Merlin's Cave Pub and Restaurant in Chiltern

I love this pub but the menu has been terrible ever since it opened. They have finally changed it and much for the better. As ever the service was good and as ever it was a bit pricey- essentially restaurant prices. But overall will come again. Been eating up the hill for the last couple of years but with the new menu will definitely be back.

Service was so slow that we had to resort to using the app to order our food and drink. And even when the food did arrive it wasn’t great. My roast was okay-ish (the beef was overdone and the roast potatoes underdone) but my wife’s fish cake was as hard as rock. It had obviously been left on the pass for too long. One bright point was the coffee I ordered but for a meal totalling over £50 for the two of us incorporating just one course, a decent coffee is surely the least to be expected. The place was half full, hopefully those others had a better meal experience than we did…

I met with friends to have Sunday lunch. There was a good range of options available on the menu, including Sunday roasts. We all enjoyed our food but my one small criticism would be that service was a little slow (especially given that it wasn't full), although we did get an apology for the wait when our meals arrived. I'd definitely consider returning in the future to try some of the other dishes on the menu.

Our keep fit group visit Merlin's Cave every Tuesday evening. Staff are always polite and friendly and cater to our needs, primarily a weekly sandwich order.

First visit here in a long time and we were pleasantly surprised at the transformation. Lovely comfortable decor, an extensive varied menu and great friendly service. Good vegan & veggie options too. The curried leeks that came with the fish cake were delicious

We’ve lived in the village for 8 years, and have eaten in the Merlin a few times and been disappointed. Tonight.we decided to give it another chance and we were surprised how much it’s improved. We had the chateaubriand special which was very good, not cheap, however we felt well worth the money. It was quality meat, cooked exactly as requested, and the cabbage and pea side we ordered was really tasty too. We also had the meringue dessert, it was nice, but would have preferred more lemon in the tart!

Excellent menu choice and food was superb as was the great service, set in a lovely location. Lovely atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Tasteful, clean and well decorated eating area, fabulous attentive staff (one chap, but he was very good) food was delicious and there was lots to choose from, I had mushrooms on toast which is my favourite anywhere. Apple sorbet was gorgeous too, thank you x

10/10 lovely place ,I took my daughter in law there today for her birthday and she loved it .will be going again for sure. It has agreat outside garden very nice food is good to .

Me and my partner went for a lunch last week, we booked and we had exceptional service! The food was good, I went for the chicken supreme, my partner went for fish and chips and it was great. We were looked after by Poppy, and she made us feel so welcome. Always asking for drinks and if we needed anything else! I would stop by if you were local.

Usually very good for lunch but yesterday we waited an hour for our food and when it arrived the gravy was awful. Very disspointed

It has become soulless, staff are doing a good enough job but its not a welcoming place. Food was fine, premises is nice and clean and all was adequate for a Sunday afternoon ......but having paid nearly £45 a head for a late Sunday lunch (a £20 bottle of Chateauneuf du Pape is now £52!!) I feel something was missing...a smile, a joke, a welcome...a HOST!

First time visit and really enjoyed the atmosphere and surroundings. The food was very tasty and the service was also excellent. Thank you

We hadn't been to Merlin's Cave before and we were so surprised, once inside, how lovely it was. Its very spacious but as the pub area isn't near to the restaurant we found it very relaxing. Our server was very helpful and the food was excellent. We all had one of the "specials" with our friends having starters as well. The price was extremely reasonable and included wine and a couple of beers. Would definitely recommend and will be returning.

I enjoyed my meal from the lunch menu, which was reasonably priced. The service was excellent. Please would you stock decaffeinated tea!

The barman/waiter has lovely calm way of being efficient. The restaurant is attractive, large enough not to be seated close to other diners, nicely decorated, comfortable and bright. Service was slow but they were not busy. We waited a long time for our food, too long for the two children with us. When we wanted our bill there was nobody to ask for it. I went to the bar where I was ignored by the waitress. She was about to tap several things into a terminal in front of me but didn’t even acknowledge that I was there. The bill did not arrive so another member of my group went to the bar to ask for it and she tried to ignore him too. (“Tried” but he was expecting so didn’t allow it to carry on). The food was very good and they cater well for people with a gluten allergy. Just a little staff training needed to make the dining experience better.

Great Sunday lunch. We had the roast chicken and the Merlin’s Roast (mixture of roast beef/chicken and pork). Good service and atmosphere. Lovely garden for sunny days.

Excellent food and service as always, beautiful location and building. Highly recommended. Merlin's is back to being one of our regular choices again.

We wanted to say a huge thank you to the team at Merlin’s Cave for all their help organising a celebration of life for my grandmother last week following her funeral. They very kindly put up lots of photos we’d had printed off which made a lovely occasion. Everyone commented how much thought had gone into it. The food was excellent and there was plenty to go round. Bar tab worked seamlessly and all the staff were lovely. Huge thank you to the team for helping to give a good send off to my grandmother. We really appreciate it.

