The Woodman's Rest — Restaurant in Metropolitan Borough of Solihull

I've deleted my previous 5 star review and replaced it with this. This was my 2nd visit, my 1st being a quiet weekday lunchtime, and was the polar opposite of what I had previously experienced.

We booked a table of 6 for 17:00 on a Sunday for a Sunday lunch. We arrived at 17:00 and were sent to an occupied table as ours through a point from behind the bar. We were then pointed to another occupied table, before finally being led to a table in the corner next to the gents toilets. The seat was torn and 'repaired' with masking tape, with food stuck down the sides. We were told that we could have the table until 20:00, which was fine. However, at 19:30 we were approached by a member of staff, whilst we were mid conversation, to advise quite abruptly that he "needs the table back now". So we left. It appears that the next group had arrived 30 minutes early, so we were basically asked to leave.....strange as the people in the table we had booked didn't receive the same approach. Now, given we went for a Sunday roast, we were advised whilst being seated that some of the Sunday roast were running out. We were advised to order at the bar or on the app, so we chose the app. Part way through ordering, a message popped up to advise that the pork had sold out, then the children's chicken, and the adults turkey was already greyed out. Before we could complete our order, a lady came out of the kitchen to advise that all Sunday roasts were now off and swapped our menus to normal ones. So for a Sunday roast, we had 5 burgers and 1 child's pizza. The food itself was underwhelming, nothing to complain about too much, just a basic burger with a few chips. Generally an unpleasant and disappointing experience, which ended suddenly and sharply, all of which being a bit of a waste of money. It is a shame, as the sandwich I had previously was nice and the staff friendly. However, this experience will leave me to...

I booked the festive meal menu for 12 family members. This was booked back in October. I put our orders in a few weeks before as requested by the restaurant and I arrived early today to make sure my email I sent regarding my guests allergy was received as I didn’t get a reply back. This was fine as I was told everything was in order. Starters came, they were fine. Mains came and there was an extra festive meal (not appropriate for my guest with allergies) the waitress said the gluten/wheat free meal was still being made. I think the extra meal was sent instead of the gluten free one. We had to wait a while for it to arrive. The festive meal didn’t have stuffing or cranberry sauce as advertised. The roasters and meat were very dry. Steak was chewy and sides with steak were dry. I do wonder whether our meals were sitting under a heat source waiting for us to say we were ready for them. On a plus side the burger, festive pie and sea bass were good. Desserts came. Most of my guests had Brownies. All delivered within 1 minute of each other but some came piping hot, some were cold. When I booked I didn’t realize we didn’t have table service but that was my fault for not finding out. When I went to pay at the bar (total bill £325) it asked if I wanted to leave a service charge which I didn’t want to and the lady serving me didn’t seem happy with this although she didn’t say anything, it was just the impression I got. To sum up, the food wasn’t great but the staff were friendly so In my opinion the kitchen has to take responsibility for food we received and our experience. Would I go back again? Sorry, it’s...

Booked the Woodman's Rest Pub for my Aunts wake based on location. From booking through to final payment this was a really great experience. Easy to book, place deposit and view menus online, on arrival the tables were clean and tidy and had been reserved allowing family and friends to gather quickly and quietly to share thoughts after the funeral. The staff were all very attentive and helpful, the buffet was really nice, the hot food was hot and the cold food was cold, great selection, everyone said how nice the food was. I had forgotten to ask my family ref any allergies (which I later found out one of my guests had, ooops!), the team jumped straight on it and sorted a particular dish for my family member with no issue at all, it was all managed very discreetly and professionally. The whole experience from start to end was a great experience enabling us to focus on our memories of our lost loved one and catching up. My reason for booking here for the wake was I had attended another funeral here within the last month or so that was of the same great standard. I was not disappointed. Great work team and thank you for all your support on a...