The Jovial Sailor Ripley — Restaurant in Guildford

2nd time of being in this Barons pub, and I can only say that I was very disappointed, the service was very poor, and I believe this to be done to lack of staff. I appreciate that places can get busy, but when you have your starters arrive and we finished them, them mains were nowhere in site for almost 45 minutes and we had to ask when they were coming out, and dirty plates ignored when waiters do come past your table. Good was not as good as had been in the past, I feel that overall needed to be slightly better cooked ribs do they fall off the bone, and use fresh made chicken steaks to go with them not a frozen one as it is not very good in respect of cost. Even when seeking desserts, I went to the outside bar to get the dessert menu as the waitress supposedly covering our section was helping all the other sections clear down, I was expecting to obtain the dessert menu, as I was told would be the case by the initial waitress, however when requesting this I was told to take the same menu as per the main meals as the desserts are on there, and I said I thought there was a separate dessert menu, at which point I think it was a manager of some kind, stated it is the same so just take them, wrong attitude from a person supposed to be delivering a service model. Worst part was seeing people that are highly intoxicated falling off bench seats still being served alcohol, and worst still this was also with a staff member sat there drinking with them, still in uniform. I feel certainly not worth the money, and I do not wish to go back there as this has been the worst service I think I have ever had. I am sad to say I never wish to return to this venue again as I know that other Baron venues locally are far superior in their...

We had a lovely family lunch. We chose the Jovial Sailor because it offers a Vegan/Vegetarian menu and of our party of 7 we had 2 vegans and a pescatarian. The food was all very nice - a few areas for improvement, but not enough to put us off visiting again. I was a bit disappointed that there was only one ale on offer, but that ale was very nice.

Overall, the service was excellent. There were a few minor mistakes (my soup was brought out without a spoon so I had to ask for one; my father was brought a pint when he asked for a half; my son's milkshake had to be chased ten minutes after all the other drinks were brought to the table) but every one was corrected with an apology and a smile. The table and setting were perfect for our group and the atmosphere in the pub was great.

The food was really tasty and the portions were generous, but not too big. There were areas for improvement, as follows: The bread with my soup was a little stale and the butter was served too cold. The vegetables served with the duck were overcooked and looked insipid, which we assumed had been kept warm and not cooked fresh. The gravy served with the chicken pie was not very nice and my wife suspected it was made from gravy granules. My jewelled bulgar wheat (served with the lamb koftas) had barely any pomegranate seeds in it and overall I thought the plate lacked a bit of seasoning - although I was able to add salt and pepper at the table obviously. I think the dish would have been improved with a bit of chilli chopped through the bulgar wheat.

All of these things, if rectified would have elevated the review to 5* perfection. All things considered, it was a lovely afternoon and we will...

In one word, avoid. Greeted by a statement that they are busy and then by a heavily tattooed buy with toothpick in his mouth asked about our needs. Terrible first impression. We got a table in the bar area and we were taken back in time to the Faulty Towers. After choosing our food and finding someone who could take an order which took about 20 minutes we were told that the food we wanted was not available. Usually a cue to leave but after a fishing trip we were starving enough to swallow the pride and allow the humiliation to continue. We also chose a selection of beers proudly presented in a separate menu as the place takes pride in serving handcrafted ales and beers. Of course this time again the drinks of our choice were not available. After choosing from what supposedly was available the original choice was brought to us as someone managed to find the drinks in the fridge behind the bar. The starters arrived precisely 46 minutes after ordering. It was also after another table who joined the party after us received their starters and mains. Food of a very average quality and proving the proverb that hunger is the best of spice. While waiting for food and drink boredom allowed us also the discovery of how filthy and dusty the place is. Dust and old dirt asking for a deep spring clean (at least once a year). Definitely one visit is enough not to...