Hill Top Restaurant and WIne Bar in South Gloucestershire

We became a bit concerned when we arrived at this restaurant above the Horse Shoe Pub in Chipping sodbury High Street and there was no one there. It was empty. Down stairs the pub was rammed with revellers enjoying the live music. Trying to fins the restaurant was a bit complicated as it didn't seem to be clear where we had to go and we wandered around the pub for a while trying to get our bearings. Eventually we found a door that led to some steep steps which would make this a difficult venue for anyone disabled or in a chair. The stairs were steep and at the top was a sign telling us to wait here to be seated. We rang a small bell and a lady came and showed us to our table in a completely empty dining room. This sounded the alarm bells. why was there no one else dining? It was a reasonably attractive room but very cold as the window was open and several of the seats had rips in the cushions? The sound of the band from down below was extremely loud and made talking a bit difficult. We were given menus and immediately told some of the dishes were off. Ratatouille, Fillet, T bone and Rib Eye were all unavailable. Undeterred we ordered 2 Monk Fish, one Sea Bass and one Pork medallion. The server came back to tell us the Monk Fish was also off. So we ordered another Pork and a Sirloin steak with Bourbon BBQ Sauce? Then we waited. for over an hour actually. Our server brought us a bowl of Crisps to keep us going. Eventually when the food arrived it was very disappointing. The Sea Bass was actually so small it would have made a good starter or a Tapas dish but it went nowhere near a main course. They delivered the 8oz Rump and not the 14oz Sirloin. There were no sides, no additional dishes to compliment the mains and the Portions were very small. The Pork was over cooked and dry and the Asparagus was stone cold. There was enough Hollandaise Sauce to feed a dozen people and none of us even tried it. When asked by our server if our meal was OK we did tell her it was cold and that the wait had been far too long. She said they had staff problems and there was only one chef on duty. However, she did agree not to charge for the wine as a good will gesture. This wasn't the '5 star dining experience' we were promised and there were mistakes at every level. I do hope they can resolve these issues or their new venture will be short lived. I think they are trying to do too much, Pub, Music, Wine bar, BBQ food , fine dining. They need to decide what they want to deliver and stick to that. The Hill Top Restaurant was I'm afraid a step too far.

Beautiful location. Amazing view from our table. Decor was very tasteful and clean. Service was very friendly. Food was absolutely delicious. Definitely coming back!