please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Looks like it's gone back to the bad old days, came here yesterday for a family meal (wedding anniversary).
Service was poor throughout the meal, but not the staff's fault, simply not enough of them even when it was quiet. waited an age for starters - which were ok. The jug of water in addition to the drinks ordered didn't appear. After asking again when the plates were cleared away it took 10 mins to appear. 3 out of 4 main meals arrived together, the last one was 15 mins late, 2 out of the 4 were very poor and one got sent back.
It's all very well having a carried menu but if you can't get the basics right it's a waste of time.
The beer I had TT Boltmaker was average, won't be back in a hurry.
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Chain pub. But don't be put off as it's actually not bad at all. In fact, I'd say its pretty good. Nice range of beers on tap, which rotate. Normally a local ale or two included. The food is consistently good and very reasonably priced. Massive beer garden with lots of seating to the rear. The staff all seem friendly and the regulars that drink there are also a nice bunch. Not a unique characterful pub, but also not a soulless chain either, so a good compromise for anyone looking for a consistently good pub.
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if you've visited one 'chef and brewer' chain pub, you've visited them all. its food orientated, and a paint by numbers interior.
however, of the 5 or 6 chef and brewers that i know of, its the best. the service is actually very good and upbeat, and the choice of beers/ales seem to rotate quite a lot which is a nice touch. the menu even seems to have a bit more variety than the average C&B.
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Hmmm - I had a drink in here at last orders so cannot comment fully - it was quite quiet but the beer was good and a reasonable price! Would visit again
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Waited 1 hour 15 mins for food. Asked staff several times who were polite but unable explain delay.
Typical chain fast food for the most part.
Family friendly but a little overpriced for burgers and chips.
Plenty of seats in the garden out the back.
Won't be coming again. This has now become probably the worst pub in the town.
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bar staff are friendly and toilets are clean, thats all that is good about the Shoulder. the shoulder has been ruined having to q for 20 minutes for a pint while people faff around ordering food is not on. it would be better to have table service and look after the drinkers. if this happened it may attract the crowds that went there in Cath & Rogers day. so much potential, be good if Wetherspoons bought the place!!!!!
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I regret to confirm that Chef & Brewer have turned what could have been a fine old pub into bland chain outlet.
It 's OK for a pint if you're killing time before the next train at the nearby station, but this is not one for the discriminating pubgoer.
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Moved to Wendover 15 years ago. This was my local.
But the big brewery chains have ruined what was a superb pub.
They are only after the profit from food.
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Actually had quite a nice Chicken Tikka Massala here; pleasant surprise.
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Some good ales on, food passable and good value, irish coffees very good. Right next to the station handy for a lovely walk up to Coombe Hill monument either before or after (both?!) a decent pint. Definitely worth popping into if you're in the neighbourhood, especially now the Red Lion's gone downhill a bit.
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Asked to reserve a table was told yes and given 21 because it would take 7. arrived and was given a totally different table they had to put 2 together not even laid out,on 21 were just 2 people.service was poor we brought some drinks as we came in whilst we were sitting we were only asked once if we woluld like some further drinks.Food was served,the steak was not completly well done and the roasts that came had hardly any vegatables,what i should have said was when the waitress came out with the place settings she asked if she could leave them and could we put them out.The meal was edible but overall the standard was very low, this vist was to see how things were here for a future booking in early December for approximately 15 people that has now all gone out of the window, we certainly will not be going back and not to reccomend any family or friends to vist.
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Visited here for a Sunday Roast 11/10/2009 and was pleasantly surprised.......lovley old pub that was packed @ 4 O'clock and although it is a Chef & Brewer managed house (Punch?) it did nothing brilliantly, but nothing badly either!......service was efficient, even though my roast was thrown onto the table rather comically! Timothy Taylor's Landlord on hand pull was well kept although far to cold!......bill was very reasonable for two pints a glass of wine and Ice cream...it all came to less than �20.00.....not bad I thought!
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tried the food again, still very poor and not worth the money, i will try again next year!!
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Interesting - this place has just be suggested in Bucks Herald and Bucks Advertiser (3rd July) as one of the top 12 restaurants in the area......who are they kidding eh ?
I would love to know who did the ratings and how they arrived at this suggestion !
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'Two mushroom caps an inch and a half in diameter'. Jesus.
