please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A nice pub but expensive imho - £8.30 for two pints...the barley corn is almost a pound cheaper and the bull in streatley cheaper still! However staff were friendly and worth a visit especially if you have deep pockets!
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Taken over a couple of years ago by two guys fresh to the pub trade and really refreshed by all accounts.
Not food led but with good range of meals, I only had a couple of croissants (long story) and they were spectacular.
The beers were really well kept, the staff were really friendly and inside it is clean but quirky enough to be interesting, "hidden" gents toilet and all.
If you can find it this pub is well worth spending an evening in.
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Nice pub selling OK beer. Seems mainly frequented by locals (it's not on any of the main roads through the village), but friendly enough to strangers. Beer is from Marston's, who dominate the tied trade in the area, owing to their takeover of the Brakspear's brand. I was drinking Brakspear's Bitter, once one of the world's great beers, but nowadays hardly worth crossing the street for. That said, the Brak's at the Catherine Wheels was really very good.
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Popped in the other Saturday,a chilly autumn night. The big wood fire you look forward to had gone out,and there was only one bitter on; a nice Brakspear though. Food was ok, based around chips. It is a good location and its the type of pub you want to go in and feel welcome.Can't shake the feeling its gone a bit downhill. The 'secret' gents? has a sign on the door saying Gentlemen..
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A great option as it's a country village pub close to a train station so there is real ease of access - well worth thinking of if deciding on a convenient meeting point between London and Oxford. It's low beamed and dark inside and you should go to the hidden gents before you have had your fourth pint, but the beer garden is spacious and it avoids the pretensions of the nouveau riche Miller of Mansfield. Goring is also a pretty spectacular village. Go!
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First pub i encountered on way from station. My kind of place with a busy beer garden.... Had to ask where the gents were :-) its a conversation starter.
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Easter saturday - quiet but very pleasant - found the secret door to the gents amusing particularly with the sign being elsewhere ! All in all a pleasant experience
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My favourite pub at the moment - it has everything a good English country pub needs and is exceptionally well run. Although the restaurant is often extremely busy it doesn't detract from the pub atmosphere in any way and the food, by the way, is far better than any other pub food I have tasted. Of course, if you want instant McDonalds type garbage you won't find it here but the clientele are mostly much more appreciative of quality than that. Goring is fortunate in being well supplied with pubs but this is by far the best in the area.
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We stayed for a couple of Oxford Golds and a meal on a week night. Nice place; decent enough range of beers and friendly service from the Kiwi barmaid. Free garlic bread was handed to us while we were thinking on whether to order food, which was a nice touch.
Perfectly pleasant, and I'd go again. Keep an eye out for the door to the men's!
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AWFUL. The fat chef shouting from the kitchen should have been a warning not to eat here, but we did. The rude staff, sour faces and expensive price tag added insult to the injury of poor quality food. I've had a better food at Macdonalds and I didn't have to wait half an hour.
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Nice pub. Good range of beers (Brakspear's bitter, Oxford Gold, Hobgoblin and Hooky Dark (which I had - it was very good)). I had a cheese ploughman's which had vast chunks of three different cheeses. The staff seemed perfectly OK to me.
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This used to be our favourite pub in Goring whether it was stopping in on the way home from the station, or walking the 4 miles from home and back just to be there. But latterly we've found it unfriendly and we've been asked to leave our seats several times for diners, having no option but to move outdoors. The last straw was sitting down with two beers on a Saturday lunch time, only to have a member of staff ten minutes later plonk a 'reserved' sign down in front of us with no explanation whatever - just a frosty stare. Not been back since....
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It's a great looking pub with all the ambience, beams, open fire and all the rest. But we missed out on the "pleasant barstaff"; bordering on the rude was nearer the mark during our visit. Sunday lunch is a busy time, perhaps too busy in this pub that certainly did not seem to welcome our custom. The beer was good, but food barely average. I've been before on a weekday evening and enjoyed a pint or two but I doubt I'll go again.
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A pub of two halves: one end is a rather characterless eating area, the opposite end is a classic English pub with low beams and a nice fire. About 5 real ales on, the Brakespears was very good. Food was also very good and pretty reasonably priced too.
