King William IV, Heydonback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Went here last night 21 Jan, table booked - going on a recommendation. Arrived and everything was locked up, lights on, fire on, games machine on but no staff, no sign to say they were not opening for any reason, no phone call to say they were not opening for any reason (Possibly the snow although we'd travelled 15 miles to get there) so wont be rushing back - even without snow.
Shame as the garden looked good for the Summer, pub itself looked inviting - through the window. But if the management can't be bothered - nor can I as a customer.
Dinner in the Fox & Hounds down the road was excellent and so was the beer. Woodfordes Nog, Barely Best and another that I cant remember.
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We were regular visitors to the King William IV before we had our children 6 years ago and always found the food to be outstanding. So we were really looking forward to returning to celebrate 20 years since our first date � we were somewhat disappointed.
We were virtually sat on the same table as the couple next to us and had quite a loud party sat to the side of us � hardly the romantic setting we were hoping for.
The starters (crab & prawn cocktail and shredded beef) were fine � not outstanding but fine. My main course of pork came with frozen veg (not what I had expected for �14.95) and my hubby�s� Wok Fried Tiger Prawns and Scallops with Stir Fried Vegetables and Noodles with a Caramelised Sweet Chilli Sauce� (again �14.95) seemed to be swimming in a bitter sauce. When I mentioned that I was disappointed that I�d been served frozen veg it was barely acknowledged. The Eton Mess I had for desert still had the stalks left of the strawberries and I was left fishing out bits of greenery from the cream and meringue.
After all that, we were really looking forward to retiring next to the Inglenook Fireplace to have a nightcap before heading home, but found that even on such a cold night, they didn�t feel need to light the fire. I know it�s not the end of the world � but it was so cold and it�s such a beautiful fireplace......
So in the end we paid the bill and headed off home. We�d travelled over 30 miles to get there and the person giving us a lift was shocked that we wanted to go home so early.
It�s such a shame � it was a great place (I even held my hen party there) but we won�t be going back again.
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Had a very nice meaol, nice to find a pub with such long food serving hours. Plenty of waitresses to make our visit a pleasurable one and a VERY UNIQUE interior. The only thing I can say against it is that the price of food was a little high for me to regularly eat here.
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We had lunch at the King William and enjoyed it. I had the bacon and brie, hubbie the burger, both of which came with mounds of chips. Although the chips were good, they certainly aren't as good as the nearby Pheasant in Great Chishill which are incredibly good.
We went back a few weeks later and had dinner, both ordering the Beef Wellington. Whilst the beef was medium rare as ordered, it wasn't well-flavoured and had a very strange texture. The puff pastry was soggy and there was **far** too much of it. The wine sauce was nothing special, and if it was indeed made with truffles, they weren't evident by sight nor taste. In all, pretty disappointing and definately not worth the price.
The place has lots of interesting bric-a-brac, and is quaint. However, on the night we thought there are far too many tables crammed in there and more than a few times we bumped chairs with the diners behind us. The lighting is quite dim, which was nice, but made reading the menu difficult. The soft jazz playing in the background was nice.
We'd probably go back to give it another go, but wouldn't go out of our way.
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My partner & I had been regulars of The King William IV for years, even continuing to visit when we moved out of the area, to London. The fabulous food and unique surroundings justified the journey. We had recommended many of our friends too. Sadly, our last visit was awful.
We had booked ahead as usual. When we arrived we were told the restaurant was full, however we could eat in "The Snug" area of the restaurant, which we didn't have a problem with. We were shown to our table and handed our menu's. We waited some considerable time for our order to be taken, but were happy to wait, chatting over our drinks. We then became aware that we were quite blatantly being talked about by the owner & her waitress, but as my partner plays in a rock band, we thought he may have been recognised - albeit indiscreetly! We were wrong. The owner marched over to our table and bluntly asked why we had not been to the bar to place our food order. We explained that we had no idea we were expected to do so. She told us, none too politely, we were no strangers to the restaurant therefore we should know the procedure for ordering food in The Snug area. We were astonished, not to mention embarassed to be shown up in front of the other diners by her rude manner. Needless to say we have never set foot in the King William IV again. A real shame as the food is excellent and the surroundings charming....which is far more than I can say for the Proprietor.
