Shropshire
The Castle

The Castle

United Kingdom, SY9 5BN, Shropshire

Pub • Steak • Vegan • British


"We ate dinner two nights and breakfast two mornings as we were staying at the hotel. The food has gone down market and down hill significantly since we visited a few years ago. No more fillet stakes. Most of the food appears to be out of the freezer and probably microwaved, not a lot of real cooking going on apart from heating up meat and frying fish. Our first night starters were a prawn cocktail which was frozen prawns and insipid sauce with a limp lettuce. Probably the worst version of this cliché I've ever eaten. The tempura king prawns were small frozen prawns with an insipid batter that has nothing to do with tempura. Pate was OK but bought in. Beef stroganoff was microwaved and bizarrely served with pappardelle, pie probably bought in and microwaved. Burgers too dense to be hand made and cooked OK but no real taste. Frozen chips. Strangely the onion rings were home made and very good and the buns were brioche. Puddings were OK but bought in. At breakfast toast was hardly darkened, porridge microwaved and not at all creamy. The full English was OK. The omelet was good. Wines were well priced and pretty good. There are lots of friendly waiting staff but service is a bit hap hazard and it can be hard to get staff's attention. Staff seem to have multiple jobs so nobody appears to be in control. Small bottles of prosecco were handed out unopened. Dog friendly probably to a fault. Dogs were allowed to sit at the table and be fed by their owners from their plates."

The Lime Kiln

The Lime Kiln

Porth Y Waen, SY10 8LU, Shropshire, United Kingdom

Pubs • Steak • French • British


"Relaxed grazing family meal Booked for 530pm. No rush to order. Welcomed by owner who was keen to help and guide. 2 friendly dogs residents which our youngest loved. Felt like being welcomed to a friendly home host. Explained he had a host staff member down which was fine because we were in no rush. In fact it felt relaxed and allowed us to settle in and relax after a busy afternoon. Lots of interesting selections of grazing and main meal options. Well, we could not have anticipated the quality of the cooking. We asked for things to be sent out as they were ready (good option and we grazed away for our stay. Good quality food and wine and seriously reasonable prices. Our 20something to teenage boys left satisfied and full, as did we. Unassuming and delightful visit in this hidden gem. Go without a timescales and enjoy an unhurried but genuinely satisfying and tasty selection of home cooked delights from this skilled and talented chef who caters for tastes young and old. Pure joy for a group who are not always easy to please. Recommend the garlic prawns (simply phenomenal , garlic mushrooms (like I’ve never tasted! , Mac and cheese (pleased a 13 Yr old, hard to please USA foody addict and sirloin steak which was tasty beyond measure. Bottle of Sauvignon was cheap by restaurant standards but good quality too. Recommended by a tricky group who are hard to please in their entirety, usually but all left wanting a return visit. Wish we lived closer as we would be regulars!"