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Not bad - convenient for the station. Reasonable range of beer and the menu looked quite appetising.
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This pub is going strong and I visited yesterday - four real ales and a real fire. Pleasant barstaff so whats the problem?
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I'm coming back to Goring very shortly. Has this pub reopened yet or is it still boarded up?
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Suefab, you'll note that I have complained on the site about the quality of food in pubs but ONLY when I have been charged a substantial amount of money only to find that the quality and level of service have been genuinely poor for the amount of money paid. To pillory this poor man when he went totally out of the way to cater for your individual needs really is despicable and I hope that you are turned away from this pub if you ever try to visit it again. Maybe you're the same woman who recently sent a meal back twice in Wetherspoon's without even tasting it and then stormed to the bar and demanded a refund when a third one didn't arrive in five minutes. As to you, Mike, please don't give up and leave the trade. It's crying out for people with your level of care and dedication and I for one would like to visit the pub and enjoy a meal and a couple of pints there. Hope you respond.
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To Suefab , I think Mike's response was fantastic. You seem to have Champagne tastes with beer money. I don't believe even the local fine dinning establishments let alone a local pub would accomodate your unreasonable demands.
I,like Mike came out of the business because of selfish unreasonable people like you. Try and ask Gordon Ramsey to change his menu to suit you. Why don't such fussy eaters as yourself stay at home and feed yourselves. Mike has an exstensive menu all freshly cooked most would say something for everyone clearly not you.
Just stay at home and upset yourself and leave the rest of us to enjoy a local pub. It's not always perfect but what is? It's more than acceptable and value for money.
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I've just read this last posting and feel very sorry about its contents. I spend as much time as possible in Goring but live about 110 miles away. At the risk of offending the owners of this website I can say with some conviction that it isn't well known in Essex and a pubs fortunes are not made or broken by inclusions good or bad. It's opinions - nothing else. I've had one publican thank me for my comments simply because he recognised some of the places I visit on my travels but a number of CAMRA members here don't know of the site either.
So to sum up - your pub has had a high number of comments so proportionately it is going to have its share of moaners! I'm not one of them but the whole matter needs to be taken in perspective. In short - DON'T DO IT!
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To Sue (fab?)I am the owner from the Catherine Wheel. I am writing to you with regards your comments on Beerintheevening. You and I both know that your comments are both vindictive and unfair. We have worked very hard at trying to build a menu and business we can be proud of. We do all of our food fresh to order. Now why do you lie?? You arrived at a couple of minutes after two. I had a number of orders still to cook. Presumably some of them were from your party who had arrived and ordered before you. So it would have been well after two before I got to your order. When you ordered you were not happy with the choice we have on offer and therefore I was good enough to say that I would change items on my menu to suit your diet - not true?? It would be so easy to say that there is no butter in the mash - it would be easy to say that there is no egg to bind the nut slice - but there is. How many places would be good enough to understand your diet and then try to adapt what they serve to suit you?? But this is not good enough. We do have vegan items but these were not good enough for you either. After I said I would change my menu to suit you - you have the audacity to say you are going to write to vegetarian and vegan web sites and tell them how bad we are!!?? It is our menu NOT A CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANT AND WE WILL COOK IT Menu!!!!! If you don't like what�s on the menu then go somewhere where they serve what you do want on their menu including the eggs and butter that you are happy to eat as long as you are blissfully unaware. Who do you think you are?? Am I then expected to cook for you in my very limited family time when you are so foul? I think not. I was also told that you were reprimanded by one of your party who agreed with me and said that you were rude - you are! Then - in the wrong - you can't leave it there you have to take it further and publicly damage my business, my livelihood and the work that puts food in my children's mouths with one minute of your bad heart getting nasty. Small minded and horrible people like you are what have made me decide to leave this business at the end of this month - you'll be pleased to know. 36 pubs close a week. The ones that are left are being run by city folk, turning into restaurants with 4 �10 starter choices 4 � 15 - �20 mains choices, table cloths, no atmosphere, no vegan options and chefs who won't change their menus to suit you. When this happens to all country pubs and operators who understand what pubs are about are all gone, I hope you then write reviews of every pub you eat in so that people can see how unpleasable you, and those like you are. Good luck with your vegan diet - good luck with your publess country side - good luck with your stale restaurants and working mans clubs - because it is because of you, your kind and Mr Brown that this is the fate of pubs - well done!!
