Sir John Barleycorn Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "Staff were so very attentive."
• "The service was outstanding, very kind and caring staff."
• "Service was really good, friendly and welcoming staff where nothing was too much trouble."
• "Friendly staff and quick ordering."
• "The staff were happy, friendly and helpful."
• "Very welcoming staff."
• "Staff always friendly and approachable."

Cons:

• "Service was non existent and the waiter was hesitant to seat us inside as we had children."
• "Very slow service, lack of staff?"
• "The service was poor and the waiter had a large stain of food on his shirt?"
• "Service very slow, menu looks good but several of the choices we wanted were unavailable."
• "Service was competent although a little slow with ordering and clearing away tables."
• "Service was slow. The waiter dropped a tray with two glasses of wine onto my daughter in law's lap and over her food and the table."
• "Service was slow, there seemed to be a lot of staff but maybe trainees?"

Food Quality

Pros:

• "Food was some of the best I've tasted ever (I had the seafood linguine)!"
• "We found great food, great staff and great value."
• "All four curries were beautiful. According to two of our party from Mumbai, they were very authentic."
• "Excellent food and very tasty."
• "The food was excellent, and the service was speedy, which was perfect for our pause in a long journey."
• "The food was outstanding. Amazing curry, naan and rice! The best Indian food we’ve ever had."
• "Super food, cooked well and so attractive."

Cons:

• "Unfortunately they made a mistake with our order and we discovered Chorizo in our shared starters, we had already begun eating it and the Mayo was definitely not vegan friendly."
• "Lovely pub friendly and good service but we just wanted a quick snack so went for the sandwiches which were appalling ham was very chewy and fatty."
• "Disappointing curry. Very bland (had to add a lot of salt to give it some taste)."
• "King prawns tasted like water and chicken from my family members dish was a strange consistency/texture."
• "Wife's dish wasn't from the Indian menu and was also bland/boring (seafood linguine)."
• "The food took almost an hour, the burger was under cooked and greasy in a rock hard bun."
• "Our starter of salt and pepper squid was more of a crumble of tiny bits of squid and lots of little bits of batter at £8.50 it was not good."

Ambiance & Location

Pros:

• "Lovely, 'olde worlde' English pub, (low beams, open fires etc.) conveniently located just off Jct 1 of the M27."
• "The pub looks magnificent having recently had a new thatch."
• "A lovely 'fusion' style restaurant, Indian dishes we'd never really come across before."
• "They have a great menu and lovely outdoor garden."
• "The Sir John Barleycorn is a picturesque postcard historic building that was clean, quiet enough to hold a conversation."
• "Lovely ambiance, very cosy with the fire burning."
• "A beautiful building, nicely decorated and a cosy, family atmosphere means we will definitely be back."

Cons:

• "Parrot in cage, not all that happy looking, felt quite sad looking at it to be honest."
• "The Rock has definitely lost its country charm."
• "The garden! Spacious and very well maintained."
• "Nice looking pub, but sitting outside in the garden means listening to A road traffic."
• "Beautiful setting but is hard to find as the trees out on the main road cover the sign to turn left so you miss the turning."
• "The toilets also need a tidy up/ lick of paint! There was a big pool of water under the system?"
• "There were plaster holes in the wall, salt shakers etc dirty and sticky."

Value

Pros:

• "The menu is very reasonably priced."
• "Whole lunch menu at set prices are extremely reasonable."
• "They offer a good selection that most people should be able to find something enticing on the menu."
• "The prize was reasonable."
• "Prices reasonable and fantastic hospitality."
• "Lovely atmosphere and interior and reasonable prices."
• "Food really lovely and good value."

Cons:

• "Way too expensive. £16 for fish and a dozen chips!"
• "When I pay above £10 a meal I don't expect frozen chips."
• "Very over priced for the quality and size of portions."
• "£50.00 which was in our view a little expensive but given the location my be ok."
• "High prices for very mediocre food."
• "Value was not the best."
• "£15 for a large wine & a pint of amstel lager, thought that was expensive as only house white wine."

Management & Staff

Pros:

• "Absolutely superb. The new management have brought in an Indian chef who cooks proper, Desi Indian food."
• "The new owners are very welcoming, definitely recommend."
• "Under new ownership but the standard and quality is still high."
• "Great food excellent service. Looking forward to going back once they have had the refurbishment and trying the new menu."
• "Always welcoming staff, convenient location for those traveling from different directions."
• "Staff were brilliant. Service great!"
• "The staff are welcoming & attentive & it was great to meet the chef."

Cons:

• "Service was non existent and the waiter was hesitant to seat us inside as we had children."
• "Unfortunately the new manager is very rude and he is rude to his staff from what i’ve seen."
• "Not the welcoming reception we got from everywhere else in the new forest."
• "Nor did I want sticky tables."
• "Not the same pub it was a few years ago."
• "I made a further enquiry about the option for dining outside and was met with a rude, patronising and unprofessional response."
• "Awful. Sent the family in for a beer at 8 pm and was told they were closing. Didn’t want the custom."