Beet Salad Beet Salad

Colorful beet salad with arugula, goat cheese, walnuts, and a tangy vinaigrette dressing.

The Pot Kiln

The Pot Kiln

Chapel Lane Frilsham, Yattendon, RG18 0XX, Thatcham, United Kingdom

Pub • Beer • British • Noodles


"When we arrived, we tried to make a reservation but couldn't get through by phone. Fortunately, there was no problem getting a table as it was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night. We ordered four venison dishes and two duck dishes, which soon arrived. Unfortunately, all of the venison meals were cold, including the mashed potatoes. We spoke to our waitress about this, and she assured us she would take care of it. The dishes came back, and as we dug in again, we found they were still lukewarm. The venison itself was tougher than I remembered from my previous visit. I mentioned this to our waitress, and in response, we received some complimentary French fries, which the kids loved and were hot—unlike the mashed potatoes. To her credit, the waitress apologized again and mentioned that to make up for the cold venison and mash, she had arranged free desserts for all of us, which was a nice touch. The desserts were delightful; the ice cream profiteroles were a hit with both the kids and the adults. The meal would have easily earned five stars if the main courses had been hot. It’s disappointing because I truly enjoy the location and the home-cooked quality of the food. I hope my experience was just a fluke, but with the current challenges facing restaurants, it's essential to be consistently at your best. Everyone is feeling the pinch these days, and a negative experience could prevent us from returning."

The Lake Of Menteith

The Lake Of Menteith

Walker John, Curragh Cottage,B8034,FK8 3, United Kingdom, FK8 3RA, Stirling

Full • British • European • Scottish


"Family out for Sunday lunch, one requiring a gluten free meal. We were assured that the grouse on the specials menu was gluten free, so two of us ordered this and we ordered two portions of seasonal veg as extras. The grouse came with a jug of thick white blob, which we were later advised was bread sauce, not mentioned on the menu and clearly not gluten free. The vegetables had thick strands of noodles mixed through them (none of us had ordered noodles . When I complained to the waiter, he took my bowl to ask the chef, before returning with the same bowl saying that the chef said not to worry as they were just stray rice noodles! The waiter was clearly being left to take any flak, so I followed him to the till, to find the manager and chef in the bar. The manager basically said that it was a small kitchen, so you have to expect some cross-contamination (2-inch bits of noodle?! , while the chef brushed it off as just a schoolboy error . (If I 'd wanted my lunch cooked by a schoolboy... Neither the manager nor the chef appeared to grasp the seriousness of serving contaminated food, with the manager repeatedly assuring me that the ingredients were gluten free. Restaurant owners must understand that to label a dish as gluten free , or any allergen free or even NGCI (no gluten-containing ingredients , they are not just saying that they did not intend to include the allergen, but that they had taken measures to prevent contamination by the allergen. Clearly, serving a jug full of the allergen (as happened here is dangerous, but so is having such poor kitchen practices that different meals on the menu get mixed together. Our meal was cut short, as we could not trust any of the dishes to be gluten free; in fact we could not trust any of the dishes to be just what the menu said they were."

The Fox Pub

The Fox Pub

1 Pinfold Lane, LE15 8LE, Rutland, United Kingdom

Wine • Steak • Cakes • British


"Staying in Manton for a week I did a desk top survey of the pub restaurants in the area based on TA reviews and the establishments ' menus as posted on their website. We some heistation we landed up at the Fox for a Saturday evening meal. We both had haddock spinach fishcakes off the specials board for starters and beef pie chicken salad for mains, with yours truly seldom able to resist crème brûlée for afters... Well, the meat pie was fantastic nicely cooked shortcrust pastry top bottom and packed with tasty and prime quality beef. I always take others best ever tributes with more than a pinch of salt but this was indeed one of the best steak pies I 've ever had. Save for overcooked mange tout all the food was pretty faultless and the service very attentive too, so we booked to return on the Monday. Unfortunately for us none of the Saturday team was there on the Monday and it was obvious from the presentation (my wife had the same starter salad main) that the kitchen was in different hands too. I should probably have gone for the pie again but, as it was only two days later, I went for the slightly more expensive lamb shank off the specials board instead. Sadly that was only average as lamb shanks go. So full marks for the Saturday, not so good on the Monday, but perhaps we were just unlucky. It certainly has a nice atmosphere and I would happily go again if in the area."