please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
It`s the one hit comments that put regular users of this site off a pub,if the people got out and commented on other places their view would hold more weight.
Noted trucker39 (only use this place then)
And a big Hip hip for Rich.
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Well having been a client of the smithy for more years than I care to remember I have to say it is as good now as it ever has been , excellent food ,great beer , and a hugely warm welcome to all comers, And Mr Pissflap I personally know Stepheny and he is definitely not Rich, we can see your mentality from your alias, and personally I reckon if this person could read they they would have noticed any over charge before paying. maybe his guide dog drank the cider and could not read the receipt.
Jen and Rich have put a huge effort into getting the smithy where it is now, that has included rich appearing in the bar at 10.00 pm covered in dust and paint to grab a cider when doing his DIY conversion for the restaraunt. I would recommend this pub to anyone, and believe me if it was no good I would let everyone know as well
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piss flap and nuffsaid why not go down to the west country and see it for yourself. Iv'e checked all your comments,and your in my neck of the woods (not far from Guildford ). Keep your trumpets out of it. Iwas down here last week for a couple of pints and a bite to eat. Bar man very polite and chatty. Bit of a time warp, but enjoyable. Need to do something about the flies though! 7.5/10.
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Interesting welcombelass but wrong.
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Honeybadger, it was unfortunate that the error wasn't noticed at the time, call it human error, and lessons have been learned from this. The �30 overcharge has not been pursued as the proprietor made it clear he was not interested to co-operating on this matter, and so the incident has been put down to experience.
Welcombelass, I am not throwing accusations and insults around on the internet, this is being done perfectly well by the proprietors of this establishment as can be seen by anyone who reads their post. I have no wish to engage in any internet campaign against these people, I am just choosing to share my bad experience,as indeed you are perfectly entitled to share all your good experiences, and it is for others to make there own judgement about this premises.
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First of all I'd like to say I have known The Old Smithy for about 35 years and have been a regular there for over 20 years. I have posted on here before, a couple of times, dating back to before the current owners were there. Richard and Jenny are impeccably honest, hardworking people who would not dream of ripping anyone off. They are also extremely polite and courteous at all times. I have never seen either of them deviate from that, even in the most stressful situations.
In answer to SometimesMagic's complaint:
1) How do you know it was the ciders that were overcharged by �30 for, as you say you also ate there? Does that mean your friend has the original itemised bill and not just the card receipt? The till automatically charges the correct amount for a drink that is keyed in, so it must be that more than 2 ciders were down on the receipt and no, the landlord would not have noticed a discrepancy. So, even if someone else's drinks had been added to the bill, by accident, it would still have all tallied up at the end of the evening.
2) All the staff pass the itemised bill to clients to check, prior to going through with a card transaction, I know this because I have been there many times. Why didn't your friend question it at the time?
3) Leaving it a month to complain is very strange and unfair and unless your friend gives the landlord his name and card details, he can't even look up the transaction. Why don't you both do the decent thing and go and talk to Richard face to face to try and resolve this issue. Throwing accusations and insults around on the internet helps no one and just has a very negative effect on everybody, including the complainant.
I personally know vstaffy and stepheny and can confirm they are genuine people and not multiple personalities, not sure the same can be said for PissFlap or Nuffsaid!
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Unless I missed it, was the error admitted and refunded? If a card payment it can be done without the need to refer back to the client. If cash I am amazed they haven't pursued it. I confess to being a little surprised that a �30 overcharge wasn't noticed at the time by the clients !
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I am disappointed that the landlord and landlady of this pub feels the need to resort to being abusive calling me an "internet troll" and making accusations that my friend and I are waging an internet campain to "fuck up their life" as they put it. I am not aware that my friend has written any reviews about this pub and I myself chose write a couple of reviews to share our experience. As stated previously, we had had a nice evening at this pub, enjoying both the food and the drink, but this experience was marred by the fact that we were overcharged massively for the drinks, a fact which sadly was not noticed at the time, and by the landlord and landlady's response at a later date to this matter. The accusations and manner in which the landlord and landlady have handled this situation are leaving a bitter taste.
