Bulls Head

Visited this pub for lunch today and was very disappointed. :-(

The menu is huge! There is far too much choice, and warning bells immediately sound in my head when I see a menu like this because it usually results in everything being very mediocre rather than a much smaller and more select choice of dishes which are all good quality. Sadly my fears were confirmed...

The meal (a fisherman's sharing platter, followed by a Sunday Roast Pork dinner) was very average quality, and consequently overpriced for its standard. The roast potatoes were very sad looking and unappetising, and the mashed potatoes were almost a solid lump. The vegetables (broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower) were all tasteless.

I finished my meal with a plain filter coffee and was extremely disappointed to be served two thimbles of milk with it! Is it really so difficult to pour fresh milk into a jug, and to serve sugar from a sugar bowl? Actually, the way the coffee was served (with thimbles of UHT milk and paper sticks of sugar) is a telling indictment of the standard of this restaurant - promises much, but sadly disappoints on delivery :-(

I certainly won't be going back to this place, and will now probably avoid all the other pubs in the same chain (there are four others) too.

As an aside, although the refurbishment has left the owners with a very nicely designed and set out restaurant, it is spoilt by the very grubby large mirror viewable from the whole of the gallery. If you're going to have a such a large mirror as a feature the least you need to do is make sure it is sparklingly clean and shiny! - If not, at least replace it with something you don't have to worry about keeping clean at all times.

I intended to feedback directly to the Bulls Head on their own website, but it isn't possible to do so without providing your date of birth - goodness only knows why they deem that necessary?!

Modern dining pub, but lacks atmosphere of a pub with a main entry in the Guide. Food was also disappointing - more towny Wetherspoons than a country gastro-pub. Not expecting to revisit. There are much better pubs (& pub food) within reasonable distance.