The Fountain — Restaurant in Wells

A table upstairs for four. The service was comically poor, erratic. Two of us arrived twenty minutes early and thought we would have a drink at the bar. We were told they would take us up to our table and take a drinks order. It was ten minutes before they took this order and asked if we were ready to order food. We reminded them that we were waiting for two more people. Our drinks arrived, as did the other two members of our party who had been sitting downstairs waiting for us as no one had told them we were upstairs. We asked for an additional wine glass but none came so they drank wine from a water glass. After a while we ordered food. Then another member of staff came to take our order. After another while, an extra wine glass arrived, so they used it for water. During the meal, as there were no staff around, one of the party went downstairs to order two drinks. A little later I managed to get the attention of one of the staff and asked for a second bottle of wine. This came promptly, before the two drinks previously ordered. We asked again for the two drinks. Someone else came to our table and apologised, took the order again and then a third person came to confirm the order! Anyway, the food. The food was very good, at least the dishes I tried were. I had panko breaded prawns followed by beer battered haddock with crushed mint peas and chunky chips. The batter was crispy, no sogginess here, and batter to fish ratio good, a lovely piece of fish. The chips were very good too, proper chunky chips. My partner had grilled goats cheese followed by pan fried sea bream on a mediterranean potato cake.

All in all a very enjoyable meal, just don't let the service spoil it (if you have the same experience as us).

Would recommend the food, the service had...

We arrived to a genuine and courteous warm welcome and we're shown to our table in the ground floor pub area. The gastro pub is tastefully decorated and the background music was subtle, fitting and non intrusive. The staff were exceptionally pleasant, attentive and engaging. The attention we received was not overbearing and surpassed expectations. The smoked salmon parcel as a starter was beautifully presented and at the correct temperature and delicious. The pan-fried sea bream main was perfect and served on a beautiful dish and it was served with a potato cake and wilted greens with a saffron aioli which made for a nice ensemble. The vegan sausages and mustard mash, pea puree with caramiled onions and apple and onion gravy was sublime and substantial. There was a decent wine selection with a good price list. The choice of ice cream was unusual and extensive and a good quality. We shared rhubarb and rosehip, crystallised ginger and salted caramel all of which were beautifully divine. The tempo of the meal was relaxing and the staff anticipated our needs well. The staff are very professional and contributed to the wonderful experience we had. The price of the meal represented great value for money because of its quality and having been in Wells for a few days we were forging a view that this was a gastronomic no man's land but the discovery of this gastro pub made our day. We will definitely return and can't...

Was in Wells for 5 days, tried 4 of the other pubs/restaurants for food and all 4 were top rate, the Fountain Inn however was a different story altogether... Staff were unbelievably rude and cared more about joking and gossiping with each other than taking care of customers. Waited 20 odd mins for 3 drinks and a further 75 mins for our food and even then some items had obviously been finished long before others and not kept hot enough as one of our party was served chicken that had dropped to almost room temp and we all had items on our plates that were at wildly different temps (a professional kitchen knows how to get food out to diners at the same temperature as the rest of the plate). Once we had eaten we decided to at least stay on for a couple of drinks but as the only other table paid and left we were told they were closing... It was 9.15pm!!! As we paid and left we were never thanked or asked how we enjoyed the food and the door was shut loudly behind us. I thought Wells was a friendly town and everyone else we have met in the city were lovely, not this bunch. AVOID!! Stick to the pubs and restaurants 200 meters away in the center where you will enjoy beautiful food and friendly service and they remain open till at least 11pm... Ruined the last day...