Restaurant at The Falcon Hotel Reviews

It was my birthday and wanted to go to a nice restaurant with a nice á la carte menu and found the Falcon on the internet. The menu looked good and it was booked. On arriving we were met and asked if we would like a drink before being seated, things were looking good, that is until we opened the menu. This was not the menu advertised on their home web page so I asked for the á la carte menu only to be told that this was it. Ham egg and chips are nice but not something that I was looking forward to on a special occasion. The menu was more of a pub menu and very disappointing after an á la carte was advertised. After finishing the starters, the mains arrived literally a minute later, no way on earth were they cooked fresh, stuck under a grill even with the salad leaves leaving them burnt and crispy, the steak was not cooked and had to be sent back. To be honest this was the worst meal I have had and would never go back, so disappointing I really can’t express how bad this was.

For me, The Falcon was like an old friend who I hadn't seen for a while, and when I did, found them changed, and not for the better. We've been dining at the Falcon for almost thirty years - it was a favourite place to go for Christmas Day lunch, when I was a child and I spent my wedding night there fifteen years ago. We last visited in 2003 and had a wonderful meal, but our experience last night was not up to the standards I'd come to expect.

Firstly, the cosy cellar bar was mainly empty of bar staff while we waited for our table and although we'd booked for 8 pm, it was after 8.30 pm by the time we were seated. As a party of six with two children, we were seated outside of the main dining area, in splendid isolation. The bubbly ordered by my father as a surprise for my mother was forgotten, but later taken off the bill as a gesture of goodwill.

The service was adequate but impersonal - the special atmosphere of the old Falcon was missing and although the food was acceptable, pub grub is a good description and I would need a lot of persuading to return.

We have stayed and dined at the Falcon on numerous occasions over the last twenty five years and, until our last visit, I have always enjoyed the cuisine. However, we left with the feeling that we were served with bar meals, albeit in the restaurant, at restaurant prices. As bar meals they would have been acceptable. Maybe we have only ourselves to blame as we had been warned by people who live locally, that things had changed. I can only agree with Ian.

There is quite a dearth of quality restaurants in the Northants area, so my wife and I thought we'd try The Falcon Hotel as several friends had eaten meals there and had enjoyed them. We thought the building was interesting, highly atmospheric and quirky. The pricing and service was perfectly OK, but the food really wasn't too special. Maybe I've missed something, but from this visit it appears that they must survive on reputation alone. Is it principally a hotel, a pub, a restaurant or all three? A more creative, better cooked meal would bring the quality starved punters in the area in droves. They could do (much) better, although worth a try. Please write a review once you have been!

My over-riding memory of this meal will be the fact that I was sat next to French windows and was very cold. When we asked to move (prior to ordering), we were told "No, we are fully booked", the fact that the tables that were still empty when we left did not support this.

My husband had the venison, which was very tasty. My salmon was well cooked but the couscous was extremely bland.