The Wykeham Arms, Winchester

Don't plan to eat here unless you have at least 2 hours to spare.

We planned to have supper here before the opening concert of the Winchester Festival and booked a table for 6pm when food service starts. We mentioned when we booked, when we arrived, and when we ordered our food that we had to leave in time for a concert starting at 7.30. Our order was taken c 6.10. When no food had arrived by 6.40 a waiter apologised and explained that because of a computer glitch our order had not reached the kitchen. However our order was getting priority and was on its way. At 6.50 it hadn't arrived but we were assured that it was "just coming". At 7pm we payed for our drinks and left. Even if our order had arrived immediately, we didn't have enought time to eat, pay and get to the concert, a fact which didn't seem to register with the staff. The reaction was "well, we did apologise"- as if that made amends.

As the reviews say, this is a very attractive pub. However, we thought the menu was limited - on one of the hottest days of the year there wasn't a single salad on the menu- and pricey. The quality of the food might have justified the price, but as we didn't get any we couldn't judge.

We suspect that this place is living off it's previous reputation and being on the tourist map, it doesn't matter so much to them if the customesr are dissatisfied. We certainly won't go there again, and as we live within reach of Winchester, will advise others of our experience.

10 Jul 2010 09:00