The Thornhill Arms — Restaurant in England

We visited on a Sunday, to have the carvery. We had been out running errands all over, and realised it was late and we were starving, we found the pub on google and decided to give it a try. It was getting on to 3:30 when we arrived, so we thought we’d have missed the lunch rush. When we arrived we were met by a young woman in her late teens and an older lady with short grey hair in her 60s(?). The young woman greeted us and was polite, softly spoken and professional, the older lady was flat rude and clearly didn’t want us to be there. She fussed about what an effort i’d be to accommodate us, but ultimately told us we could have a table but in a short sharp snap told us we should have booked on a Sunday… what are we supposed to do with that information now we are here? Either you want our money today or not, because with a welcome like that, who would go back? I worked in hospitality for many years, across various types of restaurant and pubs, and I’ve worked with people a quarter of this woman’s age who had more awareness of how to treat people. To make a customer feel so unwelcome upon entry, and then also to stand about by the customers toilets clearly bemoaning customers begs belief! Such an unpleasant and uncomfortable experience. We were sat in the bar surrounded by empty tablets, with only one other table with guests eating. So the accommodation had already been made for these, and there were several tables still free, WHAT WAS THE ISSUE? The young woman who served us was lovely and friendly, as was another young woman who took our drinks order. No one told us we had to be called up for the carvery, it was printed on the bottom of the menu and luckily my partner was paying attention as i was confused as to why we were just sat waiting. It was a fairly long wait to be called up but the carvery was okay. The meat and the nut roast option were good, but some items could have been better (the roasties were over cooked, and the red cabbage was smokey which was not to my taste as all). Over all not good enough to out shine being made to feel such an inconvenience. We would have given 3 stars, but since visiting we’ve been told by friends, and seen other reviews, about this rude older lady. This means its regular, management must be aware of it and clearly don’t care enough to sort it out! With that in mind, we don’t think the business deserve leniency in a score and so, our honest...

I went to the Thornhill Arms last night (14th Feb) with my partner for our Valentines meal. I booked our table using the Open Table website so I wasn't aware that there was a Valentines set menu, which was £45pp (not including drinks). I wasn't really expecting to spend that much on our meal but when I got there and realised what had happened, I just accepted that we were going to have to have this set meal - I didn't mind too much because I had heard such great things about the food there. We got sat by our waitress in a room at the back of the restaurant on our own, which caused quite an awkward atmosphere. We felt like we couldn't talk openly on our date night because the staff could hear every word we were saying. The bar where the staff were working was opposite our table and it was just really awkward. We would have preferred for there to be more people sat around us, which we assumed there would be at 7:30pm on Valentines night! As mentioned, our table was booked for 7:30pm and we ended up leaving at 10pm... This was purely because of how long the food took to get to us! There were 4 courses in total, and there was an unnecessarily large amount of time between each one. By the end, we were so tired and fed up of sitting in the dead quiet room that we didn't even have our last course. The food was okay, nothing exceptional. My partner had the camembert starter, which came with stale bread and cheese that looked shop bought (Aldi/Lidl). He had the steak for his main, which he asked to be cooked medium rare but it came out as well done. He asked for it to be sent back and they gave him a new one, which tasted a lot better. However, because the meal had to be taken back, I was sat there eating my pasta on my own. In the end, my partner was so hungry, I felt like I had to give him the rest of my pasta just so he had something to eat. We had a glass of wine each which bought the total up to £94, but we rounded it up to £100 because there was a lovely waitress. Neither of us felt like our meal was worth £100 and we left the restaurant feeling quite annoyed that we had spent so much money on a meal that we could have definitely made at home. Overall, I was extremely disappointed in the whole experience, and I will not be booking at the...

The pub is situated in a beautiful village near Kettering, next to the decadent Rushton Hall. From first impressions it looked like it was going to be a cute village pub and as soon as we entered it proved to be a very well decorated and homely place. The pub itself is quite large but it is divided into different rooms. This gives the impression that you're in a small, intimate place but it does fit in a lot of people. A wide selection of drinks are available and the food menu is, though small by wetherspoons comparison, is a very well thought out selection that almost every person could enjoy, (there's always some idiot out there). Service was great, despite the large number of customers in the pub the staff were attentive and friendly. Starters appeared swiftly and the carvery queue was never too long that you felt it was a long wait. The food was exquisite. We ordered all different starters, they arrived in under ten minutes, at the same time and not a single negative comment was made throughout. Pricewise it wasn't bad considering it is fresh food. A main course is as listed on the menu, 2 courses £14.95 and for the full 3 is £17.95. Worth the money! Finally for those who are nervous about public loos the toilets were clean and tidy. In conclusion, an idyllic pub in a beautiful area with fantastic food. 10/10 and would...