The Friar's Oak

we arrived at 1pm and asked if we could sit outside as had booked a table in restaurant but lovely weather. when upon ordering at 1.20pm were told 45 min wait on food even though it seemed very quiet at this time. we excepted this but we received our starters about 2pm. plates were not cleared until 3.10pm in which I asked how long our mains would be. which I had already enquired to a lady behind bar but she never came with an answer. waiter went to check then at 3.35pm our mains arrived.
fairly nice food except carrots were barely cooked very hard. Service was poor and waiting 2 hours for food was ridiculous.

It was one of the worst meals I have had. The meal I had was steak and ale pie with mashed potatoes, cabbage and carrots. The pie was hot but the puff pastry was like leather and the meat very tough. It has obviously been in the microwave and just heated. My wife had crispy duck salad but the chef had run out of cucumber and the chilli sauce was extremely hot. IT WILL CERTAINLY BE THE LAST TIME I EVER VISIT YOUR RESTAURANT. The chef had run out of roast dinners, if fact I would hardly call him a chef. Even the coffees were awful, we ordered flat white and latte and they were certainly not that.

Good table by the window. Service was slow on arrival, orders taken efficiently, food took a while to come. My risotto was partly cold but was reheated with apologies. No wine cooler for white wine which other diners had.

As there were so many choices unavailabe, we were left with a very limited menu. This is not good.

The staff very pleasant and obviously felt awkward about it. So we were not impressed .

Very welcoming. Comfortable seating & temperature, with relaxed atmosphere, open fires, stylish slightly rustic decor. Unusual combinations on the menu, some which work and some less so. But a good choice, reasonably quickly produced, with a choice of portion size.

Very nice meal. Unfortunately by 2.30 they'd run out of the apple pie and custard. Considering this was such a popular dish for a Sunday,would have thought they'd have taken account of this and had more on hand

Food was good, service not so much. We didn't get asked if we wanted desserts or coffees, so we just left!

The service was rather slow, however the Manager did apologise. Four staff members had phoned in sick, so it was understanable. Having said this, the food was fine and very enjoyable.

The meal was very good, but disappointed the 'roasts and Eton mess' were off the menu, especially on a Sunday evening. The Friars Oak is our local and we enjoy the atmosphere there. We would certainly return.

Decided to eat in garden as such a lovely day. All had mains only. These were fish & chips (huge and delicious). Salmon and salad - excellent. Turkey roast - huge portion and lots of gravy. Roast lamb - lamb a little tough but lovely fresh vegetables and lots of gravy. Good atmosphere. Excellent service and good choice of beer. The menu was rather a muddle but managed to sort out in the end. Probably a rare glitch as they were short staffed. Plenty of choice. Could have done with some cushions on the seating but we moved from wicker sofas to wooden chairs which were more comfortable and we could reach the table! Food was good value for money and we would certainly eat there again and recommend to our friends ( already have). I can be very critical of restaurants so this is high praise. Thank you Friars Oak.