The Well House Inn, Mugswell

I paid a visit here for a family lunch on Sunday 17th Feb 08. We were a party of 6 adults and one 18 month baby.

Our table was squashed in the corner of a very dark, crowded and quite cold room. The atmosphere was grim. Despite pre booking and checking if it was ok to bring the baby there was no mention until the day that there are no high chairs or any other facility for small children. The staff seemed surprised that we should want such a thing.

On top of this the service was appalling. Only 2 of the staff seemed even remotely competent and the kitchen was clearly in chaos. The orders were taken at the bar and paid for in advance. The guy who wrote them down couldn't read his own writing and missed off one of the starters, this was brought to the table some 1/2 an hour after the others by which time we had all swapped round to make up for the missing dish. However the staff were keen to remind us that it had not yet been paid for!

The main course arrived an hour after the first and then was of very very poor quality. 2 of us had fish and chips which were obviously birds eye style frozen triangles of second rate fish. Another person had salmon fish cakes which were still cold in the middle and all her veg was stone cold. When I asked for it to be heated up the staff were less than impressed and actually tutted at me.

2 of us had roast dinners (lamb and beef) both of which were very poor. I can't believe any of the food was prepared or cooked fresh. There was plenty of food on the plate but we didn't want any of it!. Although the prices were quite reasonable none of the meals were worth the money.

The pub may offer the defence of suffering a power cut but that did not happen until we were about to leave and cant excuse the use of poor quality frozen products.

The only saving grace was that the beer was excellent.

So if you want any more than a drink give this place a miss.

18 Feb 2008 13:26