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We've been going to this pub fairly regularly over the last few years but after our last visit, will certainly not be going back again. My family was visiting for the weekend so we decided to meet at the Catherine Wheel for lunch and a few drinks.
We got there around 1:30 and at about 1:50 we went in to get menus and ask what time they were serving food until. They were very brisk and said we had to get our orders in immediately, which we did. As 3 of us are vegans, we discussed a change to a vegetarian dish with the chef before the 2 o'clock deadline, bought another round, then went to sit outside and wait for our food. About 15 minutes later, a waitress came out to say the chef was refusing to make the 3 vegan orders as they had been put in too late! The chef was still prepared to cook the remaining 5 meals, but understandably we said we'd either all eat, or cancel all of our orders. After another wait, the waitress returned with all of our money, saying the chef wasn't prepared to budge.
The attitude of everyone working at the pub was terrible, and we were embarrassed to have taken our family there. It was an extremely unpleasant experience and we will certainly not be returning.
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I've known this pub for 20 years but only been in once until last sunday. My wife and daughter and myself popped in for a meal being one of the few places to eat on a sunday in this area. I was very conscious of some of the comments made by others but was impressed by the variation on the menu. Everything from steaks to pizzas to pies to burgers and the specials. I knew there was a curry on because I could smell it but our attention hadn't been drawn to the specials board. Problem soon resolved. My wife's seafood pie was a little cool underneath but a simple request for a reheat was dealt with efficiently. My daughter's pizza was a thin crust but a generous 12"+. She couldn't finish it so I obliged. The Thai curry was delicious! A good beer choice - I had the Oxford Gold and it was spot on.
All in all, yes it was worth the 20 mile drive from Newbury across the hills and back again. As ever, I wish I could spend some time in the bar as it was buzzing! Perhaps someone could entertain my wife next time while I sample the other beers!
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ok food and some nice people
but had a recent bad experience with fruit flies...i think that some had got into the hobglobin... it was vinegary.
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Nice to see a dark beer like Hookey Dark on, very nice indeed, a characterful pub to while away a Saturday afternoon.
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First pub reached from the station - down station road. 5/6 (thought 6) ales on offer, heaven. 3/4 Brakspears. Wychwood & Hooky dark - the latter was spot on this time, referencing a previous comment. Don't know about the food but come here for the beer. Mildly amused by the 'hidden' toilet - no signs, great for hiding members of the 'resistance'!
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Great beer, pizza and ice cream (!)
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Nice enough pub, but my pint of Hooky Dark was poor unfortunately.
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A decent pint of Brakespear's was served.
We eat Sunday lunch, the food was basically good although I do not know why my bangers and mash was served with salad rather than veggies. Service was friendly although the bar tender was unintelligible. It was busy with plenty of locals and walkers. Would I go again? - yes but with lower expectations of the food.
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Great cosy pub with a truly excellent pint of Brakespears Bitter. Worth a trip.
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Lovely low-beamed pub with warm welcome & real fires being lit as we arrived. Low bench-settles around walls in two small bar rooms & assorted tables/stools. Dining area beyond bar with rowing oars decorating far wall. Hobgoblin, Hooky Dark(Mild), plus 3 from Brakspear � Bitter, Special & Oxford Gold � tried the Bitter & the Gold which were both excellent.
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Lovely village and a lovely place for a pint and a quick bite....
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Found the place wandering around the village this Easter weekend-Probably the last real pub left (did not try the place near the station) though even here the god profit was dictating meals rather than draught beer- which itself was good, served up by friendly if fearsome antipode-an (?) ladies. Even had a genial drunk tottering around the bar on Saturday evening -possibly a deportable crime in genteel Goring
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Reading the reviews for The Catherine Wheel in Goring has forced me into having my say. My wife and I eat and drink out regularly as one of lifes little pleasures and unfortunately more often than not we are dissapointed with either the quality or quantity that some pubs offer, not all but some.
