Toby Carvery Newbury — Restaurant in England

Toby Carvery Newbury – Extremely Poor Experience (2/10)

We booked a table for 6 adults and 1 child for 8:30 PM. 45 minutes before our booking, we received a call informing us that there was no gammon or lamb available. Disappointing, but we appreciated the heads-up.

We arrived 15 minutes later — still 30 minutes before our booking — only to be met with attitude from the front-of-house staff. He claimed he had told us there was only turkey available and no Yorkshire puddings, which was never mentioned on the call.

We then waited another 5 minutes for the chef to appear. He briefly poked his head out before disappearing again, and when he finally started building my plate, he didn’t even have a knife to carve the turkey. While serving, he picked up two sausages with a set of tongs, dropped them onto the remains of some mystery meat, then picked them up again and still gave them to me.

As I walked back to my seat, I witnessed the front-of-house staff giving my cousin more unnecessary attitude when he politely asked if, given the lack of options, there could be a small discount. Instead of handling it professionally, they made a scene — even when my cousin simply asked for a sausage for my child as once again the only meat was turkey and she isn’t a fan to be told by the chef that he will need to ask for permission from his manager who then gave us more attitude tapping my partner on the shoulder saying “ see good gesture”

By the time I sat down, I had scraped together what was left of the gravy. The turkey and sausages were the only hot items on the plate. The rest of the food was cold, dry, and frankly inedible.

No apology, no discount, no gesture of goodwill. Instead, one staff member walked by our table pulling faces, while another walked away smirking. When we left, we noticed several staff standing behind the bar staring at us through the window — completely unprofessional.

We paid £110 for cold food, poor service, and an unpleasant atmosphere. The only thing worth praising was the pint of Madri.

My daughter walked out of the restaurant and said she would rate it nothing out of 10.

Also not only was we served cold food with attitude that wasn’t needed also the bar staff said to call 999 for absolutely no reason purely the fact of us questioning why the prices on the receipt and the prices on the menu was different.

Overall rating: -2/10. Not recommended.

Would absolutely recommend you looking elsewhere with nicer staff and...

I thought I’d try this Toby out as I was passing , I’ve gone to quite a few over the last couple of years and this one was good on service but alas, it stops there. The food was mediocre to say the least with Mark carving meats you felt your life ebbing away, the measly portion bearing in mind I had a king plate was two slivers of gammon and lamb … I wanted beef but it was overcooked ( see pic) potatoes were just warm and ok. The veg was cold and some overcooked, the gravy was luke warm at best … the lamb and gammon were cooked perfectly with the lamb being medium rare and gammon succulent and moist, but the biggest thing I do not understand is I’ve traveled from wales to all over England and this is the first Toby that doesn’t allow for my fur baby who’s a pub dog as I operate pubs as my profession … also, there was a table with a family with two young children that didn’t help the atmosphere of the restaurant as they continued to scream the place out whilst I sat 4 tables away. The team need to inform parents that unruly children in the restaurant that, they have a duty to ensure they do not upset others trying to dine with family or in my case alone ( my dog had to wait in car ) and it was quite an unbearable experience in the main. I run gastro pubs and I know what to expect from these restaurant pubs but clearly the management ( who were none existent on the floor ) should be held to account on this !! Being dog unfriendly unlike others I have visited will make me go else where in future … the bar area should be...

Stopped off on the way to Newbury races and was greeted at the front of house by JOSH the General Manager. After giving me a very friendly welcome I got down to business. He took my drinks order & his better half who runs the place in partnership with him showed me the way to the carvery!! Now the Toby Carvery chain have a deal on at the moment where small Carverys midweek are £6 ! Better than paying £11 for a small pie & mash at the races I hear you say! There were hoards of people coming in and out obviously taking advantage of the deal & the staff were frantically trying to reset the tables for new customers coming in. I opted for a small gammon & pork as you can mix & match the meats 🍖. To get the pigs 🐖 n blankets, (which is just a cooked sausage i might add) you have to size up to a large! After the chef had sorted my cuts of meat out with a massive Yorkshire pudding, you are left to help yourself to the veg, gravy & condiments as you wish. Now I wasn't that hungry and didn't load the plates like I've seen some doing in the Toby in Nottingham which is my usual one, but the food was spot on with crispy roasties and the meats 🍖 were not too dry under the heating lights. As it was so busy the veg had been like all piled together a bit but that's down to them being so busy. Anyway, the place was clean & tidy on arrival with a warm welcome. The food was spot on with A1 service & the discount was an added bonus too! I will call again, next time im on my way to the races!! Well done Toby...