Bull

PB (8 August 2007)

The Bull has recently extended its seating capacity significantly, and its outdoor area now includes an extensive range of tables, chairs and benches, as well as outdoor heating. Great for having dinner on a summer's evening, you might think. But be warned that there are often long delays for ordering food, even when the place is not full. On a recent visit one Saturday evening, I went with some friends at about 8 p.m. and we had no trouble finding a table (the place was half empty) but found that no food orders were being taken until a backlog could be cleared and the earliest we might expect to have our order taken would be 9.30 p.m. and we might not be eating until, 10 p.m. We decided to go somewhere else instead, which didn't seem to bother the manager at all. It's a great shame, as this is a beautiful and comfortable pub with terrific character that used to be very friendly and do lovely pub food at a very good price. But not only is the service bad, but the extensive chalked special’s boards have shrunk to a handful of offers only, and have been largely replaced by a set printed menu of relatively limited choice and noticeably higher prices. I still think it's a lovely place to go for a drink, but it's no longer somewhere I could recommend for a meal.

Keith (3 May 2007)

Having eaten here in the past and found the food generally very good I had not expected to be so disappointed. Being a Wednesday night getting a table was no problem although a good number of people had also turned out for some liquid refreshment. The bar area appeared understaffed for the number of people there and it was a wait to get served. The real disappointment was with the food order. Three of us ate and whilst one of my friends said that the king size prawn curry was lovely my meal of beef and ale pie was poor mainly due to the pastry being very overcooked or maybe over re-heated and a little way into the mash I found it to be fridge temperature cold and the rest of vegetables just warm. The waiter was quick to take it away and reheat the dish but that was not the point. I can remember a time when the pie came in its own little dish adorned with a lovely rough puff pastry top – alas not any more. My other friend’s sirloin steak was requested medium but arrived very much overdone. The long wait for the food also suggested that the kitchen was probably understaffed as well and the fact that they were advertising outside for a chef and other staff should have served as a warning to us. This pub has so many plus points that I would not write off ever going back. However I will wait a while before returning in the hope that management can get the food side sorted out as this pub used to be well worth the 45 minute drive into the country from where I live.

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