Then we discovered The Catherine Wheel! We still explore other places but we can always rely on The Catherine Wheel as we have never been dissapointed. This pub can get very busy especially weekends and holidays but the Landlord, his son and their staff have never, ever been anything less than professional, friendly and curtious. How anybody can find fault is beyond me but perhaps these people would find fault in anything. Try getting out a bit more is all I can suggest. There really are some sad people about. And Mundellan, what are you on???
See you there Easter Sunday - Cheers Michael, keep up the good work, it is appreciated.
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When I read the reviews here I did not recognise my local. I am for example described as an old chap who has never moved in years.
The Catherine Wheel is and has been so for many years a nice boozer in the village of Goring on Thames.
Peter
(who logged onto this site to get the landlords email to make a booking)
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I never comment myself, though I do read others reviews, however in this case I was so astounded by this bizaar comment, I had to respond. In response to Mundellan comments, man Michael what do you have to put up with? I am a regular eater at the Catherine Wheel - when I say regular I mean maybe once a month/once every six weeks or so - and I can say that I have never had anything other than exceptional food and service there. I have been in the service industry all of my life and I know through bitter experience how tough it can be to have people walking into your business everyday and judging your every word, meal, grace and manner. If this weren't tough enough, you have some ignorant, judgmental twit contributing their two pennies worth on a subject on which they by admittion have no authority. I wish that I had the bottle to tell some of the rude freebie merchants that I get through my doors to stick it. Mundellan - If you ever ventured from you computer monitor and went to visit the Catherine Wheel for your self, you would find that the landlord is a humble hard worker who goes to each and every diner and asks after the quality of their meal, the standard to which they have been served and their opinion on the pub. How you can venture to judge him as a 'self-centered egotist' is unfounded and preposterous. Once again it is what seems to be increasingly sad, that we as English, rip people to the ground for no given reason. I am embarrassed by your comments and you should be ashamed. If you never venture to visit the Catherine Wheel it is not their loss - it is most definately yours. Michael, keep doing what you are doing and dont let this type of silly comment bring you down.Best of luck.
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Good for you Michael. I've been a regular diner in the Catherine Wheel for months now. It has been consistently excellent food and the staff are very good by and large. The only trouble I've ever had has been with other customers.... Producing a product of this quality quite entitles you to tell the odd moaner to go and shove it. Keep up the good work!
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With regards to Mundellan comments about the customer always being right i suggest that he asks michael if he can work a couple of shifts in his pub to actually see what the customer is right about!
No doubt he will find out what most people in customer service know allready, in the majority of the time the customer complaining is WRONG.
During this summers trade i would say 50% of the complaints from customers i have handled are trying to get a refund even though there is nothing wrong with the food etc
Why should we as businesses give money back for things that are correct?
only in this country is "the customer allways right" no where else!
i think that these reviews speak for the pub more than one lady trying to get a freebie.
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Michael......
I worked through the comments about the Catherine Wheel and thought that maybe this is a place I should visit. Lots of recommendations and only about a 20 minute drive from home.
Then I read TKW's critique and your response.
Michael, you have to learn that the customer is always right, even when, especially when, he or she is wrong.
Clearly this lady was looking for a freebie, but in entering in to a slanging match with her you have sunk to her level.... a seriously bad move!!!!!
A quiet apology in private was all that was required but you have chosen to go public with your grievance and done yourself no good at all.
Instead of "a nice place to visit" I now find myself thinking "do I really want to visit a place run by a self-centred egotist who will brook no criticism"?
I won't be visiting until you learn some humility.
Your loss, Michael
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To Michael and all at the Catherine Wheel
Just a quick note to say that being a Pub/Restaurant General Manager and an avid restaurant reviewer in Oxford for the past 11 years I thought it only right to congratulate you and your chef on a top notch lunch. Quite simply put, two burgers, one Italian, one Mexican...PERFECT....great value and great portions!
If anyone can find me better "Pub Grub" in and around Oxford, PLEASE tell me, but I have the feeling you'll be lying!!!!!
Just keep doing what you're doing! I will be back asap to attack the rest of the menu, in the restaurant this time, once again writing a review, so keep your eyes peeled!..............WELL DONE!!!!
Richard Gibbs
General Manager
Cafe Loco Trading
Oxford
(You have my card!)
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A return visit for me, not much has changed but nice beer once again, friendly staff once again and great food.
