White Horse — Restaurant in Oxford

A group of 5 of us visited on 13/4/16, 3 of us went to order food while the other two kept the table, then we were told that our order would be the last, we explained then that the other 2 in our party hadn't ordered, so we were told by the bar staff to send the 2 in our group up in 20 minutes time and they would try to sort something out so we would all eat on time. 20 minutes came and went and the 2 in our group went up, and were quickly told they couldn't order for another half an hour, we explained how we were all from the same table and wanted to eat together (naturally) but supposedly there was nothing that could be done. 30 minutes came and went and yet again they were told they couldn't order food. Then the food for those in our group that ordered came, which included 2 curries with burnt onion bhajis and cold chips, one with no rice, none of these issues was mentioned by the wait staff, they served the food and were on their way. The 2 in our party that were now without food then went up again and were told to wait, where they then asked to speak to the manager, to which the response from the man behind the bar was "I don't think you want to see the manager." This same man went into the kitchen for a couple of minutes, after which our party was suddenly ignored by the staff. We stood by the kitchen to try to flag someone down but were ignored outright. The manageress this whole time was in the kitchen. At this point the venue wasn't very busy, however any time we tried to make ourselves known to a member of staff we were ignored. At one point the manager came out, and despite us repeatedly saying "excuse me," and "can you help us please?" she somehow failed to hear, walked straight past where we were standing and proceeded to serve other staff. Whenever we managed to speak to a member of staff he attempted to get the manager whereupon we heard voices in the kitchen saying "don't go out to them Charlotte,". Presumably as there was only one girl working she was both the manager and Charlotte, and never have I seen a manager that, instead of resolving an issue regarding service (I don't believe the fact that 2 of our party had not eaten for over an hour unreasonable) decided to hide instead of address the problem. The member of staff also explained that at that moment they weren't going to start making food (which they could've said more than an hour ago and save us the trouble, but instead the 2 in our party were repeatedly told to keep waiting). We decided to leave the restaurant, as the staffs level of professionalism was shocking in regards to us being ignored, the manager hiding in the kitchen. Before we left the manageress came out and spoke to an older couple at another table, sweet talking them and apologising for the service, so we thought that maybe she would visit us next and that the issue would actually be addressed, however once she was done with them she darted back into the kitchen, this made us feel like we were just be written off because we were a group of students, and that to them we weren't worth listening to. The food the first 3 in our group got was shocking, and influenced our decision to leave; seeing as if that was the standard of quality then it would not be worth it for the other 2 in our group to wait for even longer for their food. We won't be returning and I would say to anyone thinking of going to keep their fingers crossed that they get served properly and there are no issues, as the staff (especially the manager) were reluctant to help. There was only one member of the wait staff (a young man, tall, bearded) that to his credit was the only one that didn't ignore our party and tried to go to the kitchen to get a hold of the manager, but nothing came of it, presumably we looked too "student" to be taken seriously or to be worth the managers time. In conclusion, don't go here if you can help it, all but one of the staff were extremely unhelpful and unprofessional and the food that was served simply ...

Update I have revisited the pub with my friend. We went for an early evening meal and we both had burgers and beer. This time the service was far improved and the food was really quite good. The service was almost too much. The staff were really friendly and attentive this time. The burgers were much better than the chicken (I really did not fancy ordering the same food as last time) and the sweet potato fries were fresh and tasty. A much improved experience and I would happily go there again now.

Overall, I have given them 4 stars as a balanced review. The management clearly care about standards which is a credit to them. Recommended.

I visited the White Horse with a friend for an evening meal and a drink. The booking is easy, the on-line apps etc work fine. Food was and drink were delivered in good time and the drinks tasted good (we had bottled and draught lager). Sadly, the food and service thereafter were disappointing.

I had chicken skewers, sweet potato fries and corn-on-the-cob, my friend had 10 battered chicken fingers, salad and sweet potato fries. My second skewer appeared undercooked, the fries appeared tired (like they had been out for too long and dehydrated). The corn-on-the-cob was very watery. The salad the chicken came out on was not very tasty at all. I watched as staff came and went to nearby tables and tried to catch the eye of one of them, to be able to mention the chicken appearing to be undercooked. It was impossible as they did not bother to look around and no-one came to check to make sure everything was satisfactory.

Eventually I went to the bar and spoke with a staff member. Someone then came to the table and I explained my concern. They had a look and agreed that the chicken did not look right (it noticed it when after I had bitten in to it, it was the texture that alerted me). I was offered a refund or new skewer, I chose a new skewer as I was hungry, which was brought to me shortly after, with a new dip. It was a bit better. I was told that the chicken comes pre-cooked and they heat it up. This does not bother me, but only if the food is cooked correctly.

The beer was good, the fries were tasty and the apps worked well. The prices are really quite good. Of course I was not expecting a gourmet dining experience, but I hoped to have a decent meal. I note that some reviews raise concerns for cleanliness; I did not note anything of concern around this.

The service was inattentive and disappointing, the food below par. I have significant experience in management and the service industry, I would have refunded the meal and made sure that the replacement food was bang on. Management of staff is poor as it was not hugely busy at the time and the basics of customer care were missing. A smile, good service, a 'how is your meal today, sir/madam?' and ensuring food is cooked and tasty, are the basic standards to which pub food should be aspiring.

Maybe I will go back and give them as second chance, maybe not. I have...

I was visiting a friend in Oxford on Sat 27 July.. Who lives in Marston so the Whitehorse was very local and we decided to go there for a meal at night. We approached the pub bar and was very quickly served by a very helpful young Barman. I wanted a flavoured gin and he went through all the flavours that were on offer ..we got our drinks and asked about food and he told us to find ourselves a table and then come to order at the bar when we were ready. . We walked towards an empty table in a room that had several vacant tables and as we sat down we were approached by a member of staff called Calvin who very abruptly told us not to sit there as he had not yet prepared the table and said why would we sit there when there were plenty of other vacant tables in the pub. We were shocked at his tone and attitude and took our drinks over to a nearby table. Calvin then proceeded to put the chairs back under the table with great force and great noise muttering to himself the whole time .. we were shocked at his actions but said nothing. When our meals arrived we asked him for some tomato ketchup, he walked off and he lent over to a nearby table, picked up the sauce bottle and literally slid it along the table to us without looking at us or speaking. When we had finished our meal he approached the table and picked up our empty plates and walked away again without a single word. The food in the pub was nice but our experience of this pub was completely ruined by this rude and miserable...