August 2023 by suea09
Would have given an excellent review if we weren?t stung with a parking ticket. We spent a lot on the meal, yet received a parking fine because we didn?t book our car in. I totally understand this as the pub is on a high street with little parking, but it it would have been nice if there were signs up inside the pub or if staff reminded you. I even went back to check I wasn?t being blind but there is no machine to sign your reg in that I could see. There is a sign in the car park with so much written info it?s understandable that no one reads it properly. We just assumed it was a sign saying that customers will be fined for parking and not using the pub.
August 2023 by Barbara L
We came here a while ago and was disappointed...we came today and we were disappointed... Chicken burger not cooked probably with no slaw as advertised. Spoke to manager who really showed no interest . He was unhelpful and rude Will not return
August 2023 by Emma L
We had visited this pub years ago and it was lovely. Sadly, something has gone wrong since and it's very disappointing. When we arrived, we were asked to put our registrations into a pad on the bar which wasn't working properly, so that we wouldn't get fined for parking in the pub carpark, even though we were dining there. What a lovely welcome. I was given a pen top to stab at the pad, to see if it would work better, but our friends couldn't make it work at all. Eventually, four adults stabbing at one pad finally got it to recognise the registration plate. My word I need a drink after that. I just wanted to come for dinner! Then we were told 'your table is over there' (points to table). No 'follow me' or 'let me take you to your table'. So not the best impression there either. We ordered starters (calamari and a sharing platter) which were a bit on the small side, but enough for us to share. It all tasted good, so happy days. Unfortunately, the mains were far more disappointing. Two of our party ordered the fish cakes and 'upgraded' them to 'large'. They were not large but they were 'meaty' and flavoursome. However, it did make us wonder what the portion size would be if they had not been upgraded. I ordered the vegetarian burger which was described on the menu as a plant burger with a number of accompaniments and fries. I've attached a photo of what I received (I had cut into it before I took the photo), because for £14.95, I really did expect more - the plate was embarrassingly empty. The burger was from a packet and over cooked (think crispy and dry). The 'accompaniments' consisted of a thin slice of cheddar on the burger and the rest, well your guess is as good as mine because I couldn't find them. The fries were very good, but that was it. The rest of my plate was bare. I asked the waitress if there was a salad or anything coming out with it? She said no. When I said, 'but I expected more for £15', she shrugged her shoulders and said 'that's it'. I asked if I could maybe have some coleslaw to add some moisture to the dish, because it was all a bit dry. The first waitress said no, but another waitress came over and offered to get me some. What came out was an egg cup of coleslaw but I was grateful for this nice lady trying to be helpful. You can see the mayo that we received in a small pot - this was also the size of the coleslaw side. At the end of the meal, the original waitress did come over and apologise again for the state of the veggie burger. She mentioned that they had fed back to the kitchen on a number of occasions previously that diners had been disappointed with the dish, especially for the price, but the kitchen isn't listening to the feedback it would seem. The entire meal, for four people was £228. They had the audacity to charge £21 service charge on top of the cost of all of the food and there was no nod on the bill to our complaint. Very disappointing. We came away feeling a bit ripped off sadly.
August 2023 by scottbird9
We had so many problems booking via Hotels.com for our 3 nights here but the manager at The White Hart sorted it out as soon as we arrived. He was super?helpful. We were glad we paid the supplement for an upstairs room as we could safely leave the balcony door open for ventilation. Room was well lit despite a missing light bulb, toilet seat loose ? didn?t spoil our stay. In the room we were really impressed with the quality of the tea, coffee and biscuits ? top grade tea sachets, ground coffee supplied with cafetiere, maple & pecan biscotti. Not your usual! The quality extended to the meals here, no cheap options used in ingredients plus friendly and efficient service. This is the place for a cooked breakfast, lots of well prepared options but perhaps less ideal if only fruit & cereal is your thing. Pastries on the menu - none at first but delighted they had one on the last day. Often, if you asked, staff did their best to source what you asked. No need to eat elsewhere, their food was the best we found. Pies made in house, full of meat, wonderful pastry and great fish & chips. Would definitely return.
July 2023 by Jamie Camilleri
was served by the lovely cassie. she gave us a great recommendation for the donuts. there were so unbelievably good. would definitely come again!
July 2023 by Jacqueline Camilleri
Cassie was an amazing addition to our experience. So friendly and always a good talk. Was happy to recommend menu items and thoroughly made our visit special.
July 2023 by Rob Simms
Awesome food and great service from Lottie. Friendly and welcoming to our family and friends. We will return.
July 2023 by Simon Knight
Didn't stay at the hotel but rooms were great from speaking to some of the guests who did. A welcome and friendly atmosphere greeted us on the Friday evening, along with friendly and engaging locals which put the White Hart far above the other pubs we visited in the village. Went back on the Saturday evening and had brilliant evening with great food, beer and live entertainment. All in all a fantastic couple of days and our thanks go to Olly for making our time there a great one.Food & drinks: Had a fantastically tasting beef and ale pie with mash and veg washed down with multiple pints of the Butcombe Original, probably one of the best bitters I had ever had.