Haven’t been to Merlin’s cave since the refurbishment, it’s lovely and the food was very nice (lunch). Will def be going back.

Will definitely be coming to our local pub for food and drink more often! Lovely roast beef and fish and chips plus service was so friendly. Crumble was delicious! We will be back!

Met three friends there Tuesday evening for drinks. It was fairly quiet, although there was a fun quiz run by a friendly young chap. All the staff were very friendly and we ended up eating there as well, which was also very tasty. A nice evening.

Great pub. Really good atmosphere. The beer was very good and the staff were friendly and attentive. Looking forward to our next visit.

Credit due to Merlin's Cave and their team. The pub provided great coverage of the opening match of the 6 Nations this year and the bar team were very attentive and helped create a great atmosphere. Managed to reserve a good table and everything went to plan, even the outcome of the match!

We visited Merlin's cave in Chalfont st Giles on Saturday morning for the kids club. It was well organised and our two boys really enjoyed biscuit decorating, while me and my husband enjoyed lovely coffee. Well done team. We will definitely visit again.

We stopped for lunch in Chalfont St Giles - from a brief stroll, it seemed an upmarket village. It was very quiet - apparently it was a bank holiday, so not much open. Our only choice for lunch was Merlin's Cave Pub and Restaurant, which...

Thank you so much for a wonderful Christmas Dinner today. Nothing was too much trouble and your team were just lovely. We even got a “doggie” bag for the sad spaniels left at home whilst we went out and had fun. You guys did a...

The staff couldn't have been more helpful there was 41 of us and they made it look easy nothing was a problem would definitely go back and the food was very nice.

Excellent service and food as usual. The Haddock and chips does not dissapoint. Very nicely decorated for X'mas!

Went for coffee with a friend. Great coffee and friendly service and lovely atmosphere. Will definitely be coming back!

Great roast beef lunch, the staff and service were fantastic, thoroughly recommend. Over the past few years the pub has always disappointed but not any more. Well done to the new team!

We live locally and visit Merlin’s Cave fairly regularly, for coffee / tea or lunch. Since the extensive refurbishment programme was completed, the restaurant environment is smart, spacious, comfortable and relaxed. Until a couple of months ago, whilst the food was consistently good, the service...

The pub is warm & cosy and the ambience is good. We were very comfortable and looked after by friendly and efficient staff. The food was well presented and the burger/fries were the best we've had in a long time !

Excellent service, food, atmosphere and very warm on a very chilly day. Staff were excellent and looked after us brilliantly.

We were a small group of friends who went here for Sunday lunch in the middle of a walk. The staff were very friendly and efficient in the service. The food looked great and tasted delicious. Would definitely visit again.

Really nice visit here for a family group of 8. We all chose Sunday Roasts with cauliflower cheese as an extra side (and two kids meals - fish and chips and chicken groutins and chips). Extremely well presented meals and really tasty. They came around...

Warmly welcomed and offered a variety of services. Attention to detail much appreciated. Atmosphere quiet and conducive for a productive business meeting.

We had booked a gathering to remember our uncle who passed away in July. We booked Merlin's Cave after another pub could not accommodate our party. We were a booking of 14 so we all pre ordered our food, we had all chosen roast dinner....

Had a lovely experience lovely venue, staff were lovely and so was the food. I came a couple of weeks ago and the lovely Charlotte was my server and such a delight she was. I asked her if she gets to keep the tips and...

What a pub. Gorgeous interior, beer garden for days and a fantastic manager. Mark greeted me and a friend, got us coffees whilst we cracked on with some work, and when we were ready to grab lunch, talked us through their menu. Some delicious dishes,...

Bel posto con giardino, molto gentili nel servizio, vicino a bella chiesa, parcheggio comodo, molto buona la birra IP A locale anche se loro spingono la Peroni !

Unfortunately, another disappointing visit to Merlin's Cave. We have tried this pub and restaurant on several occasions and love the setting on a picturesque village green. We visited with friends over the bank holiday weekend and unfortunately the place was near empty, the restaurant was cold and the the service slow and indifferent. One drink was enough and we decided go elsewhere for dinner. The venue clearly has excellent potential but needs to improve its welcome, atmosphere, menu and customer service it it wants to be a competitive restaurant in the area.

Popped in with my husband for dinner having not been since the new team took over. Menu offers something for everyone without being too clever. Food was delicious and well presented - new head chef has been onboard for a month. We had the chicken supreme and the pork chop - would recommend both but think the supreme edged it. Big venue to fill it started to fill up as we ate our meal.

