please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This pub is of the Hungry Horse chain, we found the food acceptable and pints of Orrell's Silver King were not bad. Ok for eating in but not a place to stay too long.
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The food was awful - not enjoyable at all. Would not go back.
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Visited The Acorn today for the first time. Maybe a bit harsh posting a review after only one visit, but it was terrible. The Guinness was good, should've left it at that with hindsight. I was very hungry so I ordered a burger & chips, how can you get that wrong? The chips were fine but the burger itself was dire, it could not have been more shriveled, dry or granite like.
I could've complained (& should've) but time was against me & I felt sure I would've been offered a free meal or vouchers, neither of which I fancied, when all I wanted was a decent burger in the first place. What annoys me the most is that a "kitchen proffesional" saw fit to serve the thing. It had probably spent more time in the poxy kitchen as most of the staff.
I know this sort of a review is not what Beer In The Evening is really about but I doubt you'd find The Acorn on, say, the Michelin star restaurant guide.
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Busiest weekend for 14 years clearly the visitors to bicester didnt find better places in town...
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Glad it's shut for two weeks - maybe those who visit the Village will be given an incentive to try a couple of better places in the town centre!
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Glad you and your party enjoyed yourself and thank you for writting it means a lot.
Just to let you and anyone else know from the 14th of April to the 2nd May the acorn will be shut due to refurbishment
Look forward to seeing you all in the new shiny pub!!
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Only just noticed the date I submitted the review. This is not intended as a joke, unfortunate date to do a review. Sorry about that.
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Visited specially with four pensioner friends, bemused to be driven almost 70 miles for a Hungry Horse meal. Still ,the idiot driving was paying why should they worry.They ate their way through a three course meal and drank two bottles of wine and finished with coffee. No complaints whatsoever as they burped and f****d back to the aged person accommodation. Never having been to a Hungry Horse before they were pleased enough to want to go again.
I agree with everything they say.
I no longer have any issues with The Acorn.The work of the management has worked wonders on the food front.
It is a Hungry Horse a brand which some people may denigrate for their own reasons but I like good ones and this one has the makings. Good look to everyone and thank you for proving me wrong. ......bee578.
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Thanking you for saying the bar staff were friendly the team have worked extremely hard on improving their customer service so it is nice for them to be appriciated.
Car parking is an issue, hopefully they will be addressing when we have our refurb for the time being we have employed a car park attendent who works at peak times trying to stop people parking in our car park and going to Bicester Village shopping.
One of our assistant managers is now running the kitchen as i agree before we took over a lot of our complaints were generated by the food quality but with a new menu, new leadership and a LOT of new kitchen equipment in there (including 4 new chefs) we have recieved good feedback from customers who have before hand recieved poor quality food and with the price you pay (6.99 for 10z steak for example) we still believe it offers good value
I agree with you saying the pricing for drinks is expensive unfortunately there is nothing we in house can do about it as all the prices are banded by Greeneking. (You'd think in a recession they would be lowering them...?)
Hopefully the next time you come in you will stay for more than a drink and we can change your perception of a "bottom sector" pub
Regards
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Sorry I missed sharris, I called in for a drink on Friday lunch time which I often do when in the area. Read my comments and you will find I have no issue with bar staff ( friendly) or drinks quality (bloody expensive though).Some one else was paying. I visit Hungry Horse all over the midlands some good, some not so good. I live near two really good ones where I eat regularly and take friends and family.
Hopefully the guiding hand of new_management and the awaited refurbishment will raise the Acorn out of the bottom sector but please sort the food quality out.
You mentioned the Bure Farm, a place I eat at when in Bicester and have never waited more than 30 minutes for a plateful of enjoyable food. It being Marstons the menu and drink available would be different.
Again I wish you all the best in raising the standards. I visit about every three weeks so I am aware of changes. ( 30 extra covers? bang goes the car park).
p.s. I cannot speak for snert though.
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In response to bee578 comments noted on the 25th May and the 21st Feb...
First question if you apparently no longer eat there then how come you have posted yet another comment?
Secondly, the pool table isnt meerly a cutdown on table as since new management took over we have ADDED 30 extra covers to the restaurant as well as the pool table (suggest you get facts right)
Thirdly we have more than 20 regulars who are ALL recognised by name and always recieve a warm and friendly welcome.
And yes i agree there probably are nicer looking pubs around hense why we are having a re-furb in a few months and secondly none of them take the money or serve the meals we do. The only one that comes close is the Bure Farm which i believe runs on a waiting time of averaging 52mins compared to our 22mins
Suggestion for you, instead of passing negative comment on a hard working team and managers who are trying to turn the pub around how about you dont come back like you stated in your first comment nearly a year ago...
