Star — Restaurant in England

A Disappointing Dining Experience at The Star

Our recent visit to The Star was regrettably disappointing, marking a stark contrast to our usual enjoyable experiences.

Booking Hassles and Communication : Booking a table for our family of nine proved to be a challenge. Multiple calls went unanswered, and the online booking system was glitchy, only allowing a reservation for up to six people. Having to book two tables, both under the same name, just to hopefully guarantee a seat.

Carvery Shortages : Upon reaching the venue, a sign announced that the carvery had been discontinued due to insufficient food supplies. This has sadly become a recurring issue, diminishing the reliability of what was once a highlight.

Delayed Service and Cold Mains : Despite placing our order by 7:20 pm, our starters arrived at an excruciatingly late 8:20 pm. The mains followed suit, but to our dismay, they were served cold or lukewarm by 9:10 pm. Steak cuts were undercooked, and even the lasagne ordered by my pregnant sister arrived cold. The overall dining experience was marred by this unacceptable delay and subpar food quality. To add to this, the restaurant throughout our stay was quiet with few customers to serve.

Management Response : Upon expressing our concerns to the team leader, we found some understanding. While a manager was not available, they  reheated the cold dishes the bill was adjusted, a gesture that somewhat alleviated the situation.

Overall Experience : This unfortunate experience, from booking difficulties to food quality issues, does not align with our previous positive encounters at The Star. While the team leader attempted to rectify the situation, it raises concerns about the consistency and reliability of the establishment.

In summary, our recent visit to The Star Pub and Carvery was marred by numerous disappointments, signalling a decline in the once-enjoyable dining experience. It is disheartening to witness the gradual shift from a reliable establishment to one marked by challenges in service, food availability, and overall customer satisfaction.

Edit: I have tried contacting the star through their website as requested by the owner below, and have had...

Having not been to the Star for many years, we heard about the revamp so chose here for a small family lunch. We went for the three course festive menu as it looked great value and more importantly included the carvery option.

On arrival we were shown to our seats (by Jodie) and made us feel really welcome, I had the popcorn shrimp for starters - which was really tasty. The others both had chicken wings - not only were they very tasty but the portion sizes were massive.

After a short break we all had the roast carvery, we all had gammon and turkey which was hot and tasty. All the usual extra items were available to go with the meat that you find at a carvery, the only minor disappointment was the additional roast potatoes cooked in beef drippin were barely luke warm, but covered in the luscious gravy we hardly noticed.

For dessert, we had a combination of apple and berry crumble with custard, another with ice cream and I went for Christmas pudding with squirty cream. Again the portion sizes were massive and it was a struggle to get through the full meal.

The meal was accompanied by a lovely couple of bottles of Pinot Grigio, that was the icing on the cake for a perfect lunchtime with family.

I look forward to going back in the new year, and hopefully will be able to sit in the impressive gardens on a hot summers day in 2024

Thank you to Ollie and...

Although we have no complaints about the food or service, we found the parking facilities very difficult. As it was Father's Day, we had pre-booked our visit weeks before because we know it's difficult to get a booking closer to the date as it, as bookings run out quickly. When we arrived, there was a queue for the already full car park that was completely overflowing onto the narrow footpath outside. This footpath is on the brow of a steep hill with a 50MPH limit, so quite a fast road that is difficult to get out on a normal busy day. On leaving, we couldn't see any traffic coming up the hill as our view was completely blocked because of the line of illegally parked cars blocking our sight. We noticed that the staff were allowing large groups of people in more than one car to just walk in without a booking, when the restaurant and bar was already full to capacity. The queues were ridiculous! As we pulled out on to the road that we could not see, we were nearly hit by a car coming up the hill. Luckily they were not doing the speed of the road as they realised that cars could be coming out on to the road. I'm pretty sure that the pub was probably over the capacity of people allowed in and the poor staff were run off their feet on a very hot day. I can't applaud them enough. Perhaps the managers should rethink allowing walk-ins on busy times...