Ye Olde Original Withy Trees — Restaurant in South Ribble

My wife and I were looking forward to our visit for a nice meal. As we entered, the pub was very busy and quite noisy. We were taken to our reserved table and informed we had to go to the bar to order food, as it was busy this took a while. We then noticed a dog on the seating area at the table behind us, this surprising as it is stated that dogs are not allowed in the dining area. Our food arrived in reasonable time and looked appetising, my steak was perfectly cooked and thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about my wife's hot pot who declared it the most tasteless hotpot she's ever had. There was plenty of lamb in the dish but we think not cooked in a pot with herbs, etc but sliced off a pre-cooked leg and chopped into pieces which made it quite dry. A gravy boat on the side was hopefully a redeeming extra but was, surprisingly, mint sauce, also the vegetables were cold. Just before we finished our food a person on the next table started vaping which was not very pleasant. My wife commented to the staff about the veg and was offered a complimentary desert to compensate, but we kindly declined. We were going to stay on for an after dinner drink, but at 9-00pm the tables were cleared as service had finished and opened to anyone, they were immediately filled by very very loud talking customers, so we finished our wine and left. All in all not a very nice ambiance for an evening meal which was really disappointing. We may call again just for a drink but, sorry, a visit again for dinner...

The pub looked nicely decorated on arrival. However I think putting TVs all around the pub with football on whilst having a nice family Sunday lunch is a mistake - it ruined the atmosphere for us and we could hardly hear ourselves talk. Maybe consider having this kind of entertainment away from the family dining area, or consider using subtitles instead of sound in these areas. We waited quite a while for our food (we had to entertain our toddler with our phones whilst we waited!). Our daughter found the lamb on the roast dinner too chewy to eat (however she is fussy, and our food was to a satisfactory standard), but what annoyed me the most was having to pay full price for our puddings (nearly £6 each) instead of the reduced rate for having two courses (which would have made the puddings another £2 ish each) as we hadn't purchased them altogether! Never before have I had to decide if I want to eat 1/2/3 courses in other establishments (nor were we told that we had to do this to receive the advertised menu deal) - what if I'd paid for two/three courses but then couldn't manage them?! (also a wait for the puddings too!). I think either charge people after they have eaten, or come up with a way to add on the discounted puddings after people have eaten their first and/or...

Just been as a group of 8. The food was amazing, there was a delay with one of the mains which came when everyone else had finished and therefore I'd stolen bits of the kids (as their potions were plenty) so wasnt that hungry by the time it arrived and about to cancel it completely, for this I was going to put the 4 stars. However its a new business and as expected there is going to be teething problems. The waiter Fletcher pulled it right back, he was attentive, apologetic and for such a young lad his attitude and the way he organised his colleagues was outstanding. The food tasted so fresh, the kids meals were exceptional, and we have 3 out of 4 kids that are fussy eaters who all ate without no complaints. We got burgers which when they first arrived the sides looked abit sparce but the burger itself was delicious and everyone left full. The Pie of the week was Steak & Ale, gutting because I'd been waiting for the Minted Lamb all week, but it did not disappoint either. We also had the gammon, which was really tasty, the eggs were abit hard so would have been better runny but just constructive criticism from personal choice. We'll definitely be back, the kids loved the play area, and we didn't have to compromise on food so that the kids were entertained....