Megan's By The Castle Restaurant (Guildford) in Guildford

Really nice restaurant. Friendly staff and good food

I had high hopes for this place seeing as the service in the booking process I received from Tilly was amazing, and the service from the waiters and waitresses was great. However, the below complaint was sent to the customer service following an issue where the desserts were missed for pretty much our entire party of 14, which I have since complained about and Lucy in customer service has not offered any resolution and is now ignoring my emails. Avoid this particular restaurant for group bookings as you will be severely disappointed when one of your dishes (that was pre ordered) is not available and you are served cardboard as an alternative. Twickenham branch however is lovely and amazing service if you must try this place at all. We had a booking for 14 people at 1pm in the Guildford restaurant. We had pre-ordered set menus and I received an email 2 weeks before to say there were none of the donuts from the set menu (4 of our guests had ordered these) - we were advised that sticky toffee was a good alternative so we all opted to have this in its place. One the day, just before dessert was going to be served, we were advised that there was in fact no sticky toffee available at all. Considering 7 of the guests had ordered this, plus another 4 due to there being no donuts, I think this is absolutely terrible planning on your part and was shocked that for a party of 14 people, 11 of the desserts were unavailable (seeing as we also had to put in our orders online before the reservation so that your kitchen staff could ensure they had enough supply in). As a resolution, we asked if we could then order any dessert or if it had to be off the set menu, to which we were told we had to order from the set menu (mince pie or raspberry loaf which no one liked) or we could have "cookie dough" as an alternative. The cookie dough brought out was a sharer portion and it was flat and burnt and really not the standard expected when we originally booked to come here. I would like to point out that we paid for our meals up front, a total cost of £630, and spent another £230 on the day - so a total of £860! Considering the amount we spent the least I would expect is to have the "replacement" dessert available, and when this is not available then we should be able to order whatever we chose as a dessert, not given a dry version of "cookie dough" with a bowl of ice cream. I am not usually a person that complains, but considering the money we spent I think this is appalling service. I must stress that your waiters and restaurant staff were amazing, and we cannot fault the service from them - but maybe in future your kitchen staff should make sure they have enough meals for a big group like ours. We did not make a fuss on the day, but I hope that you can provide some sort of resolution for this considering the fact it happened on two occasions, and it left us with only one (sub-standard) option for dessert. I would expect some kind of refund in this situation, considering a third of the meal was not delivered, then maybe a 30% refund for the 11 guests that did not get the dessert they had ordered would be sufficient, or a voucher to this amount for a future meal at Megans.

A lovely experience. They were able to fit us in for a quick brunch even though we hadn't booked. The food cake quickly and was excellent.

Jay was our waiter and he was amazing and took great care of us - very attentive

Love Megan’s shaksoumi and gooey cookie! Great ambiance and Jay really took care of us. Can’t wait to come back!

It was excellent service by Jay, he is a lovely guy with great smile, wud definitely come back!

The atmosphere was lovley, the food was scrumptious and jay was amazing!!!!

Lovely food and atmosphere, thank you Jay.

Nice staff. Lovely food. Shout out to Jay 😊

Excellent service by Jay, the food was great, very accommodating of my allergies especially as we were fitted in without a booking! Would recommend a trip to Megan’s

The food was lovely and Jay made us feel very well looked after! Very grateful they managed to fit us in even though we didn't have a booking!

Always a great experience when I dine here. Food is so full of flavor and service is great. Jay was a wonderful server!

My favorite restaurant, the decor, staff and food always amazing! Jay especially is always very attentive

We loved our brunch in Megan’s today. Jag was a fantastic service on the Guildford branch and the food was delicious. Thoroughly recommend!

Lovely atmosphere & consistently nice food. The service is always attentive - our server Jay was very welcoming and friendly.

Visited this fabulous restaurant today! What an experience! Everything was decorated beautifully. The food was delicious. The staff and their service were fantastic. Annelise was incredible and her service was flawless. Overall my friends and I really enjoyed the experience. Will definitely be coming back!!

