March 2024 by Louise Day
Lovely village pub with a great community feel. Delicious food and friendly staff.
March 2024 by Ann P
Lovely supper at The Blue Ball, as usual. Great menu choices of beautifully served dishes. Fi and her team do a wonderful job of setting the scene for enjoyable evenings out. Thank you.
March 2024 by emmabT4166MK
Lovely food and friendly staff. A special mention for Fiona who was so accommodating with regards to food intolerances. Nothing was too much trouble & the dairy-free, egg-free prawn/pasta dish she created was DELICIOUS! It can be hard to eat out when you have intolerances but I was made to feel very welcome. Would highly recommend & felt so relieved not to be made to feel awkward. Thank you.
January 2024 by Patrick Marsh
1st visit with our neighbours. Fabulous food and huge portions, all arrived at table piping hot. Will certainly be back.
December 2023 by Cranberrypumpkinpie
We are a Local family wanted somewhere to meet extended family and we chose this pub as most central point for all of us to meet. We have been here before but not for many years and chose it because of the good reviews. I always try and give an unbiased, constructive review. Table booked for Sunday lunch 17 December and we arrived 15 minutes before our table reservation and met with the rest of our party. Pub was busy and staff welcoming. What lets this experience down for us was the kitchen - we waited AGES for starters and main courses (40 minutes for starters, nearly an hour for mains, long time for desert) and the waiting staff (who were lovely) apologised profusely at the presentation of every course for the long wait and who said we were 'the back end of a big backlog'. Not their fault I know and unfortunately they are on the receiving end of the customer. When our food did arrive it was hot and tasty - no complaints on the taste or flavour. We did ask for more veg - one oval sectioned dish containing veg (one section of the dish was red cabbage, one section shared between swede and carrots and the other was peas) between 6 adults will not suffice, especially after waiting such a long time for food - and we were charged for asking for more veg. I always think red cabbage is a cop out for a veg choice as not many people like it! A big dish of cauliflower cheese between would have gone down a treat. Roast potatoes were tiny (equivalent of 2 roast potatoes cut in half per person and coated in garlic, which I love but my stepdad hates garlic). Vegetarian main course (£16) was the same cost as roast beef which I found odd. Meat surely is more expensive..... My veggie 'nut' roast was just smeared across the plate and not holding form or substance but tasted nice. Mum had the 'triple' roast at £18.95. For these prices we should not have had to pay extra for sufficient accompanying veg. My stepdad really enjoyed his cheeseboard 'desert' and I had the Blue Ball bash which was very underwhelming - it was meant to be a take on Eton mess but I had x2 tiny fractions of meringue and majority of it was just cream - hardly any meringue at all - I thought very poor for the money and in hindsight I should have said something. I think the kitchen were running out of food maybe and trying to stretch portions? To sum up - food was nice once we got it. I think we maybe caught them on a bad day operationally?? I appreciate hospitality/cost of living/staff etc is all a big issue in running pubs and restaurants these days and it must be exceedingly difficult BUT as customers who booked the table well in advance there is an expectation to deliver good value for money (especially when we have so little of it these days) and on time. I gather this pub only opens 3 days a week, so on one of its busiest and more profitable days measures should be taken to ensure staffing is adequate and kitchen ticks over like a well oiled machine. A shame as the wait and expectation/anticipation did taint our lunch somewhat.
December 2023 by Mike Brooks
Excellent Sunday lunch!!
November 2023 by Cliff Jenkins
Exceptional roast dinner left me happy and contented all day excellent pub
November 2023 by Anna P
So delicious! We went for Sunday lunch here at the weekend. Our group had vegans, vegetarians and meat eaters in. The food is completely delicious and we all felt so well catered for and look after. There were multiple vegan desserts. Lovely staff, nothing too much trouble. Thanks so much x
October 2023 by grand margar
Open all day Sunday, a pleasant hour or
October 2023 by Alan Saunders
Brilliant little pub in middle of nowhere! Check opening hrs as very
October 2023 by Maddy Jennings
Absolutely delicious vegan food and non vegan food too! Thank you for a great evening with great friendly service and a lovely homely atmosphere:)
September 2023 by jon t
We took my parents for Sunday Lunch. They live just down the road and are in their 80's and have not been out much since Covid. It was superb, attentive staff, even catered for our fussy 5 year old, and as previously mentioned the twist on the vegetables was very welcome. No bad points , in fact could not rate them more highly ,except for the fact even though I visit my parents 2x per week it is during the week so I thought they were still closed post Covid. A sad mistake on my behalf!
September 2023 by Zoe Beasley
I honestly cannot give this place enough stars !!! The best vegan roast we have EVER had, like ever !!!It was so gratifying to be able to take our daughter out for dinner and see her smile without the same familiar frustrations with a limited tasteless menu.The Blue Ball, have proven that it is possible, infact not difficult at all to cater to all dietary needs, without loosing flavour or content.Delicious vegan cauliflower cheese, vegan Yorkshire puddings, the most delicious nut roast on the entire planet. Generous portions too !! A beautiful platter of vegetables, with knowledgeable staff, able to tell you which were dairy free and which were not. Absolutely packed full of flavour, I didn?t reach for the salt once.If this wasn?t enough, they had not one, but FOUR dairy free desert options !!! A simple ?this can be made dairy free with dairy free cream? I felt like singing from the rooftops.The Blue Ball I feel should stand as a shining example to all other ?local, rural pubs? I mean who wants a tasteless bland lentil burger when you can have this !!! And no, they didn?t cost the earth either, well under £90 for 3 meals, 3 deserts and drinks !!Our sincerest gratitudes to the chef, you made our day, thank you so much !!Vegetarian options: Caters amazingly for vegans and vegetarians, without compromising on taste or content.Vegan cauliflower cheese and Yorkshire puddings
September 2023 by Allissa Goddard
The best !! Really great vegan roast, was really impressed with the dessert options available too.Dietary restrictions: The best vegan roast I?ve ever had eating out, most of their desserts could be made dairy free too which was really great!
August 2023 by Lesley Temlett-Marke
Sunday lunch last table available, welcoming, friendly and excellent waiting staff. Beautiful tasty food.
