Old Granary, Warehamback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Gastropub for people who don't really do pubs. However, the building has been done out nicely and there are plenty of rooms to sit in (and just drink). Spotted the Badger on tap but I chose something else (and noted it down seemingly incorrectly as C & C). Whatever it was, it was fine.
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its waaay to restauranty inside. a nice restaurant yes, but dissapointing when you want a pub.
however, and this is a big however, the Badger beers on tap are excellent, really nice, and the location is perfect on a sunny day. so sitting outside on the river with a nice pint of Badger ale is just perfect.
plus worth mentioning the service was excellent. well poured pint with a smile.
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More of a restaurant than a pub but it had two real ales on, tried the Ringwood best, it was a nice pint but at £3.80 a bit expensive.
Lovely location on the river and has outside seating and a upstairs terrace with good views over the Purbeck area.
Very polite and cheerful bar and serving staff.
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We went to the Old Granary a few weeks back when on holiday in the area. Was actually my second visit as had visited once before whilst on business and knew it was a "safe" bet to take the family.
Nice location right on the river, the food was good (maybe a little pricey - but good quality) and the staff were friendly. The beer - Badger - was well kept.
I can understand how thi splace may suffer a bit because of its location at times, and to be truthful it's probably only just about a "pub" - couldn't really imagine standing at the bar having a cuff - but it's decent enough warrants a good rating.
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As with the last reviewer we had a fantastic time the first night we went - Food was lovely, staff were friendly and the service was great - We were staying nearby and decided it was so good we'd go back the next night.... Big Mistake unfortunately....
On the second visit the service was dreadful - We had to wait an age for drinks and food, tables around us remained uncleared (as did our starters once finished), and we saw one of the waitresses seat a group of people who then asked her to leave the leftovers of the previous occupants (or maybe she just didn't clear them - Not sure), and they the proceeded to start picking at the cold food left on the table - Not very nice.
I ordered the (expensive) burger (having had the stargazy pie the night before which was lovely), and asked for it to be cooked medium. When it arrived it was very well done and when I complained it took a good 5 minutes of it being taken away and eventually a manager coming back and telling me that it was against their health and safety policy for them to do burgers medium rare...... But he could 'try' and get the chef to do me another one but he couldn't guarantee that it would be medium - It might be well done..... I gave up and told him I'd eat it as it was - Regardless of how the burger was cooked it was pretty horrible.... We skipped desert and when we complained while paying we were basically given a shrugged shoulder and told 'well don't come back then'....
In short, given the 2 completely different experiences we had I really couldn't recommend it - Also as has been pointed out it is NOT a pub, there are no seats available just for drinking it is purely a restaurant
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This is an excellent place to eat. We had a marvellous lunch (nine of us) and it was so good we came back the next day. The sharing platters are good, and the pudding sharing platter is quite exceptional. The location is good, the service friendly, the beer excellent. Don't listen to the moaning minnies who didn't like it.
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Visited the Old Granary in early summer, mid-week and had a good meal with good friendly service. Take on board other postings here, especially that weekends must be v. crowded so I would avoid those times. Although Hall & Woodhouse, they have a different menu from other H & W hostelries (World's End, St Peter's Finger etc.) as marketed more 'up-market' (same as the Olive Branch in Wimborne). Great location and no fights (to my knowledge) unlike some pubs in Wareham.
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Is it a pub or is it a restaurant - this does seem to be the question. Despite being called a pub sort of name this place is indeed a restaurant since we payed for our meal after being given the food. Service was a bit rampant but fairly reasonable and watch out for the bloke wanting to do a questionaire. The food is excessively expensive, especially given the size of some of the portions. Vegetarian choices are very disappointing while on the beer side of things there was a couple of real ales. A solid place to go situated by the river and nobody shall surely complain about location here.
