The Three Tuns — Restaurant in South Oxfordshire

"Disappointing" probably sums it up nicely. I popped in for a drink on the opening night, and was very pleased to see the work that had been done on the building. Clean, tidy, tastefully decorated, toilets totally revamped. A great vibe - but the place was packed for reopening, so not unexpected.

I took my wife along a couple of days later and - in a much quieter environment - things seemed a little "clinical". No worries though as, only having been open a few days, things need bedding in and habits found. We went into the beer garden and were pretty shocked by the following;

Chap we know starts to roll a cigarette. Waitress rushes over "You can't smoke out here sir" Chap points at ashtrays on all the tables. Waitress says "There are people eating and the chef says you can't smoke" Chap leaves his fresh pint and goes elsewhere. (Context: Restaurant was almost empty. One couple had decided to brave the weather and were sat three tables away)

Last night, her Ladyship and I had supper there. (Pre-booked before they opened, and thought we'd give them a week to settle in and fix any glitches). I was looking forward to Devilled Kidneys as a starter. The place was reasonably busy - but not packed - (bar area, as the meal was booked early, and the restaurant was empty). The staff were very friendly and helpful.

We took our table in the restaurant, and I was dismayed to see that Devilled Kidneys were not on the menu. My wife asked for them anyway and was told that they were serving them yesterday - but not that evening.

We ordered and then the waitress returned to say that they did have the Kidneys, so we swapped starters.

The Kidneys themselves were very well cooked, but could have done with substantially more "devilling". A pretty moot point though, as the toast was so burnt that all we could taste was charcoal.

My wife had lamb cutlets that were undressed but reasonably substantial. The meal was ruined (and would have been sent back by me) though as the "Roasted red peppers" turned out to be a rough puree of red peppers mixed with Almonds - which was incredibly sweet.

My 10 oz Sirloin had been cut for area rather than thickness, and clearly hadn't been rested - as it was like cardboard. To be fair trying to cook a blue steak that is that thin must have been tricky, but it was also quite gristly too. I left half of it (fifteen quids worth) as it just wasn't pleasant.

TLDR; Staff very friendly and attentive Environment typical Brakspeare refurb Customers a lot fewer than I was expecting overall Food - which is what this "Chophouse" is all about - very underwhelming.

To be able to use produce from next door - probably the best butchers in Oxon - so badly is...

The Three Tuns has clearly been taken over by new owners. I have been many times in the past and had superb food and service. I eat there last night, it was the single most horrific dining experience I have ever had.

Service? A barely clothed waitress, more suitably attired for a low end gentlemen’s club was our server. Inept is the best I can think of to describe her. Clearly had no training, or supervision.

The food was disgusting. Greasy, tepid and tasteless. Once famous for it mussels, we were informed the mussels were dead! So a half portion of a mini pork pie, probably from Sainsbury’s was offered in stead. The truffle and Parmesan chips were fried in oil that had probably not been changed in many days, they had no truffle or Parmesan Flavour, only ancient oil. The tempura veggies were sticky, slimy batons of veg, no batter, just deep fried and dripping in grease.

The pork belly was rubbery tasteless over cooked and served with a quartered fresh apple barley cooked placed on the top of the meat. The apple appeared withered and shrivelled, all pips still intact. No flavour, just a small tasteless square of meat.

Not only was it desperately bad food but it took more than an hour to get the appetizers on the table, with a further wait for the mains.

It was awful, they are living on the hard earned reputation of the previous management, I shall...

We have previously been to Three Tuns and enjoyed our meals. Tonight was a very big let down. My partner order the Watlington pork bun with sweet potato fries and it was probably one of the most vile things she has ever eaten. Pork can be quite greasy meat and with the pork cooked three different ways it should have worked quite well if done properly. What she was greeted with was a mountain of bland, reheated, mushy and greasy pork in a cheap brioche bun. The sweet potato fries were clearly out of the freezer as they were also bland and very greasy. On top of that it cost £16.

My partner ate about a third of her meal and left the rest. She complained and the girl serving us said she would speak to the Manager..... she didn't return despite me making clear eye contact. I guess they thought 'take the money and run'. Sadly for them we live in central Henley and are not tourists. Thank God I had already eaten or I too could have fallen foul to the vile cuisine.

Following this debacle we left and went to the Bull for another drink.

Its such a shame this place is going down the tubes, it used to be good. If they carry on like this they will soon join the Henley pub graveyard and based on tonights experience the...