Grey Mare Inn — Restaurant in Hyndburn

Large car park to the side with 2 disabled spaces. But could see this filling up at the weekend quite quickly especially in the summer. No steps up to front entrance but a bit of an incline so those in a wheelchair might require some assistance. Upon arrival we were asked if we had booked. We hadn't. Seemed to take a while to find a table for us. There did seem to be several unoccupied and many remained like this during our visit so difficult to see what the problem was. It was an overcast Tuesday afternoon in February around 2pm, not a Saturday or Sunday, so would have expected no real issues finding a table for two. We eventually were given a table and once seated our drinks order taken. Menu looked impressive. Seemed to be a broad range of dishes with a few options you don't tend to see on other pub menus. Also there was a Chef's specials menu with choice of 3 starters, 2 mains and 1 sweet. We opted to order from the main menu. I ordered the Black Pudding Scotch Egg at £7.95 to start. For main course I went for Liver and Onions at £13.95 and my brother ordered Hand made Cheese and Onion pie at £11.95. When the food arrived it was very good. Large portions and tasty. Brother said his cheese pie was one of the best he had ever had. And it's been a long time since I have had lambs liver but it was very nice and a good, ample portion. Unfortunately the food was let down by the service. I counted six members of staff, 3 male, 3 female. At some point or another I think everyone of them took a turn at our table even if just to clear the plates away. After our drinks order had been taken it did seem a long time till our food order was taken. Once we had finally ordered and I had finished my starter our mains seemed to take an age to arrive. In the end my brother had to ask a member of staff if she could go check on them. At this time they didn’t appear overly busy. Several tables empty. In fact so quiet one member of staff was gazing out the window admiring the wonderful views that can be seen from up here. My brothers pie came with beans when he was adamant he had asked for peas. But we had waited that long to get our main meals he didn't bother to raise this. He got his pie but I was left waiting a good few minutes for my liver to arrive. Would have been nice to have been served together. Apart from one member of staff asking if my starter was ok as he cleared the plate at no other time did any member of staff enquire about how our food was or if everything was ok. But we didn't appear to be unique in that. We didn't see or hear other customers getting asked this either. Only as we were getting ready to leave did we hear a male member of staff asking 2 customers if their meal was ok. So food wise no real complaints. Tasty, good portions and prices reasonable and very competitive with other establishments. Unfortunately let down by the service. It seemed uncoordinated. Why not have one member of staff looking after certain designated tables? In all the time spent eating out it's the first time we can remember having to ask a member of staff where our food was. I would try the food again. However, the service would need to improve significantly. And it is this which has brought the score on my review...

A Truly average meal with with very average service and a £17 a head price. It was on a busy Sunday and service may well have been stretched .We opted for the roast dinners - what we got was pretty well what I would expect from a cheap carvery - in as much as everything was from frozen - rather bland - and rather tasteless and how hard is it to make fresh Yorkshire Puds? You cannot lift yourself on to a pedestal like this pub has and not expect criticism. These are not nit picky things its about quality, standards and value for money and I saw very little of any. We were left waiting 40 minutes between starter and main when my wife's main came it had foil and lamb in her turkey - so obviously they carve all meats with one knife....when she asked for cranberry or redcurrant sauce the reply was we don't have any.....My sons fish and chips looked iffy and consisted of a frozen pre-battered fillet and frozen chips I asked how it was and he said disappointing really....no better than Morrisons Cafe......says it all really! Having said that it is a nice well decorated pub and I do think the couple running it are trying but there are two dozen other pubs i would eat in before I went to The Grey Mare.....How this beat the Plough at Eaves or many other Thwaites pub's makes a total mockery of their award because this pub is not even good let alone excellent or...

Visited mid week, early evening. It's been a while since we dined here. However, we were somewhat disappointed this time and won't be rushing back. The dining areas were clean and fresh. We had a table next to the window with lovely views. Most staff were welcoming, attentive and friendly (spoiled by one staff member who was obviously not happy). The menu was varied although we thought it strange that prices for some drinks, including hot, cold and alcoholic drinks, were not shown on the menu. The food came quickly and whilst it was nicely presented, it looked and tasted like it had been reheated. The chips were hard and chewy, the cheese and onion pie didn't taste like homemade. The battered fish was tasty but the batter was chewy at the edges. We ordered a mid week special meal and a meal from the main menu, a glass of red wine and a half of the 'house' lager; we also ordered a cappuccino and a latte to follow (prices not shown on the menu). The price of the drinks alone amounted to nearly £20 (£5 for a latte). Overall, the food was disappointing and over priced in comparison to other restaurants in the area. We wanted it to be great...