Assheton Arms, Downhamback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I have written pages about our visit to this pub today on trip advisor and frankly am not going to waste any more time , bottom line is I and anyone I can tell will not set foot in this place ever again due to awful, snooty customer service from the front if house team in particular the blonde supervisor
When I complain I expect to be taken seriously not for some jumped up girl to look down her nose at me
I will be spending my hard earned somewhere where they value the business
Will never visit again!
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I went to The Downham Arms with 3 friends today for Sunday lunch. It was everyone's first visit and I doubt that any of us will be returning. We arrived shortly before 1230 p.m., and made a point of checking with a member of the bar staff that Sunday lunch was available. Having been assured that this was the case, it was only after we had been served with our drinks that we were informed that there were only 2 Sunday lunches "left." This despite the early time and the fact that there were fewer than a dozen other customers in the pub. Clearly, the kitchen was not prepped to serve Sunday lunch, which is quite shocking considering that Sunday comes but once a week.Our waitress had the decency to look embarrassed.
Still, we decided to stay and 2 of us ordered from the main menu, the other 2 taking the Sunday lunches. I was one of the former, having the halibut. I never knew that it was possible to drown a fish, but this one had been drowned in the sauce. And several large bones had been missed during the filleting. One can expect the odd small bone when having a fillet, but this one looked like part of the spine had been left in. It was served with a few small new potatoes, and garden peas. Despite the sauce and the bones, it was actually a decent piece of fish. But it most certainly wasn't worth anywhere near the �15 it cost.
The other person dining from the main menu chose sausage and mash, and the best that he could say about it was that it was edible but not worth the money.
The Sunday lunch was the real shocker, though. My friends both complimented the meat: beef, and plenty of it. But that's where the praise ended. It was served with mash, roast potatoes that my friends were sure had been "roasted" in a fryer, and a veritable carpet of garden peas. Yes, that's correct, one vegetable on a Sunday lunch plate. A VERY poor affair. And the tin lid was put on the whole depressing experience when we received the bill. Each Sunday lunch was charged at �13. In an area where one can normally expect to pay �7-�10 for a pub Sunday lunch, often receiving more than one course, and considering what was on the plate, that was little short of robbery.
Which would explain my friend's muttered aside about DIck Turpin as we settled the bill, sans tip, and made a hasty exit. A lovely location, but a great shame about the pub.
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I don't normally bother to register and post on review sites but having just visited the Assheton Arms I felt compelled to do so in order to warn other people about this place.
Yes it looks lovely from the outside, yes it's pleasant enough on the inside and yes the menu seems enticing. But...
The prices are quite outrageous for pub food that is genuinely nothing special. Tonight they were offering Dover Sole at �23! I baulked at this expense and instead chose Moules a la creme at �12 - hmm.... a measly prtion of chips and an equally ungenerous pot of mussels swimming in a very thin sauce that surely had never seen a carton of cream and no side of bread or salad. I spent �12 on an average main course and left the pub feeling that I had eaten a starter (talking of which, the prices for starters ranged from �6-10!).
My friend spent �15 on a sea bass fillet that was equally mean and uninspiring.
I have eaten in hundreds of pubs over the years and this was without doubt the worst value for money I have ever come across by some considerable margin.
The owners are nothing less than greedy robbing scoundrels.
Avoid this place at all costs.
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We visited the Assheton Arms establishment this afternoon. We were most unimpressed with the attitude of certain members of staff. They were rude and most unwelcoming.
When we complained about the sausage and mozzarella baguette containing less than a whole sausage for �7.95, we were dealt with in a condescending manner.
For a small village pub we would expect a more hospitable welcome, particularly in the current economic climate.
Needless to say we will not be making a return visit.
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not really a 'locals local' - drinking at the bar is not encouraged and the staff probably haven't the time or the inclination to be interested in anyone as people rather than just customers -given over entirely to food but a lovely location nonetheless in arguably one of Lancashire's most picturesque villages.
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Me and my wife went to Downham today to take some photos. So on arrival to the village we went into the pub for some lunch. We looked at the menu and we both said that is expensive for sausage and mash but we ordered it expecting quite a lot on the plate. we ended up with 3 sausages and a small amount of mash and cost �9.50 each and �3.50 for 2 halfs of beer
The pub was very cold and so were the staff if you know what i mean. just because the people who live there may have lots of money don't mean the visitors have as well
We will be going the Downham again but will not be going in the pub.To overpriced and need to sort out the staff
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Lovely village location & the bar staff were friendly but.... from the outside you would think the place has real atmosphere but the inside is one big diner, ok fair enough, in that case you would think the food would be good..not really I'm afraid, the bog standard pub fodder, burger & chips etc was �9 a head & while edible it would compare with the stuff you get from one of those vans at the side of a dual carriageway! Very overpriced and totally lacking in charm, a shame as the location is quite special.
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I think the thelunaticfringe and myself must have been visiting diferent pubs as every comment he has to make about this delightful rural establishment, I woul thoroughly disagree with. Firstly the reason we, that is myself and my wife, first went there was because it was reccommended in Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Eat. We are both seafood addicts and, therefore, to find oysters, grilled queen scallops, squid, followed by lobster thermidor and sea bass. and a host of other delicacies, was qhite unexpected from a rural pub. To call this food "wretched" indicates a serious misunderstanding abou food, or at least the sort of food which is on offer at The Assheton Arms. No, sorry, you can't have pie and peas for a fiver, or even a pint for less than �2.50 but you have a choice of loads, I suppose about 20, wines by the glass mand it absolutely ouses atmosphere with an open fire, beams and everything else you woul expect from a 17th century pub.
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if only the pub was as charming as the village itself. has the potential to be a cracking little pub but there seemed to be little sign of it being a much loved local. the majority of the pub is given over to diners - i can't think why as our food was wretched. anyway, the beer (marston's best and pedigree) was kept well enough and the view from the front of the pub is a really cracking vista of pendle hill. i'd suggest visiting when the weather's good and sitting outside to savour the view.
no smoking and no atmosphere inside the pub i'm afraid to say, despite a majestic fireplace.
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A viiage you have to visit and then call for a good expensive pint with food
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