The Old Lodge — Restaurant in Stroud

Style over substance unfortunately.

Went here at the weekend for lunch. The place itself is lovely and quite charming in the way it has been decorated. It has a really nice atmosphere when you walk in and th beer garden is beautiful with big chunky wood picnic tables.

On the food side I think we were all quite impressed with our roast dinners, the beef was cooked very nicely and the staff ask you how you would like the roast beef cooked, which I thought was a nice touch as this isn't always an option when you order a roast.

However, there are some real areas that need improvement here:

we ordered bottles of prosecco and it was barely cold our red wine with our mains was rather unceremoniously dumped on our table without being opened (it was a screw top but id still expect the wait staff to at least open it) after our main noone came to take any further drinks orders which meant some of us had to go to the bar to order drinks ourselves the puddings (all of them) were very disappointing. The "coffee parfait" was basically a slice of ice cream with the slightest hint of coffee flavour. The bread and butter pudding was hard and incredibly dense (as if we had been given the edge of the bake which is normally cut off). The "panacotta" was flavourless and had far too much gelatin so it was basically a white flavourless jelly. Mine was pretty much inedible so I left most of it. As you can see from the photos, the desserts are actually very well presented, it's just a shame that it is more style over substance after the desserts were delivered we were pretty much abandoned by the wait staff so there was noone around to speak to the lighting in the ladies toilets is very dim and the LED bulbs flicker in such a way I would be concerned for anyone epileptic using them.

Overall it could be a fantastic place (beautiful location and venue) but let down by uninterested wait staff and poor execution of...

This is my first review written in my life but I feel it is required. When looking for a 'dog friendly' establishment. The Old Lodge is somewhere that pops up pretty quickly. Unfortunately this was not what we experienced this evening. We visited as a group, with a group of 4 dogs too. We sat down, ordered our dinner. While waiting for our food, we were asked if "we could leave our dogs in the car" as our dogs were apparently bothering a couple not far from us. We were also issued with a "warning" that if we did not ensure the dogs remained silent we would have to leave. Of course, as a group of dog lovers we would never expect to be asked to leave our dogs in the car. The dogs were not silent, but they also weren't the loudest 'disruption' in the bar/restaurant area, considering there were other dogs as well as children in the area. Being an establishment boasting of its "family values" we were made to feel like we were a disruption for other customers in an environment that for me is a far cry from a "high end" restaurant. Never in my life have I been treated in this way by an establishment providing me with a service. As we left, the level of embarrassment as onlookers watched us getting ready to leave was intense. Absolutely wounded by the whole situation as this is the first time this has happened, we visit lots of eateries with our dogs and people. Utterly disgusting level of customer service. Even when what I assume is someone in a position of authority came to approach us about the matter, there was not a single noise from our table as we listened intently to a lady telling us our money was not good there. Would not dream of visiting this place again. Which is sad as the surrounding pubs and restaurants have been...

Would have given 5* but will explain why. Fabulous surrounding's if you enjoy a walk on the common with local livestock and golfers as it doubles as a public golf course. Not for everyone but I enjoyed my pre lunch walk. As I was driving I asked for a non-alcoholic lager to be told none were available although 2 bottles were on display un-chilled, so I had a coffee instead. Later my wife enquired as to why a establishment that you really had to drive to did not cater for driver's aside from tea and coffee or J2O. The owner / manager said they did and retrieved stock from the cellar and was extremely apologetic. Sounds like staff unaware of where stock is kept or more likely can't be bothered to go and get it. Onto the food. There is ample seating in bar area and outside garden but we chose the restaurant which was very comfortable and has the novelty of local livestock coming up to the windows to see your chosen fayre. It was late in afternoon so probably shouldn't have been surprised to hear that the chicken and lamb were not available. Whilst we were choosing our starters we were told the pork was also sold out. Still the beef was in plentiful supply (hopefully not one of the onlookers through the window) which one of our party selected. For here on in everything was superb. Starters, mains, desserts all excellent and wonderful staff. Poor start but great finish and I will...