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Whilst on holiday in Devon we called into the Smithy for a spot of food and a drink. The hospitality we received was excellent and was the lunch that followed!
We have a small son and he really enjoyed exploring the garden and playing with the toys :-).
I would recommend this pub to anyone either for a relaxing enjoyable lunch/dinner out or an evening with either fine wine or local ale
FSG75 - 12 Sep 2012 13:05 |
vstaffy strange you have travelled the planet and have been to some of the finest and worst but only comented on this one place.
Sniff sniff Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh that`s it I smell a bloody great Roland.
Same as all the other one hit wonders !!!!!!!!!
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I've travelled nearly all of this planet and ate in some of the worst and the best places, I have drank with some of the finest and some of the worst. I have partied with nearly all off Manchester at some point in my life then there is the Old Smithy in Welcombe nestled nicely in the Devon countryside. Wow and I do mean wow if you haven't tried it yet your in for a real treat. The food is great and the local ales even better.
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We often eat at the Smithy. very friendly staff: generous portions of good food (all properly cooked, not micro-waved!) price is very acceptable. excellent choice of ales and ciders. the atmosphere is second to none and to us is what a country pub should be. our children live in London and the only pub they want to visit is the smithy. very popular so please book in advance.
stephen and lynda
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A very warm welcome in Welcombe! The Old Smithy Inn is a unique place. The staff are very courteous and the food is excellent. Very reasonably priced. An ideal place for families with children. Lots of eating areas including the lovely garden which has an amazing view over the sea. The decor alone is worth a visit! Highly recommended. A huge thank you to Richard and Jenny for their hospitality. Easy to find from the A39 from Welcombe cross halfway from Bideford to Bude. Just follow the signs from the main road. There is always a good selection of ales and ciders - many of which are locally brewed.
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I came across this amazing pub by accident when returning from holiday in Cornwall. The staff welcomed us, kids and dogs too, and we ate great food in the funky retro bar. I understand there is further seating in an upstairs area too, and a lovely garden with sea views. This is likely to become a regular stop for us! Well worth a visit for good food and cool ambience.
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Hello. I am the landlord of this lovely pub. I write with reference to the post written by SometimesMagic. This post is written by the girlfriend of a gentleman who rung the pub last week at 6pm to let me know that he had been overcharged. I said that I was sorry to hear that but that he had called at a bad time (6pm is when our kitchen opens for service) and could he call back at a quieter time...I suggested the following morning. It was at this moment when the gentleman (whose identity still remains a mystery as he refuses to give his name) started to get very 'animated'. He said that he needed a decision right there and then. When I said that that was impossible for me to do, so his anger continued to rise. After 5 minutes of not getting anywhere with this man, yes, I did hang up on him but only because he wasn't prepared to listen to any offer I gave him. Offers which were given in a polite way; I vehemently deny any such rude treatment. Needless to say that this man then called back and, to cut a long story short, this man threatened to "f**k my life up" and to "destroy my business" via an internet campaign launched at the hands of his girlfriend. It is of my opinion that this is indeed rude behavior. I was left shaking after this phonecall, something which concerned my wife enough for her to ring this gentleman back. Sadly, she was met with the same toxic barrage of abuse. All I can say is please, please try to ignore this message and look at the lovely postings written about our lovely pub. We are in no-way a rip-off pub and once more we both vehemently deny any such allegations. We have worked so hard over the last two years to build the business, it would be such a shame to see it all fall apart at the hands of some nasty internet troll. Best wishes, Rich & Jen, Landlord & Landlady.