We were a group of 4 and we all enjoyed our experience and food at Meghans which was made even the more memorable by our waitress Julia who was an absolute delight.

Very tasty meal. Marmalade martini is delicious! Our waiter Jay was lovely and very helpful.

Visited here for a pre Christmas Shopping breakfast and was not disappointed. Great vibe, beautifully decorated, attentive staff and quality food. Highly recommend and and will be returning.

Fabulous place. A literally perfect coffee (which is rare!) and a great lunch. Nice vibe and staff too. Definitely coming again

Good food, excellent service quite expensive and the tables were very close together

Great tasty food, our waiter was really good and helpful. Shame about the manager who does not know how to connect to customers. No smile or eye contact. However will still come back

Jay was so lovely amazing service and a smile which made our day thank you! Would love to come back:)

First time visit to any Megan’s and I am very impressed! A pleasant greeting and taken to a window seat, I was asked about any allergy and also if I required and water! I ordered the Shakshouka with chorizo and a side of rosti. Very flavoursome with a great rich spicy sauce ( not overly spicy ) rosti was freshly cooked light and fluffy and plenty of them to dip in the sauce. Accompanied by a slice of toast with butter that could actually spread easily, very well thought out. The coffee was a Cortado and nice and strong too, the cake ! Oooohhhh , Orange and almond was just to die for, I’m sure it was soaked in honey . I gave 4 stars as I believe 5 would be a Michelin standard, but I will definitely visit again, thank you Megan’s of Guildford

Julia's service was fantastic after what she described was a long day. She made us feel welcome. We really enjoyed our night. Had a lovely smile and she was just so polite. 😊 Josh and Tara

Beautiful restaurant and great food - Julia is lovely, she served us with a smile!

We had such a wonderful time for my husbands Grandmothers birthday, The staff were wonderful making great accommodations for those with food allergies and were so friendly, We went mid week and the atmosphere was great with loads of covers Big shout out to Julia who was amazing the entire night and even gave us a birthday brownie for my Grandmother in law Couldn’t recommend coming more!

Julia was absolutely amazing. She was so attentive and respectful. The world needs more people like Julia in it!

beautiful restaurant! Food was delicious and they are super good with allergies! I am gluten free and they made sure I knew what food was safe and they had loads of options ! Will defo go back !

Our server Jay was wonderful, really made the effort to help celebrate my birthday and make me feel truly special. The whole team went above and beyond.

Jay was super polite and friendly throughout our time in the restaurant and even took the time to recommend the popular desserts for us to pick after we finished our meal. Will definitely be coming here again!

we were served by zhanna who was really lovely and friendly, food was delicious! we came on a saturday night and booked but there was space for walk in tables. lovely atmosphere, would recommend!

Thank you Su for the best dessert recommendation :-) Salted caramel ice cream with baked cookie dough 😍 PERFECTION

We had a great experience with Jay!! The best server I’ve ever met!

Very good service from Julia in particular. Food came quickly and was delicious as always : )

Great food, lovely atmosphere, wonderful staff, would recommend.

It was a very nice bottomless brunch for my sisters birthday. Julia was very nice, friendly and always made sure our drinks where topped up.

Jay was so good for bottomless brunch, was constantly refilling our drinks the entire time. If I could give six stars I would 🩷

It was a great lunch with 12 people at our table Jay our waiter was excellent. Food was great and drink fresh!

Always take people here, great food, atmosphere and service. This time we were served by jay he was great and really attentive!! Make sure you don’t miss out on their night cap offer too great offer!

We visited this place for the first time on Saturday following the Google reviews. The place itself is clean and well-decorated. We were expecting to spend some nice time there. Little did we realise that it was one of the overpriced and over-hyped places. The food itself is so basic and you can definitely find it cheaper elsewhere. The service is where we got stunned. The staff members kept petting a customer's dog (who did not seem to appreciate that), did not wash their hands after touching the dog and kept on serving customers. This should not happen as per food and hygiene guidance. Finally, my husband after paying tried to share that with the staff members and they at first ignored him. After the third attempt, the lady that billed him admitted not having washed her hands and explained the service had not started. But we had been served. We left and the lady and her colleague laughed upon our exit. We were not planning to visit this place again but we would also not recommend it to any other new customers.

