The Racehorse — Restaurant in Warwick

Well how to go from a 5* to a 1* in 1.5 visits seems achievable here so well done to them for achieving that!

The Racehorse of old was never a place I was a fan of when I lived in the area but late 2018 I met up with friends who told me that it had been done out. Reluctantly I met them there and I admit my reservations were almost dispelled. The Sunday roast was excellent but pubs will insist of having some tables near a door, we were sat near the rear entrance and we may of well of been seated on the M40 by the draught and lack of warmth when the door was opened. However they were fully booked so we had no choice to move but the food was very good and therefore makes the next visit even more annoying.

I must explain that now living in Manchester a trip to Warwickshire involves planning and staying with family so with a birthday coming up we decided to take the in-laws to The Racehorse. The initial, albeit polite, look on their faces was "really, The Racehorse?" but we explained that the food was great and totally different to the previous ownership over the years. We showed them the online menu and a booking was made by my better half for 7:30 on 12th January in her name.

Upon arrival we walked in right next to a rowdy table of about twelve young racegoers (we hadn't realised there must of been racing locally) all being loud and knocking back shots, clearly intent of visiting Drunksville! The bar had a sign up saying to use the other side of the bar and, from what I saw, were just two staff working and looking very busy. We stood next to booking in desk and were greeted by a guy who seemed rather harrassed when we gave the name. I was a little confused as he seemed to be looking at a line underneath to ours and then called my other half "Kate" instead of "Katie" (she is not known as this in the same way I am not "Dave"). He then squeezed us past two tables and presented a very poor excuse of a table crammed in, we had booked for four people, and so we questioned it and got a very sarcastic remark "well if some people book for two but four turn up...." followed by a sob story of being very busy and we'd have to wait an hour for food! Okay the food is okay for a pub but it isn't a Michelin starred restaurant whereby an hour would be just about acceptable. We said that was not good enough and he mumbled something but luckily we didn't hear!

I have since Googled who owns this and, although I maybe wrong, it could of been the manager who dealt with us so if that's the case it makes the attitude even more appalling. Clearly he'd overbooked and was happy to be serving drunk racegoers than giving a quality service. The incorrect assumption (or selecting the wrong booking) we'd booked for two, which we hadn't, added to his lack of ability to act appropriately and then to top it off by using abbreviated names to speak to people was the icing on the cake. So trying to find a table for four on a Saturday evening in Warwick on a race day was near impossible but we did find somewhere.

All I'll say is that if you can put up with a lack of forward planning, assumption filled staff attitude and a long waiting time for food aside in lieu of decent spuds then do so but if these would bother you then I can only advise go elsewhere. If you do venture in the colder months and get put by the back door go and grad your coat from the...

We booked a special table for 3 Christmas lunch for my elderly mother back in September at the Racehorse. Having had two very nice meals there previously we were looking forward to a lovely Christmas meal. I confirmed that we would be attending the day before. We arrived a little early and so waited in the bar area. At 2:00pm we were shown to our table. We waited to order our Turkey lunch for 20 minutes having been repeatedly ignored in favour of the larger parties of people attending. Having finally ordered we waited and waited for our meal but nothing arrived. Other diners were served and tidied away. At 3:pm I lost patience and approached a member of staff to say we had been at our table for an hour with no sign of our lunch. He apologised and said "bear with me.." We did so for a further 10 minutes and just as we were getting up to leave, the "food" arrived. Items were cold on the plate, the "seasonal vegetables" were all mixed up making it difficult to choose any individually, and the roast potatoes were baked dry. We refused to eat it and left. I had a further word with the member of staff I had spoken to before. He asked for my email address in order to follow up with an apology. I left my email address. We were very hungry by that time and my Mum was upset having had to sit for over an hour on relatively hard chairs. We went back to our local Miller and Carter where we had a great meal with good service and pleasant staff. The Racehorse has lost three loyal customers and others in the restaurant also appeared unhappy with the delays to their day. I would like to think this was a one off, but couples and small groups need to be aware that you may have a long wait if there are larger groups being catered for....

The food is really good here. Generous portions and the price point is spot on, so you feel like you're getting good value for money which is hard to come by these days. The kids menu is fantastic and their meals were brilliant. Between them, my four had pizza x2, mac & Cheese and chicken dippers. The pizza was obliterated in a matter of minutes as was the mac & cheese and the dippers were freshly battered chicken breast strips, not frozen ultra high processed dross - actually great quality. The adult mains were equally fantastic - notably, my wife had the katsu curry and it came with a huge butterfly chicken breast and tasted amazing. The only improvement points I'd provide and the reason I've given four stars are due to cleanliness. Being handed absolutely filthy menu's upon entry doesn't set the experience up well. It takes a second to wipe them down and is definitely something that let's the place down. I know it may seem trivial but seeing others food, drinks splashes and finger prints all over the menu to me is really off-putting. Secondly, the gents were in a right state. The last urinal was blocked with piss so you're naturally greeted with that pungent stench as soon as you walk in. The left cubical toilet seat was hanging off and pubes and old, dry piss stains decorated the toilet bowl. They clearly have no regular toilet checks but this would address the issue. The table was sticky, but I'm not sure if it was down to the wear of the varnish. Still, something that could be improved with a deep clean or re-varnish.

Overall: Could be a five star if they kept up with basic cleanliness jobs, however the food...