Watermill — Restaurant in Wales

Where to begin. This was our second outing to this establishment in the last week. Unfortunately, this time around, our visit was exceptionally sub-par. I would go as far as to say, disastrous.

I shall set the scene. It was a barmy, warm Spring Saturday afternoon. I was in attendance with my partner and our infant son. The capacity of the pub did not indicate that it was under any sort of lunch time rush. There were perhaps two dozen patrons at the establishment, both seated indoors and alfresco. I would also point out that not all those persons who were sat outdoors were eating; they only instead had alcoholic beverages.

We weren’t greeted upon entering and had to find our own way inside where we were then faced with the harrowing situation of having to choose our own table. Due to this, partly in our error, we sat near to the emergency exit which was also part of the pub greenhouse as it was positively sweltering. The sun beamed through the pane glass windows on to our famished, weary bodies.

We perused the menu and decided upon a macaroni and cheese main meal and also beef burger. When I approached the young fellow behind the bar and told him our order, he declared that they were not only out of beef burgers but also mixed grill, which was my second option. Faced with imminent pressure, my hand was forced and I selected possibly the most expensive meal on the menu, the “Chicken and Ribs Platter”. We also ordered side accompaniments which included garlic bread and fries.

At one point during our visit, I feared for the safety and wellbeing of the chef as the food took so long, I was concerned that he had perhaps been abducted by sinister parties. This however was not the case and the chef was somewhat present. I asked around 45 minutes after placing the initial order where our meals were. My son was also displeased which was very difficult for him to portray as he is only 14 weeks old. If he could Talk, he would fully agree with the distain I was experiencing. I asked at the bar where our food was, and I was told quite confidently that it was being plated up and would only be a couple of moments.

Our tummies rumbled as the hour mark post order quickly approached and yet still nothing had reached our table. My partner, with a sweat soaked brow was almost experiencing a famine like disorder as we waited yet longer.

Finally, the food arrived. I sincerely wish it hadn’t. The Mac and cheese clearly arrived as a side and was also swimming in so much oil that the United States would consider invading the dish. It contained so much oil, it could probably be listed as a natural resource.

My “Chicken and Ribs Platter” was essentially frozen chicken pieces with chips and the most disappointing set of ribs I have ever seen. Not only did the poor pig die for nothing, but it tasted as though the ribs had been cooked the week before, then warmed up on the nearby radiator before then being placed violently on my plate. Three of the ribs had been degloved and the meat placed in a pile on top of the other ribs. The chicken wings were the only redeeming item on the plate.

Overall I am very disappointed with the visit. It’s clear that they are very understaffed and the staff they do have are being trained as they are new. It wasn’t a particularly busy period of the day, yet it felt as though a rush of 20,000 people had been previous to us and cleared them out of all their stock. They didn’t even have any ice cream.

They do Puppacinos though, which is nice. I should have had one of...

I booked a table for a Sunday roast, because the website menu showed you do roasts. When we turned up, the server kindly showed us to our seats and said there were menus on the table. We went to order from the QR code on the menus and the page said this wasn't working (the server hadn't explained and said to go up to the tills), so I took the menu from my phone to the till only to be told you don't do roasts. I then went back to my table to get my partner to pick something else and rejoined the queue but what we then chose as an alternative (the chicken burgers pictured on the front page of the menu) was also out of stock and as there was a queue building behind me I then had to make a snap decision about what alternative my partner would want based upon the things that caught his eye. We then waited 50mins for our meal to come out even though there was only about 20 people in the pub. When the food came out, cold chips made up 2/3 of our plates, and they'd forgotten my partners onion rings (but after he went up to the till they then brought out a bowl of three overcooked yet cold onion rings that the server said the chef had made but forgot to add them to the plate). His chicken breast was small with two thin strips of very crispy hard bacon and a drizzle of cheese. I had a handful of overcooked to the point of mushy peas and my gammon extremely was very salty and at least 30% fat rind. We've been to Marstons pubs before and always enjoyed it but this quality was worse than a wetherspoons meal. It wasn't worth our £34 bill. The staff were polite when we had interacted with them but nobody came to ask how the food was or clear the neighbouring table, and when we got up to leave there was a few people queuing for the one guy behind the bar so we didn't want to add to his stress. I realise the pub must have been busy in the daytime because of the rare sunny weather, and I'm sure the staff must have had a hectic day but this wouldn't be a complaint if there had been better communication from the start as to whether you do roasts and then what's not available and dinner wait times so we could decide what we wanted to do. We'd have probably stayed for a drink or just a bowl of chips then called it quits and tried again next time. Now we don't want to come back because of...

Recommended by a friend as a good local place that is dog friendly. Have passed many times on the way to Ogmore by sea but visited for the first time on Sunday. There is an overflow car park at the back so don't be put off if the car park out front is full!

We were really impressed by the outdoor seating and there being plenty of space to grab a table.

We ordered chips (about £3) and a drink at the bar and a Sharing Pudding Slate (about £10) which was lovely. The chips were small but reasonable. By the look of everyone else's meals I can't wait to return to try some of the main dishes! I adored the I want butter ice cream but such a shame the portions were so small. I think it was slightly over prices or the portions should be more generous (and mine was meant to be extra because they were out of Chocolate brownie and something else). The Gin and Tonic cheesecake was nice but not a strong taste and a layer of what looked like gelatine... took that off. Would mainly to back for the peanut butter ice cream if they sell that on its own.

The place was very dog friendly, there was a water bowl outside and dogs I think we're welcome in... I saw a jar of dog treats at the bar. There were other dogs there and it was a very relaxed atmosphere.

I have given 4 stars as I think the Watermill could make some improvements to their level of service and experience, although I loved it and will definitely be returning.

When ordering food you have to go up and get your own cutlery and sauces which is fine, however if you forget anything the staff apparently are not allowed to help you out and get you some more. The young waiter did bless him but told me he wasn't supposed to. Shame as he was courteous doing this. There were no forks or spoons as they were all being washed, so we are with our hands and tea spoons for the pudding. I think it would be nicer if they had large table numbers so the staff didn't come outside and shout out the order numbers as it was distracting and took away from the feel of the restaurant... made it feel a bit like a back street chippy! No big concerns but my recommendations.

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