Had a lovely meal today to celebrate a special birthday! Julia was brilliant and looked after us really well!

Fabulous birthday celebration. Our server Julia was professional and attentive and really helpful with our allergies and intolerances. We went for Bottomless brunch and felt that it was definitely value for money. We will be back. Thanks Julia and all the staff at Megan’s Guildford

Our recent experience at Guildford Megan’s was brilliant. We’ve been to many other Megan’s but the food was better than I remembered, our waitress Julia was fantastic, helpful and friendly (and so kind towards our 2 y/o daughter too). Thank you for a really lovely experience! Sophie & Rob

We visited Megan's today, Saturday 28th Dec 2024. When coming in we were greeted nicely and had a good feeling about the place. The initial service was fine before we got our food. The food was only ok, not great at all. The main issues were all the servers touched and played with a dog but none of the washed their hands. The guy who gave us the food touched and the lady who took away our plates also did. The lady who took payment and gave me the recipe had touched the dog before and not washed her hands. When I raises it with her initially she ignored me twice then she started pushing it into her colleagues until I had to say I've seen her touch the dog. When we were leaving the two women were laughing about it. To be honest, having paid £47 for a very basic breakfast for two was bad enough but then to see that and be treated that was has disgusted me!

Just returned home after a very disappointing visit to Megan’s Guildford. We were going to go to Bills, our usual breakfast choice, but decided to try Megan’s for our 36th wedding anniversary. Despite informing them of our anniversary, we were not offered any celebratory drinks and were charged £4.90 for hash browns that we didn’t have!

Jay was excellent. Great food and atmosphere.

Have been a couple of times before and today had another lovely birthday lunch with friends - love the decor and ambience; the food is excellent and our waiter Jay was amazing. Would really recommend for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner! .

Really enjoyed the lovely service by Julia. Very attentive and friendly.

Julia was fantastic. Great food, drinks and atmosphere.

We had a great bottomless brunch at Megan’s. Julie was amazing! She magical brought the drink the moment the put the empty glass on the table! The food is really tasty as well and there is a good choice of food as well! Nice atmosphere and super cost place

A lovely place run by friendly and excellent people.

We had a wonderful brunch today. We're regular visitors and have had done birthday events here. Jay was our waiter today, and was really friendly and caring towards us and the kids, and we feel he went the extra mile for us. Thanks for a great afternoon

Absolutely fantastic xmas eve brunch. Everything was first class. The food was wonderful. Our server Jay went above and beyond to enhance our visit. Highly recommend.

Had a lovely Christmas meal with my friends :) Our server, Jay, was very nice and the food was luuush

Lovely food and great service from Jay.

Came in for some post shopping drinks and nibbles. Perfect location for anyone wanting to do the same! Delicious snacks/starters and the cocktails (we caught happy hour) were brilliant. Marcel was attentive and thorough, couldn’t fault anything. The fit out of the bar was brilliant too. A new favourite

We had a great time. Enjoyed the food and drink and particularly the service. Jay was an amazing waiter. Thank you!

Such a disappointment. Menu looked fab but all 3x main course dishes completely dried out. Guessing they’d been left under kitchen heat lamps which was surprising as food came very quickly. In contrast, side orders of fries were stone cold.

Akashi was a great hostess and very attentive. Thank you

Went for tea and cake. Both quite nice, but service slow and a little almost dismissive..... then they have the cheek to add 12.5% service charge...

Jay @ Guildford branch is the most amazing ambassador for Megan's. Mom's - and old school friends - out for a catch up and Jay made us feel so looked after - what a change of pace! Many many thank yous for a happy Xmas outing xx

I visited Guildford branch last week. Sometimes you receive a card for your next visit offering a free coffee or glass of wine. I had a coffee and a cake. My card stated free coffee with ANY FOOD. When I paid my bill I was told CAKE is not classified as food. I disputed this and said it was gross misrepresentation. This argument took place with two managers in front of other diners. I was given a free coffee but they would not concede that people would interpret it the same as me. I understand what it was supposed to mean but the manager just would not accept my case. There was no leeway. Needless to say I won't be visiting Megan's again.

