The Bowl Inn, Almondsbury Reviews Summary

Staff and Service

Pros:

• "The staff were friendly and accommodating, the room and beds clean and comfortable whilst maintaining the feel of the building, and the food was excellent."
• "The service off the bar and waitress staff was great and very pleasant."
• "Had a great response from the staff on arrival."
• "All staff were friendly and excellent service."
• "Our waitress was lovely and helpful."
• "Staff were very helpful."
• "Staff were welcoming, friendly and attentive."

Cons:

• "We did tell the waitress about our disappointment but she wasn't really bothered or apologetic."
• "Both my husband and I let staff know before we left... but offered no more than 'we will let our plumber know'."
• "We would have let the waiter know our feedback but he didn’t bother asking when he cleared our table."
• "Called the following day to discuss my concerns but no answer or reply to my voicemail, clearly not bothered…"
• "Service for breakfast slow, 20 min wait to order."
• "We were generally ignored by the waiting staff."
• "Extremely rude staff member that answered the phone."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food is beautifully cooked and presented."
• "Was excellent value for money."
• "I had the chicken curry for dinner which I highly recommend."
• "The food was delicious."
• "Fish and chips was excellent, as was the courgette and broad bean arancini."
• "The food was first class and my wife loved her special Mac n cheese with sprouts!"
• "The food was remarkable. I had the squid to start and my wife the polenta fries."

Cons:

• "Portions were miniscule."
• "Burger was barely warm, so much so the cheese on top hadn’t melted; tortellini consisted of just 6 pockets so was a tiny portion."
• "The food was luke warm and one of the steaks was supposed to be rare, was well done, returned and then the steak that came back was rare but terrible quality."
• "Multiple dishes also arrived at the table with components missing… such as no blue cheese on a blue cheese salad."
• "The food was bland, burger buns stale and patty’s were dry and tasteless."
• "Starters - Prawn cakes were under done, warm but not hot, and oily. Chicken strips were overcooked."
• "The food menu availability was poor."

Accommodation and Comfort

Pros:

• "Very comfortable room which was small however a king size super comfy bed."
• "Our room was very comfortable, warm and very clean, with a pretty view over fields."
• "The bedroom was nicely decorated and comfortable."
• "Room was cosy, classy and clean, really appreciated the local ground coffee and cafetière in the room."
• "Room was spotless and so cosy and lots of little touches that made it special."
• "Loved the room, had a great night's sleep."
• "The room was very comfortable and we were well rested for our onward journey."

Cons:

• "A lengthy delivery took place at around 2:30 in the morning! The van sat outside with its hazard lights flashing and, even with the thick curtains, the flashing lights were disturbing."
• "Unfortunately, there must have been something wrong with the heating system as one of the radiators in the bedroom started to vibrate at infrequent periods throughout the night."
• "Really nice property and food and drink. We stayed one night and at about 3:45 the security alarm went off and didn’t stop for well over 30 minutes preventing us from sleeping."
• "Not sensible to have glass bottles on a shelf above the bath, definitely a health and safety issue."
• "The water pressure in the shower was again a bit disappointing."
• "The shower room was a bit of a squeeze - and we are not large people!"
• "The shower was unusable very small trickle and no heat to mention!"

Value and Pricing

Pros:

• "Car park is directly opposite and you can enter your reg on a device in the pub so that the parking is free."
• "The prices are very reasonable."
• "Lovely menu choice, prices not inflated like many locally."
• "Parking just outside- which is free once you register in the pub."

Cons:

• "Disappointingly overpriced."
• "£82 today for two adults and a child for roasts, pudding and four drinks."
• "However expensive. clean and been updated however for what it was expensive."
• "It was slightly on the expense side paying £77 for 2 drinks, 2 starters and 2 mains."
• "This is top end prices for Sunday lunch."
• "Very nice pub and setting but poor service, very over priced food… ‘discretionary’ service charge automatically added to the bill despite service issues, awkward."
• "One thing I hate is they put a service charge on without telling you... Let customers decide for themselves what we want to give."

Atmosphere and Location

Pros:

• "Excellent location, beautiful setting."
• "Charming country pub, traditional decor that one would associate with a nice English Pub, wood burner and good local, hand pulled beers."
• "Location is ideal just off the motorway."
• "The inn is situated in a very nice town, next to an old and beautiful church."
• "Characterful and cosy pub with rooms."
• "The setting of the pub next to the church of the beautiful village of Almondsbury is fantastic."
• "The Bowl is set in a beautiful, quiet location."

Cons:

• "Turned us away saying they have no tables on a weekday."
• "A big occasion (30th birthday) was absolutely ruined."
• "There were no customers in the bar for drinks and not many in the restaurant."
• "Sadly it was a very disappointing and embarrassing visit. I doubt we will hurry back."
• "We waited 20 mins for a menu, in the end we asked for one ourselves as we were fed up of waiting."
• "AVOID AT ALL COSTS. The car park adjoining the pub is a private car park, which the pub states is free to customers."
• "Stayed 1 night, staff very friendly food at night delicious, breakfast good. Got a parking ticket 3 weeks after stay for parking in the Bowl Inn car park, which no one informed me about."