Evenlode Rooms At Firehouse — Restaurant in West Oxfordshire

This hotel needs some serious review by managers/owners by how its run.||We stayed here the evening before my sisters wedding. We were the only people to have stayed on site therefore a vast amount of money was spent. We also ate food (13) of us at the restaurant, again some incorrect orders, however relatively pleasant food but not exactly priced to the quality.||Unaware that the downstairs is completely unstaffed at night at 3am the fire alarms went off, through no staff members fault, however the emergency contact who was the General Manager (Andrew Chrystal) was completely uncontactable, multiple voicemails were left, no response at all. After evacuating the property, we ourselves had to contact the emergency service who after arrival were unable to access all areas due to it all being locked and the emergency contact being uncontactable, we were left outside for over an hour and a half. The head chef arrived around 50 minutes after the alarms sounded however had to protocol to follow due to not knowing what to do in this situation. Upon arrival of the general manager, no contact made with any individuals, no apologies, no acknowledgment just walked passed quite ignorantly. After the fire brigade had confirmed we could enter the building, the general manager had the audacity to put his thumbs up, smile and say Morning. As you can imagine the day of your wedding this is the last thing you want. I spoke with both the general manager and head chef to discuss a complimentary breakfast for the 2 guests who were leaving the venue after the bridal party, this was confirmed yet nothing was provided. Upon checkout at 11am, no staff were present, most areas locked up and noone to liase with. A complaints email was sent and a 10% discount for next stay was offered and a bottle of prosecco. We will not be staying there again, we requested a full refund which we will be pushing for as to be honest the whole stay at the venue and attitude of the staff quite honestly ruined the wedding day.||As a business i would recommend you review policies you have in place, work massively on your customer service skills and you may see more...

I went for lunch on Sunday 24th March at the Evenlode at Eynsham and I have to say it was one of the worst meals I have ever experienced. There were 3 of us and it was a birthday occasion for 2 of them. One meal only was edible and that was my niece's vegetarian burger. My BIL had fish and chips....the chips were a dark mahogany colour and like rock....he couldn't eat any. I had roast beef (a rare pleasure). The presenation was poor with the beef slung on top of everything with only the burnt Yorkshire pudding really visible, I was unable to cut through the fat that joined the meat and the "beef" itself was so chewy that I had to , as delicately as possible remove it from my mouth and deposit it on the side of the plate. The roast potatoes were just so hard....no crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside here....the veg were hard to cut and stringy. We complained when asked how our meal was....a young lady (manager ?) came to see us and we explained just how dire it was....no self respecting chef should have let these meals leave the kitchen....she said she would talk to the chef. Then nothing ...we just sat there. No one came to see if we wanted more drinks , if we wanted desert.... nothing....we were ignored. Finally a young waitress came and asked us if all was OK ???? We explained !!!! NO it was NOT OK. She then came back and said (as if she was doing us a big favour) that 20% had been deducted from the bill. The Evenlode is within walking distance from my Brother in law and is his "local" restaurant. What was supposed to be a lovely family occasion ...wasn't. I had to cook a meal when I got home to Witney as I was still hungry I had only eaten the very burnt Yorkshire pudding and a hard potato.....so beyond...

Our experience at The Evenlode on 7th December 2024 was nothing short of shocking, and the way our complaint has been handled since then is completely unacceptable.

We booked a pre-paid buffet lunch (£20.95 per person) expecting a reasonable selection of food and a well-managed service. Instead, we were met with chaos, substandard food, and an utterly unprofessional approach to customer care.

Unacceptable Failures:

Food ran out before everyone was served, leaving several of our guests with nothing to eat despite having paid in full.

The food quality was appalling—bland, poorly presented, and completely not worth the price. Staff showed no concern when we raised these issues on the day.

The owner, has repeatedly ignored our follow-ups and refused to take responsibility. After multiple emails and attempts to resolve this, he stopped responding entirely.

We have made every effort to handle this matter directly and fairly, yet we have been ignored time and time again. The only response we received was a partial refund offer, which does not reflect the level of failure and dishonesty involved.

A business that takes people’s money, fails to deliver, and then refuses to acknowledge its mistakes shows a complete lack of professional integrity and ownership. The way this has been handled is a disgrace.

If you’re considering booking here, beware—you may end up paying for food that doesn’t exist, dealing with rude and unresponsive management, and receiving zero accountability for their failures.

This establishment has demonstrated no regard for customer satisfaction, fair business practices, or even basic professionalism. We will never return, and we strongly advise others...