The Stour Inn — Restaurant in England

2 couples, all of us middle-aged. Choices of roast: beef or chicken or a vegetable Wellington.

First the positives of our Sunday lunch experience 24/7/2022 1)Lovely old pub with a great beer garden not a Wembley Stadium sized area of grass but a relatively intimate sized space surrounded by bushes and plants. 2)The puddings were very tasty - and free 🤔 3) The young lady waitressing was dealing as well as she could with the situation... it was obvious she cared 4) The couple we had as guests ordered pizza - 3 meats + cherry tomato (veggie) - They claimed they were enjoyable, I tasted them and they were fine. No problem there.

So why only a 2star review?

Myself and my companion love Sunday lunch in a pub. How many times have we done that.... scores. I can speak for both of us when I say this is the worst we have experienced.

Was it... The long wait? The sorry there is only 1 chicken left would 1 of you mind having the beef? No... that's the way it goes.

I hadn't originally chosen the beef because I was told we always do it a bit pink and that's not how I like it. I was assured - when only 1 chicken roast was available - that they would put it in for a bit longer

The chicken arrived... 5 or 6 minutes later the gravy arrived with my beef. I have never (NEVER, EVER) seen anything like it... it was so awful I forgot to photograph it. It was pink... but not beef as I have ever seen it... pink entrails of something...? Jelly - type legs of some strange undersea creature? NOT slices of anything!

My friends chicken wasn't cooked in the middle.

If our friends were not there.. if they were not enjoying the pizzas.... then myself and my partner would have left with the food still on the plates. Instead we ate our 1(?) potato, spoonful of white cabbage and Yorkshire pudding.

Our lovely waitress said do you want dessert? You won't be charged for them

The free puddings were none scant compensation.

There are many reviews from happy campers about this pub. I have no personal grudge/gripe against The Stour Inn, the owners, the regulars, the neighbours, Blandford Forum etc. I have merely tried to give a fair and honest review.

That beef will stay with me...

Visiting the area on holiday. We have eaten in a few places and we were looking for a quiet place for an evening meal. It’s a nice pub with a good atmosphere. Staff were friendly and polite. Between my wife and I we have over 50 year’s catering experience and would like to leave an honest review. First impressions were good. Food - starters were presented well and were very tasty. However it did take over 30 minutes to get them. What appeared was a lack of experience and management out front. Main course took a further hour plus to arrive. It’s always frustrating to see later arriving tables being served before you. Please take this feedback as it is intended, it is not criticism, but hopefully it will help your business grow. What I feel is needed is a clear person in charge front of house. Don’t let the waiting staff tell the customer of the problems in the kitchen. Deal with it in a professional manner. If you offer wine can it please be in a printed format not on an IPad. When you clear starters replace the cutlery. I should not have to ask. To the chef, your food is excellent, but you probably need help at busy times. If the kitchen is struggling to cope offering free deserts is nice but not helpful as it is further work for you. That’s where front of house should be taking control. I’m still going to give a high score as you have such...

A group of 5 of us and a dog visited on the 15th July 2023 to eat. We started with the blue vinyl panna cotta and English breakfast scotch egg. Both the starters were superb For the main course, 4 of us had the special which was fish pie and one had the burger. Apparently, the burger was really good. The fish pie was definitely the best fish pie you would ever have. It was just choked full of different fish topped with piped mash potato. To finish off, I had the chilly and chocolate brownie. Again, it's probably the best desert you could ever wish for. The ales on tap were from independent and local breweries, and it was a delight to try the different ones. The service was from young and newly trained staff supervised by I think the new landlord/owner who was tentative and informative explaining the dishes prior to ordering. The chef also came out to check that customers were happy with the food, and of course, we were all 100% delighted. We can all whole heartedly recommend the stour inn and its staff, food, ales, and service. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 . I am so looking forward to visiting them again with other friends so they too can experience the best place to dine in...