whole restaurant would need shutting.

Devestated as we'd all been looking forward to this meal, and lots of people had managed to get time off work for it, I decided to call the Snowy Owl in an effort to see if they could manage such a large party at short notice on a Friday night.

The manager came on the phone and was extremely polite and sympathetic to my situation. After going away from the phone for a while she let us know that not only had she squeezed us in (still at our requested meet up time of 7pm) but we'd get a room to ourselves.

Pleased, I let the group know and we met at the Snowy Owl at our originally designated time of 7. The bar staff were friendly and jovial, joking on with us about our luck getting a large party table at such short notice as they served us our first drinks. We were then shown our table and filtered through once we'd been served our beverages. The room was a lovely sealed off alcove at the side of the building. It was decorated lovely and was nice, warm and private for us.

The waiting staff were incredible patient and polite when serving us and they were especially good when taking our orders. Most the group ordered 3 courses with many adding extras or requesting changes, each of which was understood and diligently recorded for the kitchen. Indeed over the course of the meal not a single dish on any course was wrong in any way. The waiter and waitresses are a credit to the restaurant. They were always friendly and courteous despite the loudness and sometimes unintentional rudeness that I admit comes from having a large group on one table. One even took a photo for us all at the end of the night.

The food itself was amazing. Absolutely delicious to the last morsell. The chef's managed our large order perfectly and the waiting staff delivered ever dish on every course, hot, and at the same time, which must have took some excellent timing skills from the kitchen. I can honestly say the belly pork and scallops I had were one of the best meals I've ever had. Our compliments to all the chef's that night.

Overall this visit was amazing and we will definitely be returning on our trips down from Ayrshire. Cannot recommend this...