please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Well where do I start- firstly we ordered food sat down at our table, only to be told 10 mins later that they had in fact run out of the fish- no probs we’ll order something different.
Secondly I was eating my food (which I was quite enjoying) to find a wedge of lemon rind within my jacket pot with cheese & beans (no big deal).
Thirdly my partner was happily enjoying his 2nd choice of meal Pie&veg ... saved the last few veggies to mop up the delicious gravy with- to then find a bright blue ?plaster stuck to the mange-tout.
When I spoke to the waiter about this and he apologised he said he would take a starter off the bill which I said no as I was happy to pay for the food we ate and enjoyed. Please could I speak to the manager I asked.
Out comes a young man a in a black chiefs uniform .... quite confrontational from the start.
We end up having quite a heated argument in front of the other diners, I step outside to speak to my partner and he gets his phone out to call the police. I have never been so mortified in all my life. He then accused me of planting the blue piece of blue ?plaster as it didn’t fit with their set up? And all he kept saying was “well he ate all his food, so couldn’t have been that bad” again back & forth and round & round we go- yes i reiterated... it was his last mouthful that he found it on.
I left the Blue Boar pub feeing embarrassed, angry and extremely upset that somebody could treat there paying customers in such an awful manner. I stepped outside and burst into tears as I have never been in such a confrontational situation about a meal.
We have had a lovely few days visiting your quaint little village and have been recommending the area to all our friends to visit- I SHALL NOT BE RECOMMENDING THIS PUB.
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I wasn't intending to visit Hay-on-Wye. But with 2 of my planned pubs closed, we had the opportunity to try 2 in this touristy town, with a nice castle. The Blue Boar was fairly quiet. The landlord/chef was at the bar conversing with a local. He seemed to know what he was talking about in regards to food. 4 ales were on - Timothy Taylor Landlord, Sharps Doom Bar, Greene King IPA & Brains The Rev James. Dunkertons Organic cider was available too. A good pub.
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Only ever been in during the day when the accent seems to be more on food than beer, which is reflected in the clientele who are almost exclusively young families or coffin dodgers. The food is tasty enough if a little on the skimpy side. Staff are efficient but impassive. No complaints about the beer - Bass and Doom Bar were both excellent.
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I have been visiting this pub for many years, sometimes with children but the staff have always been helpful and the food has always been very good. It is always my choice for food in Hay.
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3.8 rating.... I am staggered. Very nice looking pub on main street. Only went in for a pint after a great walk.... The fella behind the bar was friendly, laughing as we joked about his display cabinet of cakes..... Maybe it was the walk, but the tt lanlord was the best I have had outside skipton. Would love a pub like this in my town. Maybe my 8 rating will beef up the score a touch.
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I have now visited this pub, although didn't eat there so can't comment on that. Had a range of ales on offer but none gave employment to anybody living within 50 miles. Curiously un-pubby, the bar giving pride of place to an oversize coffee machine and also prominent in the public area was a rather ugly cooler cabinet containing various creamy desserts etc. Furnishings were otherwise largely traditional but the clientele seemed to consist of the kind of people who usually avoid pubs e.g. the local WI and gentlemen in sports jackets and ties. Service was efficient if not over-friendly and for me it just lacked something. Nonetheless, still deserves way more than its current lowly rating.
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I have never been to this pub, but just a hint. Where extreme views are expressed, check out to see how many other pubs the individual has posted. If it is only one, then the chances are that one or two individuals have a vendetta against the place and the mark doesn't reflect what it is actually like.
That's all.
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Please AVOID if you prefer not to waste your money on terrible service and food. This review is based on a visit by a small group who were looking for a nice pub with good quality food. Rationale for aweful rating:
1) Ordered the 'Home made' burger with potato wedges and garlic mayonnaise. The burger was clearly not home made when it arrived, it was a processed frozen burger. It was also served with cheap chips and no garlic mayonnaise. Not what you would expect for a �10.50 main!
2) When challenged about the burger the staff were highly defensive and aggressive with a misaligned story about the burgers origin. First of all it was 'pressed' onsite with local meat, then it was made by their local butcher. Having worked in a butchers for over 5 years and made many burgers I do not believe this in the slightest. I was even offered to see the receipt which never materialised???
3) When the landlord finally arrived, after I had finished the chips (about 10 of them!) I was accused of having finished a perfectly nice meal and not offered any replacement or refund
4) When I questioned why it was served with chips rather than wedges it was because it was a Sunday and they use the potatos for roasts on a Sunday. WTF - am I supposed to be a mind reader as well as a paying customer??