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I think this is a much better pub than some of these reviews imply. When we went it was outside food serving hours but the bar staff did us a cheese board (with fab homemade chutney and bread) and some gorgeous chocolately dessert. It's got an olde worlde charm that's nice not naff!
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this pub isn't as good as it should be, or as it's reputation suggests. It's a bit like a theme pub, with loads of horse brasses, big fires and almost olde english menus. The food seems to be mainly frozen & reheated, it's always crammed full and the tables in the main part feel like you're in a harvester inn.
The landlady used to run the Royal Oak in Barrington which was far better (I think she still owns it).
2 exceptions - tourists *love* the place and the sandwiches are good & quick at lunchtime.
The beer is very normal.
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Lovely interior decked out in a "cluttered traditional" look. We started with drinks before our meal. The Tim Taylors was a little below par but the wine ordered was good from the house selection.
The menu looked good whilst not over sized there was plenty of choice.
Sadly that was as good as it got. One starter was the filo pastry with asparagus and mushrooms in a Gruyere cheese melt..Sadly the filling was lukewarm.Looked nice but no taste of Gruyere. The other starter was Haddock on a Rissotto base. The rice was badly overcooked and cloying, i suspect reheated, The haddock was nice but lost in the sticky rice.
Mains were Rump of Lamb in a Mustard crust with crushed potatoes.Sadly the mustard had migrated to the potatoes and overpowered everything on the plate.The potatoes were old and not fresh. The meat was hidden from tasting by the overpowering mustard. It should be subtle.. not sledgehammer.
My main was pan seared Halibut with scallops in a champagne and saffron reduction. The first attempt, the fish was undercooked with raw fish on the skin side,apart from that for �17.95 i expected more than two fifty pence piece sized pieces of fish contained within a mess of undercooked fish and bone. I sent it back.The waitress returned and told me that Chef says it was cooked and that was how it should look!!Please please dont insult diners by taking them for idiots. The next attempt produced a tasy , cooked, fillet with a nice amount of fish, scallops cooked excellently,but a reduction that should be that ..reduced, this was a dish that swam in the champagne sauce and i could see no evidence or tatse of saffron..We forwent planned sweets and paid a bill of �63 for a really dire meal 3 glasses of wine a pint of T.Taylor and an orange juice and lemonade.
This was a fine pub/restaurant when last visited but i suspect has rested on its laurels and the chef is perhaps complacent in his approach to the food he serves.
Two final things.. I dont ,and i dont know many who do, like sitting with my right side being cooked on the radiator that was pressed against my table and when you go for a meal for two it is always customary to eat together..My rehashed main arrived 5 minutes after my wife had finished her main..
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Went to the Willy for a booked birthday celebration. Our group was spread over a number of tables. Food was expensive and not really my thing.
A number of dishes came up either wrong or missing completely.
It was packed to bursting in the resturant area it was too hot inside to eat and there were also large queues at the bar for drinks.
Maybe quieter avoiding saturday nights.
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Great pub! Excellent service, fantastic food, incredible atmosphere, and a good selection of well kept beer all combine to make a memorable visit everytime. Well worth the trip all the way out there!
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Great food, very much a gadtro-pub as already noted. Price is reasonable for the amount you get, and the quality is excellent. Not really a place to sit and drink, although later on in a weekday evening when it gets quiet you can have a drink at one of the fantastic hanging tables . Great place to take someone special...
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Vegetarian pub of the year three times obviously stakes it's claim as a fantastic gastro-pub. Also caters for carnivores, and food is reasonably priced for the quality and the generous portions. The pub is also decked out in the most unique fashion, and the swinging tables suspended from the ceiling by huge chains make for an interesting evenings drinking.
Peter Bament - 18 Sep 2004 16:24 |
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