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The turnaround in the quality of this pub in the last year or so has been nothing short of miraculous. It used to be a right waste of space. Well done to all the friendly hard-working staff who have made it such a great place. The beers are great, the pizzas fabulous (admittedly the burgers are a bit less inspiring) and there is a nice beer garden for the summer and a huge open fire for winter. What more do you want from a pub ?
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We needed to meet friends for a catch up last week, so arranged to meet half way between our homes. Not sure of the area i asked the Landlord of one of my favourite dinning pub The Chequers Berrick if he could recommend anywhere and he recomended i try The Catherine Wheel. We were very impressed with this great place, infact it has very much the same feel as The Chequers, very good food and great service.
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popped in for a couple on saturday night. Lovely pub still - very good pint of hooray henley, and a lovely crowd. Still the best pub in the village.
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Dear all who might be reading this and interested in eating at the Catherine Wheel. My name is Michael and I am the landlord of this pub. I take great pride in my business and strive at all times to ensure that all customers are happy while at our pub as well as when leaving after a meal or dropping in for a pint. This point will is demonstrated no more so than by the growth and success of the pub since our arival two years ago. Our food is really of a very high standard. We pride ourselves on doing simple food well. In fact we have just been awarded the Brakspear 'Catering Pub of the Year' award.
I just read the recently posted review by tkw2011. Firstly to tkw2011 - I am sorry that you never left our pub excited to return. Sorry too that you never chose to contact me about your refunded chicken burger.
Now for a little honesty about the comments made by tkw2011 - She did come in on the 17th April, next the pub was, as usual, very busy, and thirdly the bee sting was delicious. But thats where the truth in her review ends. Firstly we purchase our chicken breasts with NO SKIN on. We then butterfly the breasts open to ensure that they get cooked through properly. The chicken was done in our homemade piri piri which is perhaps why it may have looked uncooked (reddish maybe)? I dont know - maybe it wasnt cooked properly - either way a complete new meal was prepared for the customer - who upon recieving it refused it saying that it was the same burger - IT WASNT! In the mean while her husband had ordered and been eating his fish and chips. When the FRESH burger arrived the lady said that she didn't want it - she wanted a refund. What more can you do? If we messed up - we resolved it. None the less we refunded the price of her meal - but this wasnt good enough - she wanted her husbands meal refunded too! She was asked why - perhaps it was under done - she told us that although there was nothing wrong with his meal - her ordeal had caused him not to enjoy his fish and that he had to take her elsewhere for a meal and did not want to pay for lunch twice. When we said that we weren't prepared to refund his meal as well she said that we would hear form her - I assume that this misleading review is the result.
I am more than happy to deal with anyone who has a genuine gripe - and as far as possible correct what we can - but I ask you, what is your recourse when somebody obviously only to get a meal for free and will not let you resolve their problem? Let them walk out is all I can suggest - that and hope that they see that it would be best for us both if they didn't bother waisting their and our time trying to get a free meal with unfounded claims here again.
I am sorry that you have to read this - but I cant let a person slate a fantastic pub with award winning food and excellent service for having a temper tantrum for not getting their own way.
Please pop in and enjoy the food that has made us catering pub of the year - and the 'delicious beer' that took us to winning the liquor business building pub of the year the year before - ps dont be afraid of the chicken burger Im going to have one now.... :)
Michael Taylor
The Catherine Wheel
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On 17th April my husband and I visited the Catherine Wheel in Goring, on a recommendation from a friend. We ordered 2 pints of Bee Sting (incidentally � delicious!) One fish and chips and one Piri Piri Chicken Breast Burger. The food arrived in good time � a pleasant surprise considering it was a Bank Holiday and the pub was already quite full.
I began to take the skin off the chicken breast, when I became aware that it was uncooked in the middle (I would assume because it was cooked with the skin on � the thick part of the meat was protected from the heat). Uncooked chicken on a plate is not the most appetising of views so I swiftly took it back to the bar and explained it was uncooked. A young gentleman took it from me, WITHOUT SPEAKING, not an apology or anything and started to walk off, as he did I said �please ensure I get a fresh lunch�.
Whether he heard me or not I can�t say, he didn�t acknowledge me, or my comment. That really infuriated me, manners cost nothing, especially in the service industry.