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Pub? Thisn't a pub!! Indeed, it's absolutely dire! It's a cross between an IKEA-style Canary Wharf wine bar and an antique bookshop. The brewery (Badger, unfortunately) has failed in its design concepts. It's also failed in its beer concepts - but that's not unusual for this outfit. What is it about Hall & Woodhouse that they can't seem to get it right. The Ladies & Gents lavatories are magnificent pseudo-Edwardian and I must congratulate the lavatorial architects and interior designers on this one. It's a joy to go there to spend a penny (even though it doesn't cost a penny if you're a customer). However, I have to say that I'd rather drink by ale (but preferably one not breweed at Blandford) in the Gents than in the bars. The customary funereal black corporate uniforms of the bar staff, who incidentally know very little about the beers they serve and can only describe the plastic, standard Badger Inns (probably re-generated) food on offer in corporate H&W jargon, does not lend itself to a quayside establishment in a little, rustic, Dorset town.
Yes, I'm sure that it will do well during the summer months with tourists from London looking for something they can acquaint with, and with the blue rinse brigade coming out of Bournemouth and other conurbations, but, Badger Inns, really, do you have to fill the place with ersatz "character" when with a little more thought you could have made the most of the original concept of the building as a granary? Also, getting rid of, or "retraining" the automatons/zombies behind the bars to be a bit more like bar staff rather than Somerfield checkout (oh, I see that supermarket's now closed) staff might help. Lets have a decent non-plastic menu of good, traditional West Country food rather than the minimalistic, boil-in-the-bag, microwave, sous vide, "jus"-laden, "anything-mash", city-slicker offerings currently on the menu.
A good menu, good, non-clinical atmosphere where there is a welcome rather than the blank face of an automaton languishing in the anonimity of corporate uniform noire. Good, well kept beer is also important, as is the way it is served; but that's another story which will probably come to fruition when the Blanford Brewery is converted into flats (or maybe even an enormous "Old Granary" - or should it be "Old Brewery?) and the recipes for all Hall & Woodhouse "beers" confined to the shredder!!
I recommend people visit "The Old Granary" at Wareham to visit the lavatories, photograph them for posterity and then leave and replenish your thirst and satiate your hunger elsewhere. The Kings Arms Stoborough and the Duke of Wellington are pretty good although the ambience of their beer gardens are not quite the same as the river at Wareham Quay.
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I had one of the most memorable - in a positive way - pub meals I've had in a long time at the Old Granary. Their Stargazy Pie, washed down with a pint of Badger, was genuinely superb. Nice atmosphere, lovely location and a really first rate pie.
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Took my Mother here for a Birthday lunch. We had a really good lunch, the weather wasn't great but we still sat on the stunning terrace and enjoyed a tapas board with extra bits, a glass of pinot and some really good coffee. The service was good, the location is unbeatable, this is a really good restaurant. The food was excellent and it was less than �30 so a good Birthday treat. I also went there a few weeks back with friends and we all had a great time, recommend from that visit the monkfish and the burger!
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I have read the reviews from 2007 and before. None are any longer valid. The place has recently had a major refurb, and is immaculate. We visited on 13th July 2008, and 4 of us had lunch, with a bottle of wine. It is not cheap, but not overly expensive either. The food, staff and venue were all excellent, and nothing appeared to be too much trouble. I would recommend this to anyone.
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Relies entirely on its lovely setting by the river.
Otherwise Wareham has far better to offer!
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Beer is Badger but bottled and ok to sit by the river. DO NOT eat here. We ordered two meals that were returned after two mouthfuls and our money refunded. The woman on the table behind us who had brought her parents for Sunday lunch looked like she wished she had done the same.
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BOTTLED BEER ONLY!
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Oh dear, lovely location but in dire need of TLC, lots of it. Sorry would only go back for a drink outside by the bridge.
anonymous - 16 Aug 2006 18:54 |
Lovely picturesque setting, friendly staff, but do not eat here, the food was absolutely dreadful! We ordered sardines, which were served with the guts still intact, and mussels which we dry and rubbery, and had obviously been reheated. Consequently at �9.90 for a small portion of inedible mussels, they had to be sent back.
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Best pub in Wareham by far! Lovely setting alongside the quayside. We have taken to regular staying at a nearby campsite and then basically spending every evening we stay at the Old Granary.
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