Oh and for reference we do not have any management or staff under the name of s.Harris i actually believe these were people from Milton Keynes who popped in on there way home...they returned last saturday!
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It's a Hungry Horse pub. What could you possibly expect? It has cheap food, noisy kids and surprisingly expensive beer. I was shocked to see their "pricebuster" drinks. Pint of Strongbow a whopping �3.10. Quite how they decided that was a pricebuster is beyond me. More of a girobuster!
snert - 26 Feb 2009 19:39 |
It's a Hungry Horse pub. What could you possibly expect? It has cheap food, noisy kids and surprisingly expensive beer. I was shocked to see their "pricebuster" drinks. Pint of Strongbow a whopping �3.10. Quite how they decided that was a pricebuster is beyond me. More of a girobuster!
snert - 26 Feb 2009 19:39 |
The last post is laughable. So obviously written by the management. Its a Hungry Horse serving fling and ping food with more lager than beer. The pool table has merely cutdown on the seating area. Visited by thirsty (tea & coffe please) shoppers who are hardly locals or regulars. Beers IPA by Greene King . Better pubs nearby, try it yourself and see why everyone thinks as they do.
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Went to the acorn after shopping in bicester village and i have to say after a hard days ploughing round the shops it was welcoming to see smiley faces behind the bar, talking to the new manageress Jemma who also pointed out her partner clearing tables it was clear to see why the place was so welcoming. Both the managers were full of energy and were talking to me as if they'd known me for years!
The food came out very quickly considering how busy the place looked. I had the beef and ale pie whilest my partner had nachos - both of which were throughly enjoyable and offered excellent value for money think the total including drinks was about �12!
The only thing i would say is the pub looks tired and could do with a sprouse up although it did look cleaner (especially the toilets) from my previous visit and with the addition of the pool table i have decided to overlook the tiredness and would definately be going back!
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After a number of awful meals we no longer eat here. We go for a drink, the staff are polite but the food at this Hungry Horse is dreadfull. Many people are seen to be eating but a lot of food is left.The disabled toilet leaks and smells awful despite complaints over the last twelve months. I have used good H.Hs but this is not alone in poor presentation of the brand.
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When we went to order our meals at the bar we said we wanted the alternatives to chips, but the bad tempered bar - maid said she already had put the order through and it couldn't be changed.
Later on a woman who knew her asked why she was in such a bad mood to which she replied " I don't want to be here !!"
So be warned as to what kind of "welcome" you will get at "The Hungry Horse"
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Ordered a Sirloin Steak which was barely edible with lots of grissle.
My wifes stick of prawns were cold as were the peas and everything else.
Lots of kids running around and looked dirty
anonymous - 17 Jul 2007 14:48 |
Awful place. Went for sunday lunch and all the high chairs were filthy - we arrived just as they had started serving food so it was previous days/ weeks mess. Health hazard for a young child.Carvery veg was watery and bland, the meat was ok. chairs and tables were sticky and the cutlery was a bit hit and miss as to whether it was clean. Chav central as well. AVOID.
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This seems to have improved recently with English staff now in place
My wifes steak was served up rare with blood coming out of it even though she asked for medium.
Prices are fairly reasonable for what you get
anonymous - 26 Jun 2007 15:29 |
Went back for Sunday lunch last weekend; still plenty of kids but I appreciated the lack of smoke, and the carvery had most definitely improved. It wasn't great but there was no frozen sweetcorn, and the carrots and cabbage seemed fresh.
anonymous - 14 Mar 2007 10:24 |
I would agree with previous posts about unruly screaming kids.
The Speckled hen beer is good. Food can be a bit of a mix. The steaks themselves are good but the peripherals ( peas, mushrooms, chips ), are awful.
Floor is usually dirty, staff change every week it seems, and lots of noise from the brats.
If you can visit off peak it may be different, but its cheap.
anonymous - 27 Oct 2006 08:24 |
Horrible. Even the carvery is a huge plate of nasty frozen veg.
anonymous - 19 Oct 2006 18:20 |
Standard hungry horse. Too many kids. Under par food but cheap. Beer isn't too bad surprisingly and quite cheap. Smoke free which is (lterally) a breath of fresh air. Only worth while going there on quiet nights for a cheap pint. Terrible location but a very big pub.
anonymous - 26 Sep 2006 15:41 |
Sad Nursery/Pub it has changed over the years never rated it before but this is the pits...more of a service station now
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The menu is of the usual chill-microwave 'ding, ding chicken'variety. I was also put off by the dicatorial non-smoking prohibition and the fact that the place was full of screaming brats with parents who seemed not to care on jot. Basically a bit fat 0/10!
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Typical Hungry Horse!! More like a Happy Eater. Full of unruly kids, Food is of poor quality. If your going to Bicester Village take a few more minutes to go into town where the quality is 10 fold.
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