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Sadly, whilst at the time of my visit to this pub with a friend it seemed nice, I have subsequently learned that my friend was overcharged by �30+ for two ciders. This matter only came to light when my friend checked his bank statement today. He immediately contacted the landlord/manager of this pub by phone, only to find that the landlord was very rude and unhelpful and even had the cheek to put the phone down on my friend. On cashing up on the evening of the 28/07/12 (the date of our visit to these premises) the landlord should have been well aware of this discrepancy and it would surely not have been too much trouble to check the records and resolve this matter in a satisfactory way for all parties. Instead the landlord is unwilling to co-operate and I must deduce from this that he is quite happy to rip-off his customers by overcharging.
I, for one, will not be going back to this pub and I would strongly suggest that this is a pub to avoid, however if you do decide to go there then you should check your receipts very carefully.
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Jen & Rich have taken over this fantastic pub and built on the amazing hardwork of Chrissy and Lee. We are SOOOO glad we still have our pub! They have put their own stamp on it, but kept the essential good points - good food, beer and wine. The same staff and regular events. It's brilliant.
I still fail to recognise the 'proprietor' referred to by surferman. Must have been a clash of personalities I suppose.
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I had a really horrible experience in this pub two years ago courtesy of the rude proprietor. Thankfully he has now moved on and the business has been sold to an extremely friendly and enthusiastic young couple. The beer was well kept, the atmosphere was great and there was live music. I even sang a song with some friends, quite badly I admit, and was rewarded with a pint on the house for my efforts! My faith in 'The Old Smithy' is fully restored.
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I live in this village & was there on the night surferman's party was there. They turned up over 30mins late for their booking on a very busy night & then took ages to put their order in causing a lot of inconvenience to staff & other customers! The comment about the proprietor going out of business is absolute rubbish. This pub has done very well in the recession and is about to be sold to very enthusiastic new owners. Chrissy & Lee built up the business from nothing and are to be greatly admired for doing so.
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Wow, what a good pub, reasonably priced food with excellent quality and attention to detail. I ordered a steak on a really busy night, The landlady really looked after us and although we waited for 1/2 hour for our dinners it came out delicious and succulent, really well reared local beef. It's only a little pub with a small kitchen and summer nights can be super busy, I suggest going early or later if you are in a hurry, and let them know if you are coming. They seem to keep a short menu with changing seasonal dishes, but my wife says have the local fish & chips- proper devon nosh!
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We always go to this pub when we are on holiday in August. 24 of us booked for dinner and the staff were polite and helpful. Food was very good except my battered cod and chips which was sadly overcooked and thus a little dry, not silky and flakey as a properly cooked piece of white fish should be. As the rest of the food was good I felt that sending it back was the only thing to do, and did so with no fuss and a quiet English apology, fully expecting my meal to be replaced with another. Instead an aggressive chef marched into the dining room carrying the offending plate and basically told me that the there was nothing wrong with this piece of fish that had languished so long in the fryer that the once delicious batter was a very dark brown.I let him get away with it, not wishing to make a scene in front of so many people. There was no offer of a different meal, a glass of wine on the house or removing the cod from the bill; all standard ways of dealing with a mistake. The chef turned out to be the proprietor and we heard locally that he is going out of business. Not surprising really when he treats his seasonal custom so badly.
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Lovely old thatched pub off beaten track with quiet garden. Some of the best cod and chips I've ever eaten.
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I can't really add to Sue's comments except to tell this little tale. My wife ordered tagliatelle and after a while the chef came and apologised for having no parmesan. When my wife said she was glad because she is on a low fat diet he then offered to make the pasta sauce without cream but with Italian ham to make up for the cream's absence. I'm not saying this happens all the time but it does illustrate the attitude of the staff towards their customers. Make sure you visit the pottery next door but watch the steps in the garden as they are a little steep.
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Old thatched pub with inglenook fireplace. Reopened Easter '04 after 2 years of being closed. Lovely atmosphere, excellent food (local, freshly cooked etc), real ales, good wines. Owners young and very friendly. Staff happy and helpful. Very interesting remote area and beautiful beach.
Sue - 5 Mar 2005 14:56 |
