Bankes Arms Hotel and Country Inn, Studland

I last came here in 2005, when it was a good place to be. Having good memories of it, I brought my wife & child here for an evening meal after a day doing the tourist bit in the local area. Whoops, big mistake.

Wandered in to the pub, and decided to find a table to eat at prior to ordering food. In the 'back' area, there were three tables unoccupied; two were covered in the detritus of the prior occupants' meal, the third was empty, but for the spilled beer on the worn out table. During the hour we were here, one of the other tables was cleared by a sulky looking waitress who we never saw again; the other remained in that state for the duration of our stay.

My wife and son went to look at the food board, and came back with their choices, although they both stated the choice was somewhat limited; lots of items were 'off'. I took a photo of the menu; anything with a star, you can't have. We ordered two lamb shanks and a chicken curry; more on those later.

The beer: I tried the Best, then the IPA, from the brewery next door. Both were at their very best, unremarkable. My wife said the Best had an aftertaste of ashtrays. Really, not great. The bar service was something new as well, to the point that I'm prompted to say this: Mike the barman who was serving on the evening August 24th 2010 at about 7pm, if you hate your job as much as you appear to, quit and find something you enjoy.

Then the food showed up; the three dishes cost �38.95, so you'd expect something worthwhile, but no - the curry was mediocre and was in pub terms a six quid dish, not eleven, and while the lamb itself was not bad, the accompanying salads were limp, the lettuce slimy, and the chips were in my case from the bottom of the fryer - all the bits. I'm wondering if the salads aren't pre-prepped and set out in bowls, and the slime has built up during the wait?

As for the d�cor, the carpet is filthy, there's dust everywhere, the furniture is well past due renewal, and frankly the pub needs to be refitted, the staff need a kick in the rump, and the chef needs to be shot for the travesties he or she is punting out of the door.

This used to be a great pub, now it's an absolute hole. It's so bad I'll be recommending friends specifically avoid when visiting the Purbecks. A real shame.

25 Aug 2010 14:07