Disappointed with the service and food. The food was underwhelming, and they charged a service fee without justification for the quality provided. Also charged me for the table next to me. I’ve tried to resolve this issue for over 4 weeks, but there’s been no response or resolution. Truly appalling—wouldn’t recommend. #BadService #CustomerExperience”

Lovely experience! Mimi was amazing!! 😍

Lovely experience for dinner the other night. Our server Phoebe was very helpful and charming. Would recommend highly.

Came the other day for dinner. The food arrived promptly and was delicious. Our server , Chahla was lovely and very helpful. Would recommend highly!

love this megans! always have the yummiest food and really good service, five stars all round !!!

A group of friends and I tried to eat here last night. We hadn't booked, maybe that's our downfall, however, as a high street eatery you'd hope they'd be trained how to deal with people without a booking. After a wait to speak to a member of staff, they scurried off to discuss a table for us. Ten minutes later we were led through the restaurant and upstairs past numerous empty tables for four. It's never a good sign when you have to eat upstairs anywhere, it usually lacks any buzz. or atmosphere. I'm happy to say it was busy and lively, apart from the side room where we were seated. It was desolate. I can fully understand if we were four rowdy teens and they wanted to hide us away, however, as four middle aged men with money to spend, we felt profiled and unwanted. We sat for the best part of fifteen minutes and not a single member of staff checked in on us. No drinks, no starters, no mains. We voted with our feet and went elsewhere, somewhere appreciative of our custom despite our age. I was in Farnham today and noticed another Megan's had opened up. It'll need more than lightbulbs in new, shabby chic bird cages to make me enter. I'm confident this chain will go the same way as most in the next year or two. Enjoy your profitability while people are still naive enough to accept poor quality service and rip off prices for a kebab.

Popped in monday for a late breakfast/brunch. Must say a little expensive but absolutely delicious will definitely be returning.

Server was sooo lovely and the food was delicious !

Lovely place, lovely people, 100% recommend

Very poor overall. I had high hopes for this place as the ambiance was great and the menu looked right up my street for breakfast. The coffee was great but the food was awful. I paid £16.50 for the Boxing Day breakfast and it was an absolute joke. Served barely warm and the portion size was very stingy. The tiniest little pot of beans you have ever seen that I literally ate with one fork full. Poor quality sausages that reminded me of the cheap junk you get in Little Chef. My wife ordered salmon and it had clearly just been pulled out the packet and chucked on the plate. Rostis were basically just freezer food you pop in the air fryer. So, so disappointed. I won’t be coming back. Ever. Go to Bills instead. Waitress service was fine, not their fault. But the kitchen staff, shame on you.

I would 100% recommend Megan’s in guildford. Marcel served us and gave the best service. He was super attentive and friendly. Will definitely be back soon. :)

I’ve been to Megan’s a few times and Marcel has always been so lovely and gives the best service along with the rest of the team. Will be coming back here for a long time

Absolutely great staff, Marcel was especially helpful and friendly. The rest of the team are so lovely and it’s really good and fast service.

Had a fantastic after wedding celebration at Megan's by the Castle! The venue (Bird Cage) was piqturesque, suits our rustic themed wedding. Food was great! Everyone literally has to unbutton pants to make room for the dessert. The drinks especially the espresso martini gave us extra boost to dance and laugh the night away! Service was top notch. Everyone greeted and accomodated us with warmth and joy. Thank you to Preethi for accomodating us since day 1, from our enquiry and showing us venue up until setting up the tables and wedding favours. To Holly for making aure we never ran out of drink. To Tilly for answering our queries and emails, for making sure the booking is smooth and hassle free. And to the whole Megan's crew for making sure we had the best after wedding party. Kudos to the whole team!!

Great food, would recommend the Mezze bowl and the Shakshoumi. Our server Reeha was very helpful and friendly.