July 2023 by Janice Oakman
Didn?t stay here, just ate. Excellent meal. Staff are all brilliant. Really love the fishcakes in mango chutney sauce. I live nearly 30 miles away, but, since I rediscovered the White Hart late last year, I go there whenever I can as it?s always such a good experience
July 2023 by matthewpink
We stayed here for one night and it's part of the Butcombe Brewery chain of hotels. The building is a lovely thatched cottage type property and it has gardens front and back. The rooms are in a seperate building behind the pub and they were comfortable and clean. People do comment about the view which is a wall with a small walkway it didn't bother us for 1 night but it may if you stay longer. I believe the rooms on the first floor have a better view. We had dinner at the property which was very nice and and the breakfast had a good choice and was good quality. If you join the Butcombe loyalty club you get points for direct room bookings and on any food and drink purchased. All the staff we meet were friendly and professional. We had one issue where the extractor fan in the bathroom kept coming on all night and when we reported this in the morning they said they thought it had been fixed. We have since been offered a free night at this property because of this. I can recommend this property and would stay here again.
July 2023 by David Oliver
A superb place that you are allowed to bring your dog to stay over.Best power shower I've ever experienced.Clean and comfortable with a great breakfast.
July 2023 by Alan Downs
Called in for food after a walk in the area, lovely pub and gardens. Staff were welcoming, attentive and friendly. Food good quality if a little pricey. We had burgers with skin on fries which were delicious, a shame the big gap on the plate wasn?t filled with a small side salad or some coleslaw, would have helped justify the £16.95 price tag.
July 2023 by Nigel B
I couldn't believe I could have experienced such an awful evening out in what appeared to be a lovely country pub/restaurant. Arrived and our reserved table for 4 was not laid up? Waitress pointed to our table "over there" - seemed to be too much effort to take us to the table as you'd expect form your host. Next, our four table cutlery and napkins were effectively dumped on one end of the table and left us to sort out our settings. It was noted that other tables were Reserved with their table settings laid up? Having taken our order, only two starters were ordered, for my self and colleague sitting beside me. Starters arrived and waitress promptly served my colleague to my right, then aware that I was the other starter she promptly stretched across directly in front of my colleague to serve my starter. It was evident that the basics of serving etiquette had clearly not been explained. Now for the food, my steak ordered medium to well done - the toughness of the steak was so bad that for the first time ever I could not finish my steak. It was really too rare for me but decided that sending it back to be well done would not improve its tenderness. Order my steak with a Peppercorn source - not sure if any peppercorns were used in the source as it was just bland cream source. At least my chips were nice and hot. My three colleagues enjoyed their meals nothing too sophisticated - fish cakes and fish and chips, albeit £16.25 for fish cakes! seems to me very pricey particularly when compared to other comparable pub/restaurants recently experienced. Not to mention the small portion size of the fish, I suppose was reflected in £11.50 price. Three of our party chose the Eaton Mess, what a mistake this turned out to be. Between the three of us we had a total of three & half pieces of strawberry, 3 small pieces of meringue, two large lumps of what turned out to be thick cream, all literarily swimming in a half pint of yoghurt and all for very expensive £7.50 each. I am not one to normally complain or even write reviews so our experience demonstrates just how poor our experience was to cause me express our complaint and sit down and write this review. I expressed our disappointment to the waitress and she, in a matter of fact way said she would mention it to the chef? I'm not convinced however a chef would could have produced something that was not even close to representing an Eton Mess. Our evening out was completely spoilt by the whole evenings experience. When we came to pay the bill I was shocked to see that a 10% service charge had been automatically added to our bill. On checking the menu there is a reference to this buried in minutia print on the bottom of the reverse side of the menu. You'd need glasses to be able to read this. I reluctantly decided not query this and just put this down to a very bad experience. I ask myself if this 10% service charge - in all but name - is made because based on our experience, rewarding tips for good food and service could far and few between. We came to the White Hart on the recommendation of our two colleagues who had previously had visited the pub once before and enjoyed the lunch menu they had. However, our party of four will not be making another visit any time soon and we all would not be recommending this pub to our friends and colleagues. Looking at the review history it now seems that we are not alone in our experience and would even suggest that these reviews are not a good advertisement representing Butcome Pubs. I am not aware that I have previously experienced a Butcome Pub, but my experience now is likely to mean I would knowingly avoid them in the future, or at least consider Tripadviser or similar first before booking.
June 2023 by O7784AWdavido
Superb place to stay that allows dogs. Spotlessly clean, comfortable bed, super power shower, plenty of towels, great breakfast and extremely fast wifi 90mbps, A gem of a place. not forgetting nice greetings upon arrival and at breakfast from the manager.
June 2023 by Malcolm Freeman
A very good overnight stay at White Hart. Splendid service from (sorry did not catch any names) man with beard who served drinks in afternoon, waitress who served evening meal and Polish lady for breakfast who I managed to wish good morning in her language!Rooms: Good roomsNearby activities: Newspaper shop in villageSafety: CCTV in car parkWalkability: Level paths availableFood & drinks: Good selectionNoteworthy details: Accepted our dog Hamish but thought the £20 fee was high.