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Return visit on 17/6/09 at the start of a crawl in Wendover. Pub unchanged in terms of atmosphere, decor, etc, but did notice a few changes. Beer range less adventurous than last year, ended up settling for Greene King IPA. Food value (especially starters) down on last year. Hoping to enjoy the mushroom starter mentioned in my review of 26/06/08, mushroom dish offered for �5 comprised two mushroom caps an inch and a half in diameter. To be fair, the main course (sea bass with vegetables and potatoes) was reasonable in size for its price. Staff were still quite friendly.
6/10
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Known among some locals I've met as the 'Moudly Old Sh*tt*r'
I agree
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This looked promising from the pictures but I did not bother to stay and have a drink or meal.
Atmosphere, I think, is severely absent.
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food ok but it can't call itself a real pub! it s a restaurant chain pub with no atmosphear. the garden is ok in the summer. getting served is a joke you Q for ages behind people ordering food or trying to pay (the bill is almost always wrong)
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Also noted on the visit that this pub has a spacious beer garden and car park, is accessible to the disabled and accepts card payments.
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I took a friend here for a "memory lane" trip this evening, from which I have just returned. I may have been deterred from visiting on the strength of recent reviews had I read them beforehand, but I have to say that the experience that befell my friend and I was very different to recent reports.
There were five real ales available of which I enjoyed two pints of Chiltern "Cobblestone Summer Ale", 3.5%. It was clear and well-flavoured for its low gravity. All the hop and fruit aromas were present - a perfectly well-kept beer.
I also did very well in the food department. For starters I chose the garlic mushrooms on toasted bread. They were mouthwatering and bursting with flavour, not sure which type of mushroom used but they were very dark and tasty. The addition of pesto was a great idea.
Indeed the starter impressed me more than the main course (crab tagliatelle) which was also good and filling.
Staff at the bar seemed friendly enough, and the Polish lady serving our food really went out of her way to make us feel welcome in the pub. This was worthy of special mention as it really makes a difference to your pub experience how the visit starts and ends.
I will definitely return here, and the Shoulder of Mutton will now be the regular "food stop" on future Wendover crawls.
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Soulless and boring with staff that are even worse trained that the Red Lion; and I did not think that possible.
Dino
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Sadly this once lively pub has degenerated into a chain restaurant/pub.
Indifferent under-trained staff, stewed vegatables, cold potatoes, cloudy beer, smelly toilets, quite frankly don't bother going, the locals don't!
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An old Wendover landmark. This pub has much history and stories. The romance of such is somewhat removed when one noticed 'Chef & Brewer' signage, another chain pub serving bland heated up food that gives England its bland grub reputation.
I liked the idea that the chain is turning over a changing choice of real ales. However, they are all served in hazy condition, likely due to the un-trained un-motivated staff.
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First impressions of the Shoulder of Mutton were good. Plenty of �country pub� atmosphere, and I was served a decent pint of Directors from the small bar at the front. Things went downhill when we went through to the dining area, though. The service was inexcusably slow, even though it wasn�t all that busy. Some time after taking our order, our waitress returned to tell us everything we�d ordered was off. Yes, both starters and both main courses! How difficult would it be to cross items off the �specials� blackboard when they run out? When our second choices eventually turned up we were both really unimpressed by the quality of the food. Orders for more drinks were forgotten, we were left without cutlery, and had to ask twice for the bill. Not a great experience, really. I was slightly irritated they didn�t automatically add a service charge, as I was looking forward to telling them why I was taking it off the bill! Next time we�re in Wendover we�ll stick with our old favourite the Red Lion instead, where we�ve always had good service and food.
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We stopped for a brief drink while on a walk along that section of the Ridgeway. A Chef & Brewer pub, indoors is mostly restaurant with a very small bar space. The grounds outside are well-kept and more suited to walkers stopping for an en-route drink. The beer was all Courage, so if you're coming here to drink, try the Red Lion (Free house I think) or the White Swan (Fuller's) instead. My rating may be slightly unfair as we didn't eat, but frankly chain-pub food doesn't do it for me anyway. On the plus side, clean toilets that are easy to access from the back door and a pleasant garden.
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More of a restaurant than a pub, the food was very nice but I wouldn't recommend coming here for a nights boozing unless you were old.
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Two minutes walk from the staion, this used to be a boozer with a restaurant, now it's a restaurant with a small bar. Reasonable value (for the area!) if eating with the family but would recommend walking down into the town if you're after a pint. I'll be generous and give it 5/10.
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Another pub the had a referb and changed from a nice pub pub to a food only enviroment ie a 90% drop in drinking space. Oh and foods not good for the money!!
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