Review by john morton on 17th April, 2007

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Food was at best mediocre and, in the case of my mother's beef wellington, literally inedible. Supposedly sourced from the most expensive butcher in Devizes (Rose's), the beef (which by defintion in this dish should be fillet) was extremely tough and gristly. She nearly choked trying to swallow a mouthful after chewing it endlessly - she's in her 80s and her generation's middle-class manners dictate that once a piece of food has gone into one's mouth it should stay there until swallowed. Attempting another piece, she daintily took a paper knapkin to remove the indigestible meat from her mouth. We pointedly asked for some foil so we could wrap up the remaining (unattempted)meat and take it home for the cat. There's more... The supposed puff pastry enclosing the beef wellington had been soaked in gravy in the kitchen. The fact that it wasn't soggy and that all the 'puff' in the pastry had gone leads me to suspect that gravy had been poured on and then the whole ensemble reheated in the oven. At £16.99 this is nothing short of a disgrace. Vegetables (brocolli, cauliflower, carrots and leeks in a creamy sauce) were pleasantly al dente but seemed to have completely bypassed the taste department. Judging by the way their skins depressed when a fork was applied, the boiled new potatoes looked as if they had been cooked several days earlier and reheated for the occasion. My generous slice of steak pie cooked in 6XXX ale would have just about been acceptable at £6.95 but at £10.95 it was inadequate: pastry suffered from the same disease as the beef wellington. My sister and nephew's lamb steak on couscous was described as 'alright' but did not look as appetizing as that. A sweet had been our intention but you will not be surprised we declined the offer, especially as service was extremely slow. The highlights of my meal were two pints of St George's bitter served in excellent condition. This really is a crying shame for a restaurant in such a magnificent building, not to mention a complete rip-off, nor to mention commercial incompetence for wasting such potential: we should have heeded the warnings - when we arrived there was only one table out of perhaps twenty occupied by fellow diners.

Date visited: 16.7.07