"Let’s start with the positives… Phoned ahead to book at very short notice on a Saturday night and were sat down within the hour at a nice window seat. Welcome was friendly and we were offered drinks immediately. So far so good. Menu was ‘pub grub’ as expected what with it being a pub! And on another positive note, the prices were very reasonable, significantly cheaper than other pubs in the area. Onto the food… my wife had fish and chips and to be fair this was good quality. I had the chickpea and sweet potato curry which just a bit ‘meh’. It came with a poppadom and a mountain of rice. There was nothing wrong with it, just pretty uninspiring. We were approached a couple of times by staff to ask how the food was, and we responded accurately that it was ‘fine’. It was a little unsettling, to have (I assume) the owner/ manager approach to ask a) what we were eating and b) was it any good. The (assumed) owner and wife/co manager then sat on the table next to ours and ate their dinner, which, judging by their comments seemed a test of what the chef was sending out. I’m not sure why they would think it appropriate to test out food/ menus right next to paying customers, and it made the experience just a little more awkward. Another bugbear is the passive aggressive sign at the bar about making sure you know what you want to order before coming up to the bar. I understand that it’s a bit of a joke and meant in good spirit but its’s a little off putting. Ok for the locals, but if I didn’t know the area, it would probably make me walk straight out again. If you want a drink and a quick meal, then The Stag’s a good option. Anything beyond that, maybe consider somewhere else."
