The Woodmans Arms — Restaurant in Gateshead

Can I start by saying I loved this pub. We have been numerous times. I think we have even been featured on the website we come so frequently! My family had come up for London and were really excited to come to visit the woodman's again!

Well how disappointed we were. I ordered the Sirloin of beef (served pink as the menu stated). It arrived cooked and brown,not a hint of pink in sight. My parents ordered the Pink leg of lamb -1 came pink, 1 brown! I sent my beef back, the waitress returned to tell me "It's only brown because of the gravy on it"  now I am 32, I think I'm aware of if the meat is pink under said gravy!! She then went on to tell me it was the end of the meat therefore brown?! I then swapped the meal for the beef brisket . We all commenced eating, but were unable to eat the green veg- the brocolli was raw. Not undercooked or Al dente we physically couldn't get a knife through it! The young boy waiter informed us that's how the veg was cook(or not) but would swap it for us. The veg was sent back and changed and AGAIN it was raw. The manager came over and offered to change it again, before returning and slamming it down on the table. Her attitude is shocking!

The veg was still raw and we had all nearly finished our meal so we just ate the meat and potatoes!

We decided to order some puddings- my nephew's ice cream sundae came out- just as Ice cream, no topping or sprinkles as ordered! My sister requested her sticky toffee pudding with custard, and it came with ice cream. When mentioned the waitress said "I'll just go and check" not sure what she was checking it was obviously just a case of taking the ice cream off! Another young man brought the fresh pudding over- when questioned about the custard he pointed to the jug on the table (being used by 3others) and said "Well there's custard in that jug" - by this time there was a small amount left and it was luke warm- why you wouldn't offer someone fresh custard for the kitchens mistake is beyond me.

The pub is manned by some very young staff- and the have zero customer service training, they kind of all just follow each other about, hot food being passed over children's heads,tables being sprayed when people are eating, having to pass all your glasses to the waitress who stood at the end of the table. I feel some training is needed because the service is a let down.

On a positive not- Kris the magician was absolutely fab, after having a stressful meal we were all grateful for a laugh and he certainly provided that.

Also I must say Rebecca who was in charge of the section we were seated in could not apologise enough- she was genuinely disappointed that we had had such a bad experience and she really tried her hardest but obviously things were out of her control.

I'm disappointed that a place I have raved about and recommended has slipped so much. I'm sad to have lost such a lovely and...

We pre-booked a table and went as a family of four on a Sunday afternoon. Two of our party ordered the Sunday Lunch. After waiting an hour for our meals to arrive they finally came. The two Sunday Lunches looked rather sparse except the large Yorkshire pudding. The vegetables were cold and there was very little gravy (very little!). When this was politely pointed out to the server, she took the veg away to be replaced and said she'd bring some more gravy. Unfortunately, the new veg was only lukewarm and the lukewarm gravy looked more like dirty dish water. The ball of chicken was more school dinners than nice restaurant while the Yorkshire puddings were impressive looking but bland. The beef brisket was nice (probably better with warmer, thicker gravy though).

When this was mentioned politely to the gentleman serving us (very friendly and attentive) he said he'd get the manager. The manager initially responded with suspicion and indecisiveness before reluctantly offering free desserts or for us to not pay for the two cold Sunday Lunches, which we accepted. He was not really apologetic and could do with taking a leaf from his staff who seemed to be genuinely apologetic.

At this point I will say my daughter enjoyed her pizza while the other member of our party thought the fish and chips was nice enough.

We thought we'd have desserts to end the night on a good note and ordered two Sundaes and two Brownies. A few minutes later the gentleman serving us returned to say there were no Brownies. He was very apologetic but by this point the night could only be described as a disappointment and waste of money.

The following day I mentioned this to an acquaintance. They said they’d been in the Woodmans the same night as us but half an hour earlier and there experience was not dissimilar to ours.

I don't think we will be returning to the Woodmans! There are many better...

We booked a table for 2 on the Sunday for lunch at 1. The pub has a lovely cosy feel with windows looking out across the valley. The staff are very efficient and our drinks order was taken quickly. Not long after we placed our order. The food arrived quickly with massive Yorkshire puddings but we'd already been eyeing up other people's food. The meat and veg were lovely. I had lamb which was very tastey and my partner had brisket which fell apart. We noticed they have a wood fired pizza oven so plan on returning to try them as well as their extensive gin and cocktail list. FAST FORWARD A FEW MONTHS. After visiting again for a meal which we both enjoyed I was asked if I'd like the dessert menu. Naturally I said yes and it was brought promptly. We then waited 20+ minutes for someone to return and take my order. Nobody did so we got up to pay tge bill and leave. Note the pub wasn't busy, nor was it understaffed. Infact most of the staff were grouped together talking amongst themselves at the bar. I past comment about this to who I assume was the manager as I paid the bill. A FEW MORE MONTHS LATER. We decided to return and try the oven pizza. We were seated without having to book a table as it was a Tuesday evening and not too busy. Our food was served quickly and tasted great but again we were abandoned with no staff even walking by to ask for further drinks. Again we got up to leave and went to the bar to pay. This time we had to wait for our taxi to arrive so tried to order the drinks we'd unsuccessfully ordered at the table, at the bar. We were told the coffee machine had been turned off so we couldn't have what we wanted. Again I passed comment on the poor service which fell on deaf ears. We will be going elsewhere...