Watermill Inn & Brewery — Restaurant in England

We checked in to The Watermill Inn on Tuesday 28th October 2014 for a short "minimoon" break after getting married at Brig o' Doon House Hotel in Ayrshire. We felt a little guilty that our wee pet spaniel Benji wasn't involved in the wedding celebrations, so we decided that a wee dog-friendly holiday was in order. It was Benji's first time on a short break away from home for more than a few days, and certainly his first time in a pub environment....

We were a little apprehensive, as spaniels are quite excitable. Benji was a rescue, and wasn't used to being around too many dogs and people. Our worries were quickly eased when the gentleman at the bar brought him a bowl of water and some biscuits, and for the next 3 nights Benji felt completely at home there, as did we.

The hospitality, quality of food and drink, atmosphere and setting were nothing short of perfection. Entering Ings Village is like stepping back in time, and with the schools on their half-term break the pub was filled to the gunnels. Kitted out for Halloween, the spirit of good times was clearly in residence!

And then there's the ales... Oh, the ales! The variety, humour and maturity behind the brewing, branding and pouring of these is worth visiting the Inn even if you're not staying the night. But if you get the chance to stay then do. There are a huge range of walks across the Dales, public transport links straight from the front door to the rest of the lakes, and enough activities to keep you busy for several generations...

We'll be back there regularly. And...

4 of us ate with drinks, the selection of local brewed beers are nice and comical with their names. The service was really nice, the staff were welcoming, friendly and helpful with queries. We had a selection meals, the burgers were home made, full of flavour cooked to perfection. Fresh bread bun, tomato and a good cut of bacon complimented with a healthy portion of fries. The specials board had a chicken, bacon and leak pie, being Sunday they were kind enough to change the mash for roast potatoes, (this was on the condition they had enough to cover the Roast dinner meals). The pie was full of flavour with lots of chicken bud thick cut bacon. The Roast potatoes were perfect. The watermill chicken, the menu description doesn’t do this dish any justice. The on the bone chicken portion served on a bed of chive mash with a side of cabbage and bacon covered in a mustard, rosemary and cream sauce was really nice, the chicken was cooked perfectly and the combination of flavours made this one of the best pub meals I have tried in a long time.

I would Definitely recommend the Watermill Chicken and the pub itself.

Second visit was as good as the first, great customer service with some more excellent food.

The sirloin steak was cooked to perfection, the beef and ale pie was really tasty, lots of beef lots of flavour topped with nice crisp pastry and a healthy portion of...

Avoid if in a group. Initially really good and very accomadating. 5 stars. Food, when it arrived, fantastic. Service was appalling. Nobody gave 2 sh*ts if we were happy, sad, had everything we needed etc. We were a group of 12 people, happy to drink the bar dry if needed. Soured by not bringing out one of the meals until over an hour after everyone else had received theirs. Repeatedly asked where it was, only to be told it was "10 mins away". Initially happy with a free pint and 25% off for the first delay, but this happened 4 times until the food arrived (with no additional compensation, had to fight to get the meal knocked off). I'd have been much happier with a "yeah sorry we screwed it up, here's some stuff to keep you happy" rather than the attitude of "well it's not our fault, we're not going to admit it, and you're getting nothing out of it". As it was over an hour late for someones food, I asked the bar for a round of drinks for the table becuase we're going to have to wait extra for the guy to eat his food. Told no and I was being absurd (because it's my fault that the food was late??) I don't care about freebies, just care about good service and respect in return for mistakes. Own up to them and ow them. Not delivering on orders and not owning up to a mistake (even after being asked 4 times) is really bad...