The Bakers Arms — Restaurant in Winchester

Having moved to Winchester a few months ago, I've had the opportunity to visit more than a dozen local pubs this summer and have received uniformly friendly, welcoming service wherever I've gone...until now. For those unfamiliar with the establishment, the Bakers Arms isn't visible from the High Street but you can always hear a boisterous crowd sitting in their garden as you pass the little alleyway that leads to the pub. I've been curious for ages what the place was like but had never ventured in, as I thought it might be a bit awkward walking into such a busy pub full of regulars, until last night when I finally decided to take the plunge.

The young man behind the bar was extremely friendly when I ordered my pint but I immediately noticed a look of contempt on the face of the woman standing beside him the moment she heard my American accent. I'm guessing she assumed I was a tourist - I'm not, but so what if I was - and I wondered if perhaps she had confused me with someone else or if I had simply misread her look. But when I went to order a second beer fifteen minutes later, the same thing happened and I knew I wasn't imagining her bad attitude. Nonetheless, I stuck around for a few more drinks, having met a group of fun-loving Scots at the next table, and eventually had to deal with Miss Sunshine directly as the pub got more and more crowded. She left me standing at the bar as long as she possibly could until finally taking my order, never responding to my offer of thanks when she handed me the beer or when I paid for it - just a really stern look and an obnoxious eye roll as she walked away. I suppose I shouldn't feel entirely bad, given that I wasn't the only one on the receiving end of her unnecessary rudeness, as I watched her aggressively confront several other patrons about anyone at their table who might not be ordering drinks as quickly as the rest of the group. Honestly, if five people are seated together and one of them is a light drinker (or possibly even a designated driver for the evening), what should it matter if the other four are regularly placing drink orders? So, have a look at the rest of the one and two star reviews and see if there's a common thread between them and you'll find repeated references to a middle-aged woman with short hair treating paying customers badly. It's actually a shame, as the beer garden is very attractive, the drink prices are excellent and the locals are as friendly as can be. The pub definitely does great business, so losing me as a regular customer certainly won't bother the owners one iota, but why waste your time having to deal with this woman when you can go anywhere else in town and be treated respectfully and appreciatively as you spend your...

Not the best service and was pushed all the time to buy a drink, wasn't that relaxing but apart from that it was a venue that sells drinks so basically does the job...

EDIT: Was a 3 star review no lowering it to 2* due to the fact the owners or people serving us are clearly trying to mask their attitude down to it's "busy". If I wanted a pushy environment where I can do allot of drinking without being badgered I wouldn't go out, I certainly don't miss the beer gardens, enjoy my £20 I spent probs gonna be the last if you can't at least apologize and own up to being pushy, instead the response is suppose to be a PR type deflection. Businesses do this all the time to reassure the public that I was more than likely to be a one off instance or a simple misunderstanding so that it paints as a karen character.

I should know this considering I've been studying media in education since early secondary school and continue to this day. So instead of creating a deflecting statement to defend the pubs reputation why not admit to it and vow to improve services that way keeps the accuser happy without dismissing their experience and makes you guys look like you care about every bit of feedback and come off as super professional, well I'm not taking no statement where I'm painted to be a tool.

At the end of the day a pushy pub is not what anyone wants. Accept the fact people like to take their time and that sometimes the who drinking group doesn't arrive at...

Went in with a group of friends for a few drinks and all went to use the toilet first. Aggressive woman assumed we weren't going to stay afterwards and yelled at us about how it wasn't a public toilet. So swiftly left. Perhaps if you want business don't scream at your customers before they're about to spend money. UPDATE: RESPONSE FROM OWNER: You I believe had been asked for ID earlier in the day & could not produce any....... MY RESPONSE: Wow! Good to know your customer service has not improved in the year or so that this incident happened. No, I had not been asked to produce ID earlier: you're either confusing us with other people or are outright lying. I'm a respectful person and would not do something like that - I'm a teacher, that'd be a pretty bad example to set! Besides, I carry my driving licence wherever I go. Regardless, even if that had been the case, what on Earth gives a FEMALE staff member the right to burst into the male toilets while we're using them?! Where does it stop? You might as well have popped your head over the cubicle to make it extra clear. You're just making yourself look worse here. Why not just apologise for the incident if you're going to respond over a year later rather than failing to justify your breaching of privacy and outrageously rude behaviour? I can hands down say that these are the rudest, most disrespectful staff I have ever interacted...