Station Garden — Restaurant in Vale of White Horse

I've had some nice food and experiences here in the past, but yesterday the service was abysmal! They were clearly under staffed (it happens and can't be helped) and we were told food would take an hour due to several large parties turning up for lunch (not a problem, we were in no rush), but I don't think it's an excuse for the unhelpful and even hostile service we received. There was a lady who appeared to be in charge, the manager perhaps? She was absolutely lovely. Chatty, friendly, spot on service from her, seems like she actually cared. The waitress and barman however were awful. Utterly miserable, like they didn't want to be there and so unfriendly and unhelpful. The barman gave us the wrong flavour J2O, which we just accepted since he had opened it and we didn't want to make a fuss. On ordering a coffee he slapped an overfilled mug on the bar which spilled everywhere. I had to ask for a saucer (which don't fit the cups properly so ended up being pointless) because there's no way I was getting that back to the table without spilling it, and got a dirty look before he resentfully retrieved one for me. Ordered the sharer BBQ cauliflower, specifically advertised as "2 adult portions" but what came was very small, definitely not for 2. We noticed there was a cheaper, starter version of the same dish and wondered if we'd been brought the wrong thing. We queried this with the waitress who said she had no idea and would have to check the table order. Never saw her again, she didn't come back to let us know either way, couldn't care less. After 20 minutes my husband told the barman about the situation. He came over to take a look, shrugged and said it was the correct size (Station Garden, if that's true you need to sort the portion sizes, that was NOT 2 adult portions), either way it would have been nice for this to have resolved properly by the waitress we enquired with. A friend order Hunter's Chicken and a different chicken dish arrived. When she complained the barman eventually came over in a huff to see what the issue was and just couldn't understand the problem. He eventually took it back when she asked him too, just everything about his demeanor was hostile and unfriendly. It was like dealing with a sulky teenager. I appreciate things can be stressful when you're understaffed and rushed off your feet, but a) the manager was still able to smile and be friendly, b) the chef was probably rushed off his feet for sure, but the bar wasn't that busy, in fact the barman spent most of his time chatting to an elderly chap in a hat at the end of the bar. All smiles for him. Apparently it's just all the other customers this guy can't stand. Won't be going back to this place until the barman sorts his...

Visited for the first time today with my father in law to have lunch with my daughter and grandson ( who live locally) It wasn’t especially busy and there were 2 staff members working behind the bar on arrival. We found a table, I went to get a high chair for my grandson and all of the chairs were dirty with dried on food etc ! I found a cloth and some cleaning spray at the end of the bar and proceeded to clean a chair myself, while the 2 bar staff looked on. We then ordered our food and after 45 minutes it hadn’t arrived so I asked how much longer it was likely to take, as I had to get my father in law to an appointment an hours drive away, I was told that there was a new chef as the old chef had walked out so there was a bit of a delay as the new chef was getting used to the job !! All I can say is that the new chef has clearly never been a chef before as when our food finally arrived it was worse than disappointing. My baguette was like a brick and totally inedible (it had obviously been microwaved after preparation and had then solidified ) my FIL and daughter had scampi and chips which were average and my grandsons meal of overcooked fish fingers and greasy deep fried potato waffles was not even fit fir a dog to eat, however he did enjoy the garden peas. While I am fully understanding that it is not a Michelin star restaurant It really doesn’t take a lot of effort or time to prepare or cook the menu choices that we made, in fact, in the time we were sat there waiting I could have gone to the Asda opposite, bought everything cooked it/ made it, eaten it , cleaned up and been on my merry way with time to spare. It’s a real shame as the venue itself lends itself to what could be a very successful establishment but lack of motivation and customer service from the staff is not going to achieve a whole lot of repeat business and I certainly won’t be visiting there again. I would also like to add that when I complained about my rock hard brick of a baguette I was offered another, but I didn’t have another hour to spare in order to give them a second chance and as you have to pay for the food when you order there was no hope of even having the cost deducted from the bill and I had no offer of a refund. I hope this review helps others to avoid the same...

Came with a group of friends, all ordered food and then were told that because there was another large group in they would serve food when it was ready and not all together. We should have been told this at the point of ordering not after and it’s not acceptable when you’re a group to eat in shifts. When food arrived the server said “2 roast dinners”, I asked what meat it was and the reply was “I don’t know I’m just the server I’ll have to ask the chef”. Should they be working there if they can’t tell the difference between beef/turkey/half a chicken on the bone? Some training is required. The carrots and broccoli hadn’t seen a pan of water or a steamer, couldn’t get our fork in them, they were raw. The roast potatoes were almost cooked, had a crunch in the middle. Chicken had obviously been sat under a lamp or kept warm for a while as it was very dry. One member of our party had a hair in her food on a roast potato. We went to the bar and told/showed a member of staff who said they would prepare a fresh meal. A member of staff then came over and said we would have to wait 45 minutes for the replacement meal as the kitchen were now dealing with a large order. When I said that was unacceptable as it was your error she refused to even go and ask the kitchen to make this a priority. We then asked for a refund because no one wants to eat their food 45 minutes later when everyone else has finished. Another member of our party had steak, the cooking and quality of which was poor. A steak cooked medium rare should not be tough and chewy. When the menu says a meal comes with a certain sauce it should be provided, we should not have to ask for it and wait 5-10 minutes.

Overall a very poor experience, quality of food and...