I was accused of been aggressive and I would be 'chucked out' if I didn't calm down. Not the kind of treatment I would expect, particularly when paying �10.50 for a home made burger and potato wedges and receiving a frozen burger and cheap chips.
Based on this I hope you try an alternative location if at all feasible.
Kind Regards, a very unhappy customer.
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Its such a shame when looking through reviews on any particular place one seems to find more negative than positive. It seems to be so easy to annonymously lash out over the Internet and criticise so thoroughly when people have had a bad experience and broadcast a damning judgement to the world. Catering is one of the toughest businesses to be in particularly family run& I personally think they do a fantastic job at the blue boar!!I am a regular visitor of the pub&have never actually known the steaks to be advertised at 10oz only 8?! I do know that the current chef has been in charge only 2 years and is the son of the proprietors who have been in business 26 years & one of the longest standing publicans in hay-on-wye, clearly indicating that they're doing something right. In any restaurant/ pub situations can occur where things don't run smoothly, it's all part of the job, especially when employing young people. If ever I have had a problem at this friendly place the staff have been eager to help. Hay is a busy little town and can be caught off guard by dozens of coaches full of people all wanting to eat at once. It must be very demanding. I have speculated such a situation and the staff were an extremely dynamic team& the atmosphere was a happy one. Food wholesome, beer great! Staff charming, atmosphere lovely.
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Pleasently surprsed given the other comments. Decent beer in good condition(Doom Bar & Bass), and the food was wasn't bad at all.
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recently visited this pub for lunch.WHAT A DISASTER. the food was disgusting,staff clueless.paid over �48 for meals.supposed to have been 10oz steaks,they looked the size of a burger with loads of fat..chips were frozen,onion rings not cooked,salad was full of oil.the food is kept in a freezer by the gents toilet,which were filthy!!WILL NEVER BE RETURNING,& WILL NOT BE RECCOMENDING TO FRIENDS.when paying for this muck!!!,barstaff asked how was meals,we replied not good actually,he was not bothered at all.
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I had to double check that we went to the same pub when I read some of the comments here. We found it very pleasant and comfortable, the staff all seemed friendly and efficient, the beer was fine. We didn't try the food but saw some being brought to a nearby table, it looked fine and seemed to be appreciated.
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Didn't try the food but pub was ok, fairly decent selection and comfortable setting.
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I have eaten in the various restaurants and pubs around Hay-on-Wye for over 30 years now. A few years ago I would have rated the Blue Boar as one of the best places to eat in Hay. NOT ANYMORE! I went in with my partner for a meal Jan 2009 and the first thing that struck me was the apalling service. The bar staff had no concept of who was next to be served and I saw people just walking out muttering that they had been waiting for half an hour and were being ignored while the bar staff immediately served people who they knew who had just walked in. When I eventually got served the dithering lady who served me seemed to have no concept of how to use the till or PDQ machine. After about eight tries and four cancelled transactions we eventually managed to order. 40 minutes went by........ my partner and I had ordered bangers and mash. Mine to be fair was OK however my partners mashed potatoes were freezing cold in the middle (had obviously been superficially microwaved) we brought this to the attention of the rather sulky young dark haired waitress who took it off and microwaved it again. she gave no apology whatsoever and seemed rather annoyed to be bothered. We should have learned from this but were back at Easter. Because I have had excellent meals there in the past we decided to give them a second chance. Half of the menu was unavailable. I foolishly chose the curry option (always risky in a pub) again the dithering lady couldnt work the till. The curry was vile. Boiled white rice that hadnt been drained properly sitting in a pool of grey water. A half cooked poppadum and the watery grey chicken casserole (no spice) looked like it came out of a tin! Seriously I have had better from a foil packet on camping trips. My partner chose faggots with mashed potato. Again the mashed potato was freezing cold in the middle. We didnt bother complaining this time. I was also astonished to overhear the grumpy young dark haired waitress, lecturing the elderly couple next to us, on how she hadnt given them very many vegetables because she didnt want them to waste them!!! It gets worse...... 15 minutes after my meal I was rushing to the bathroom. The meal cost �30 for two I worked out that was about a pound spent for every minute this disgusting meal stayed in my system! needless to say I will never eat there again!
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Not a bad pub, with reasonably decent food and beer. Found the staff a bit off though and it doesn't have the lovely atmosphere of the Kilvert's down the road, which is also much better value for money food wise.
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Living on its past reputation. It needs some real work to get it back to what it was.
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Some of the more senior members of staff should probably go on a customer service course. The food is very average.
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Terrible service, Landlord was very rude, waited 15 minutes to get served whilst he made an irish coffee Avoid this pub.
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Called in here during the summer. Sadly I was driving as they had a fine selection of well kept beers.
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