please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Slow service, overpriced food that sounds great but disappoints on arrival, supplied by Brakes food service, nothing hand made / home made, simply frozen to microwave and dressed up with some mixed leaves. VERY overpriced. Good range of drinks but just like the food massively overpriced. Another reason not to come back here!
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I just have to write a little about the Friars Oak, you see I spent most of my young days growing up with this pub, back in the 1950's my aunt and uncle ron and joyce cragg owned it, it was abeautiful old pub, i actually worked there when i was 15 in 1955, i looked after my two young cousin Malcolm and Perry, for my Aunt, I also helped serve teas in the gardens at the back, I had such a wonderful time there, then when I got married and had my own children we used to visit on a sunday morning and sit in.the beer gardens I have such wonderful memories of my times there, then when my aunt and uncle retired , my cosin Malsolm took over the licencs and built a wonderful extention on. I wonder what it is like now, and I wonder does it still have the picture of the friars on the wall still, it had such character in the old days. in the old days i would have rated in 100 out of 100 now i couldnt say, i would like to think it was still the same.
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Went to this pub for the first time in ages and remembered why it had been ages.
Let's look at the good points first. I had a couple of pints of the Hook Norton Hooky Bitter because it was so good. If the Doombar and the Harvey's they sold was as good, then the beer is OK. the barman was also a helpful, friendly sort of chap so well done to him too.
That I'm afraid, was where the good ends. We were there on a Saturday lunchtime and the place was very busy (no idea why) but the food took ages to arrive and when it did it was all dried out as though it had been sitting around on a hot plate for ages and it was almost completely tasteless. The portions were not generous but on this occasion I was grateful for that. Not that expensive but I'd rather pay more for a meal I enjoy.
Lots of children and babies, some of which were not under parental control.
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***********DO NOT EAT HERE**************
Do not be fooled but this pubs charming exterior, the experience goes downhill once you walk through the front door. Today my mum and her two sisters went to 'The Friars Oak' for their Christmas meal together. They initially had to wait half an hour for there drink, then another half hour for their starter, followed by a further 45 minutes for their main, which when it came had potatoes burnt to a crisp as if Santa had brought them down the chimney with a fire still burning like the flames in hell, whilst the remainder of the meal was so cold it had come from Lapland. As if this wasn't bad enough, they had to wait another 30 minutes for dessert but prior to getting it was told they had to leave due to a party of 40 arriving. Two words to describe their experience at this pub, HUMILIATING and DISAPPOINTING.
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Not sure how this pub has a 2.1 rating?
Visited last Sunday evening & enjoyed a very nice meal indeed.
Their prawn cocktail is not a limp 70's offering but a delicious starter in a very large wine glass with succulent prawns and a delicious sauce.
My partners chilli prawns were just as good and she was very pleased with it (not a mean feat considering she is VERY picky with her food!).
The mains of hunters chicken for me and rump steak for my g/f were delicious, hot and served quickly and the desserts were superfluous. Giant profiteroles for me left me feeling very happy indeed and the trio of desserts my g/f tried were delicious.
The drinks were good - the pint of guest ale I had (the name escapes me at the moment) was fabulous and the bottle of fizz my g/f had was very tasty and very reasonably priced.
Although a chain pub we always find this one consistently good and as a pub is only as good as the manager I'd say in this case the manager seems to be doing a perfectly good job so if you are in the vicinity give it a try.
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Used this Pub for many years, certainly going down hill.....cold food, chips look like there reheated, cloudy wine, Ice Cream delivered like milk shakes (why do they put them under those hot lamps
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We gave up coming here to eat some time ago after bad experiences along the lines of previous reviews, but pop in from time to time for a drink in the lovely garden. However, this time the garden was closed for some reason and NO draught lagers were on, not even one! Had to make do with some tepid old boys type bitter.
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Having read all these reviews it seems this pub hasn't changed much. We used to use this pub on a Friday night. After going 3 weeks running to be told the mixed grill was off each week I was ready to blow my stack on the fourth week. However the mixed grill was on. If that was what you could call it. We have generally had really rotten meals. Everything is bought in. No flare at all. The manager is useless. The last straw came about a month ago when most things were off the menu. People all around us were complaining. I wrote to the manager who was nowhere to be seen on the night only to be told that the staff were new and they had been recruiting. Oh no they weren't. Maybe the waiter was only on his third shift but all the other staff had been in situ for a long time. How can one run out of the everyday menu items at the rate of knots they did. Specials maybe!!! Bad Management, bad ordering. The only light of hope in there is Mags. She is very attentive and very efficient. You are wasted in there Mags. I hope the Management read this.
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This is a Vintage Inns site. Date of visit 31 AUG 09 1930grs pprox. Most of blackboard "specials" were sold out. Ordered startes which arrived after 40mins (pub wasn't crowded). One consisted of some Lidl-type pate with half a Macdonalds bun, toasted. That was it, for �5,50 and 40 mins' wait. Other starter was "kingsize prawn kebabs". What appeared were medium sized supermarket-type prawns with a highly salty tomato pasta sauce, burnt nearly black. I think that was about �7.
When I complained and refused to pay for food (we [paid only for drinks), manager not at all surprised or apologetic. Clearly this happens several times a day. Young male bar staff pouring beer just grinned and thought it funny.
Manager of pub needs to be fired, Area Manager ditto and the kitchen given the Gordon Ramsay treatment.
It used to be a really good pub for food and you could hardly get in at the weekends. Steer well clear of it now. If you want decent friendly Sunday lunch of incredible value go to the Golf Club Opposite.
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Service here always seems to stay on the edge of chaos and sometimes tips over!
I have only ever eaten here at lunchtime during the week, when its much calmer and the rug rats are not in.
Part of the problem is that there are simply no other pubs nearby that "do" the family meal-kids welcome-wooden spoon routine.
if the car park is full, drive on!
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Amongst worst pub food ever ordered. Arrived late, inadequate portions and "crusty bread" in ploughmans was a half toasted slice of Hovis. Beer was OK.
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Just got back from a truly dreadful lunch. I tried to send back my overdone steak, which had obviously been sitting under a lamp keeping warm for twenty minutes. The chef refused to re-do it.
My daughter's food was completely not what she'd ordered..
Steer clear.
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Great place if you want kids running under your feet all the time
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Souless and pointless chain pub
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looks really appealing from the outside..nice garden for the summer! Queuing system for the bar is pretty nuts and the menu is fairly restricted also just a personal little problem the waitress didnt leave the sauce pots with us, bizarrely she stood over us waiting for the sauces back, i ran out during my meal and had to ask for more, it seemed a bit pointless. other than that the pub is very cosy i would recommend it for a drink with chums.
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Family and food oriented pub with large interior showing old beams and flagstone floor. Beer is fine but nothing out of the ordinary
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when i was last in there the food was served cold, rude staff, and the pub was filthy.
your frowned upon for standing at the bar, although the adnams was a good pint.
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