I returned to my seat and my husband was talking to another customer, who was saying to him � if you don�t tell them, they can�t put things right� our philosophy entirely.
The same person that had taken my plate came back to the table and told me it would be 12min to wait. That was fine, as I knew that meant I would be getting a fresh lunch � 12min to cook a chicken breast on an industrial cooker seemed fair.
A different person returned with my plate in 2 min, not 12. The chicken was cooked, but it was the same piece, I could tell because I had lifted and cut the skin. The plate was boiling to the touch and the chips blackened on the edges � the plate had been put under a grill/warming plate to keep warm until the chicken was cooked.
I am appalled, and by now I hope so is anybody else reading this.
1. The chicken should not have been re-heated after being partially cooked.
2. The bun the chicken originally came out on, had absorbed the juice from the chicken (partially cooked, could have been raw juice � mixed � even worse) and was RE-SERVED to me with cooked chicken on it. A soggy bun is not nice, but a soggy bun with a mix of cooked and uncooked chicken absorbed into it? Recipe for disaster.
I believe it is best to bring things like this to management, so that they can address the training issue before anyone is taken ill. So I approached the bar and asked to speak to a Manager. The gentleman serving told me he was the Manager and so I explained what had happened, he was very unfazed and I believe did not understand the severity of what I was telling him. I said that I would like the cost of the meal refunded and we would like to leave. He refused as he said there was nothing wrong with it.
EAT HERE AT YOUR PERIL!!!!
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I enjoyed a beer or 2 in this quaint little pub whilst working just around the corner, great beer and nice to see a good guest beer, cant remember the name but the landlord had a pint so it was good enough for me to try it, friendly staff and although i didnt eat here it looks like theres not much they dont have on the menu. Matt the barman was a character but his head must be sore by now hitting the low beams that often and Coupled with my other experiences in this village that seems to sleep a lot will make sure I return.
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A brilliant food pub, where the food is certainly worth its price. Good range of ale, which is rare in this village. Landlord and Chef are really nice and helpful. Because of this it can be quite 'regular' heavy which is a little intimidating (but don't let that put you off). Best pub/food pub in village.
anonymous - 12 Jan 2006 13:07 |
Food disappointing. "Lamb" casserole had three small pieces of meat and a lump of rock-solid polenta. Gammon was very salty and the egg was well and truly overcooked.
anonymous - 11 Jul 2005 12:07 |
Visited Goring while on a boat trip up the Thames. Out of the three pubs we stopped in, this was by far the best in the village. A wonderful country pub.
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Exellent Beer and Food but over priced.
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New landlords. Great improvements to the menu, homecooked food, with some South African specialty desserts. Good ales and great company! I recommend it!
Sue-Ann - 6 Jul 2004 17:23 |
Another new landlord, but they're making a great go of it. Super smells from the kitchen, and the Brakspears is generally well kept. Family and dog friendly!
Michael - 30 Jun 2004 14:30 |
lovely pub, great food and friendly staff. beats any other pub in goring!
stephanie - 27 Apr 2004 20:45 |
The best pub in Goring! Beer is always good, and a nice atmosphere too, with a good cross-section of clientele. normally fairly busy, but you should always be able to find a table.
John - 18 Feb 2004 17:42 |
The tenants at the John Barleycorn have now moved down the road to the Catherine Wheel, so we'll have to see what it's like now. Very busy for food on a sunday, and now serving Maggs Magnificent Mild as well as Brakspears.
pete - 12 Feb 2004 14:03 |
Easy parking, public car park immediately adjacent. Fantastic circular walks all around the area. Even a short stroll over the excellent double-span bridge across the Thames is worthwhile.
Very good beer, unusual guest beers. Landlord is one of those 'grumpy-but-friendly' types that you can't help but like, no matter how rude they are!
Food served, though I didn't try it or notice range/prices.
Rob - 7 Feb 2004 15:59 |
Lovely Brakspears pub in a small market town. Very old, with loads of beams, fireplaces, old chaps by the bar who've not moved in decades. Do Special, Best, Old and Hooray Henley in the summer. Really very nice.
Pete - 29 Aug 2003 10:08 |
