The Castle Tavern — Restaurant in Gosport

Congratultations and well done to the Castle Tavern, possibly the worse customer service I have ever experienced in 53 years.

Bought two drinks 12 quid, bearing in mind The Star WETHERSPOONS would be half the price nearby for the same however....it looked a decent pub but after my money was taken by card we then realised no seating was available inside as Emmy was busy putting firmly on tables Reserve signs on all the empty tables like a bad version of musical chairs.

Feeling slightly unwelcome at this point after delivering what looked like a good beer Timothy Taylor and wine, I felt the need to ask but where can my family sit only 3 of us. .....Oh you can sit in the far far corner Emmy says blankly....reluctantly, awkwardly and making me feel very unwelcome.

At this point I'm a bit peeved after spending good hard earnt money needing to enquire how long have I got as it was clear no seats were available in the pub..... Oh you need to be out by 6 or well before says Emmy bearing in mind it was 5.15. So less than 30 mins.

Why I ask, so Emmy declares this is because this is a restaurant and customers come in well before their meal so tables get booked up quickly...oK I get it but then why take my money then announce I have less than 30 minutes to sup up and leave. That is sharp practice ! It is contemptuous and poor !

But it's a pub I observe....no says Emmy it is not ! Apparently it is a restaurant not a pub anymore. Hang on....dont take my money in good faith then give me a limited time to drink. So I challenge this, but I'm afraid Emmy doesn't like this and asks me to leave.

No sorry no explanation a bit shoddy really.

So not happy, I asked why take my money if seating is not available but Emmy is taking our drinks away and cash plonked down in front of me as a refund....I paid on card so this looks like suspect money laundering now.

Real shame, the pub clearly had punters just drinking, it feels like a pub, says it is a pub and when I called later the same day, I am told it is a pub, but Emmy says it is not.

Bottom line pub or restuarant a name doesn't matter but don't take my money if you cannot provide a service which includes sitting down for an unspecified time, make the expectation clear upon contract of taking my money NOT after. Shocking.

Ps Emmy was quite happy to use profanities about me to another customer when I left, totally unprofessional and beyond poor. I love a well run pub but rude indifferent staff can be the difference between returning custom or a exodus...to Emmy....your customers pay your wage don't treat them like something...

To start with I’d like to say the staff were really nice and the atmosphere jolly. We decided to check out the food based on the reviews.The roast dinner my father-in-law had which was beef was a very generous portion the beef was cooked to perfection. The vegetables were a joke basically raw. The Brussels were like gobstoppers literally rock hard the green beans the same not just undercooked literally warm and raw. The so called roast potatoes were anaemic and tasted really odd. The vegetarian burger embarrassingly bad and the beef burger with cheese bacon and fried onion rings very bland and a mess. The burger was tasteless and a very odd colour like it had been cooked dry and sat in water, the bacon cold and the cheese was so cold it was stuck to the inside of the bun. The side salad literally the yellow internal of an iceberg lettuce with a couple of chunks of tomato. It goes to show that never go by the great reviews it depends on what quality of food your use to eating. The food reminded me of school dinners. Then the chips come on seriously you didn’t expect me to eat those surely. We eat our regular and that was definitely one of the worst roast dinners and burgers we’ve ever had apart from the beef and the Yorkshire pudding it was not edible. My father-in-law left all the veg and the so called roast potatoes and none of the salad on either burger was touched it was embarrassingly bad, Shame on you chef! Disappointing experience not to...

Lovely service. They were pretty much booked up for Sunday lunches, but they let me have a quick Sunday roast before their guest who had booked were due to arrive, as long as I could be done fairly quickly. Under normal circumstances this may be unusual, but I appreciated the can do and helpful attitude rather than simply saying they were booked up. At this time I think this to be welcomed when pubs need support and business. I thought I'd have plenty of time but wtih the size of helping (very generous)I was given it was only just enough. So thanks very much to the team. Update June 2025: Still a lovely pub. The staff are wonderful and they are they only pub in the area to serve Timothy Taylor Landlord. I'll look forward to them having a few of the other offerings such as Hopical Storm (just a hint of course! 👍). I do want to support the place. However... Well, unfortunately for me they seem to be as popular as ever. I have yet to be able to pop in and eat as their tables are always reserved. So I've had to make do with the bar stools. Clearly booking in for food is done way ahead and casual dining is unlikely. I've spent my visits propping up the bar. Quite frustrating when there are empty tables and you can't use them. So a minor gripe on a good...