Excellent service by very professional and friendly staff. The atmosphere is extremely pleasant, clean and always a very comfortable temperature.Above all is the welcome by staff. Megan’s are truly dog friendly, they provide water bowls treats and dog beds.

We had a great evening at Megan’s, for a work Christmas celebration! Fantastic food, great atmosphere and very friendly attentive staff. Highly recommend 😊

Julia was a fantastic help through out our brunch! Thank you

We had a really great time. Thank you!

This was our first visit to Megan’s (Guildford). The interior decor is very pleasant and the general atmosphere promising. The service, however, was quite slow and although the food I had was tasty, the two fried eggs were overcooked to the point of being leathery and tough to cut. I mentioned this to our waitress who gave the classic ‘get out’ response that she would tell the chef. Whether she did or not we will never know as we received neither an apology nor a reduction in the bill. I am hesitant to repeat this experience, which is such a shame as the menu promised much but delivered little.

Had a shading time here with fabulous service from Marselle - such an asset to Megan’s !!!

Lovely space - nice food and fab service! Thanks Marcel 🫶🏼

Funny experience in the toilets, waited ages, 3 out of 4 seemed to be locked. Otherwise amazing experience! Especially loved our waitress Maisie!

Manager (red dress) could be a bit nicer to her staff, witnessed her being quite rude to our server and it seemed to really bother her. Maybe management should keep that away from shop floor. Staff members who served us were really attentive.

We had such a wonderful time at Megan’s thanks to Jay. Jay went above and beyond to make our evening special, even surprising us with some delicious crisps to try for free. It was such a thoughtful gesture that perfectly complemented the warm and welcoming atmosphere. The ambiance was lovely—inviting and relaxing, creating the perfect setting for a memorable evening. Jay’s friendliness and genuine kindness truly stood out and added a personal touch to our experience. We couldn’t have asked for better service. Highly recommend stopping by!

This was my second visit to Megan's by the Castle i didnt have a reservation but Julia snuck us in to a - we had a great visit, great food and a wonderful server - will come by again

Our waitress, a student, was excellent, as was our first and not our last) lunch out in this charming bistro.

A nice place to eat and drink in the centre of Guildford. I popped in for a coffee and a pain-au-chocolat. Pleasant young staff were very attentive, and the coffee and pastry were nice. Nice decor and ambience. Clean and pleasant washrooms. Not overpriced. I'd go again.

Food brilliant as per and Akshay gave us great service! Went over and above and we look forward to visiting again soon!

Great service by Jay, we had a lovely lunch.

Amazing staff! All so sweet especially Georgie the manager.

Julia was so lovely and our drinks were great, thank you!

Great food and service, Julia was super friendly and accommodating

Julia was a great server. So helpful and lovely.

Underwhelmed and a staff member who shouldn’t be. We came in as a group of 5 for some evening drinks for the night cap promotion. After a friendly welcome and a brief wait we sat down and waited about 10 minutes for our waitress to serve us. The restaurant was by no means busy and appeared to be about half full. 5 drinks, some tap water and a sharing platter took nearly half an hour to arrive with 3 separate requests for a jug of tap water to arrive. The £13.90 sharing platter arrived first (before seemingly opening a tap to fill a jug could be achieved) and immediately seemed tiny and hugely over priced. Eventually the water arrived with a further wait for the initially ordered drinks. A second round was ordered (in the mean time the house white wine stock had been fully depleted by the 2 glasses we ordered with no alternative offered) and a similar wait followed. In total we could only manage 2 drinks each in 3 hours! During this, we observed a male waiter (the only one) pick his nose with thumb (both nostrils) while stood by the till and also squeeze a spot on his upper arm while stood in the entrance foyer in public view. The female who I imagine is the manager asked if we could do a review - so here it is. She offered free baby Guinness shots in return, however these seem to have been prepared in the dark and with a garden spade as there was no separation in the drink and looked more like muddy water. The atmosphere and decor is the only saving grace really. I wouldn’t have done a review ordinarily - but you did ask!!

Zhanna looked after us very well.

Jay was great and very attentive and helpful