Very warm welcome on arrival and taken to our table. We arrived early, which was no problem at all. We ordered are food etc. We had starters and main, which the food was fantastic. The staff was very friendly. The whole evening was fantastic, a lovely way to celebrate my wife’s birthday

First time I have visited since it was taken over by Youngs. Menus is boring, decor is boring, place had no atmosphere, it was just a bit … boring. The food was ok, but all the interesting things that used to be on the menu have disappears, and its now the plain vanilla of steak, burgers, Caesar salad etc.

A really excellent sunday lunch. The food was fantastic - pork belly roast, beef roast and fish and chips all got thumbs up. Decent portions and thought had clearly gone into to providing good meals. Desserts were also very good. Choice of wine was top notch. Prices very reasonable. Service needed a little polish, but pleasent enough. Well recommended.

Thought we would give this venue after the first awful visit.sad to say that all the problems are still in evidence, poor quality cold food which we backed.the prices for food and drink are way over the top for the quality you get,definitely my last visit.

Ethan and James we're great and the food/drinks on point. Sunday roast was great with a new garden great for the sun

Merlin’s hosted a lovely 60 person birthday party in their beautiful new pub garden. We had a hog roast, a guitar player and a table full of rose and beer with dedicated staff. We were super happy with the service provided! Thank you Merlins!

We popped in for a spontaneous lunch as we were in the area. The staff were friendly the restaurant is clean and welcoming. Lunches were fab! Fresh and hot and tasty. A very nice pub in a village location worth visiting. Car parking is easy in the area. Thank you team for making us welcome and for the delish fish and chips.

Dropped into Merlin's Cave on a business drive and had a coffee whilst I finished off my work for the day. Luke and the team at Merlin's are very helpful and welcoming and really enjoyed my coffee. If I'm ever up this way again, I'll...

Very slow service, they seemed understaffed, and very poor value for money. Sunday Roast consisted of 2 slices of beef, 3 roast potatoes, about 5 short slices of carrot, and a tablespoon of greens, topped with 1 Yorkshire pudding. Nothing else. The child's roast was...

Love this pub - it’s so much better than it was since new ownership and menu. So great for families with young children. And the staff are great!

On arrival we had a very warm welcome and shown to our table. All the staff was very friendly and helpful. The food was fantastic, very well presented

The whole experience at this pub was excellent and my visitors from Australia were equally impressed. We will be definitely visiting again from Audrey McLachlan

We attended as a family if 7 for Mothers Day. We had ore-booked meals and paid a deposit. On arrival we were shown to the table and the prebooked starter arrived very quickly. We ordered drinks, which took a little while to come our, bit...

After a good Sunday lunch a few weeks ago, I took my mother out to lunch here today. We’ve never had soup (as bad) quite like it. It was edible entirely with a fork! It was more like blancmange - no liquid fell through the...

Loved the setting. Nice and warm for the winter months but also have good outside space for the summer but the outside space also has heaters if you chose to sit outside on chillier days and plenty of cover. Friendly and helpful staff. Good food.

Went to Merlin's Cave as a a foursome for Sunday roast. Immediately impressed by the venue, smart furnishings, cleanliness but that's where it all stopped. At £19.50 for a roast we were expecting something special and a generous portion: it certainly wasn't. The veg was...

The worst roast beef, or was it boiled and microwaved. Thankfully it was a very small portion. The price,£19.50, was exorbitant for a half decent meal but for this I felt ripped off.

I arranged a surprise 60 th birthday party for my husband which happened on Saturday . I met with shonna a couple of times and she was fabulous with great ideas and could not have been more helpful . On the night , Luke managed...

Went for a Sunday roast with family and service was extremely slow. The venue was reasonably busy but by no means packed, so I’m not sure why things were so slow. We asked c4 times for a glass of water, c3 times for the bill....

The decor and lighting make it a very attractive setting, the waiter was timely and helpful and the food delicious. I had the goats cheese salad and vegan wellington, both of which were faultless. Nice being able to get a good range of wines by...

Whilst the personnel were pleasant, they were not particularly attentive. We were offered water and glasses - never came. We requested French mustard and ketchup - never came. Had to walk over to them to ask for drinks and the bill. The food was mostly...

I visited for with my friends for a drink on Saturday night, my first time visiting since the pub has changed hands. The service was amazing and the atmosphere was lively, although it was busy the standard of service remained throughout. The girl working (brown...

Under current staff shortage in hospitality all staff are amazing - food was so fresh and tasty We had a lovely meal tonight. A very busy night! Oli the Manager is doing an amazing job under current staff shortage in hospitality! Truly admire a general...

It started the night before when we booked online for a quiet meal... I phoned to check whether we could come earlier and the pub kindly told us that there was a 21st birthday. They kindly cancelled the booking for us. The next day we...

This is a really lovely place. It has a nice cosy pub feel as you walk through the door but as you venture further inside it opens up with a great restaurant to the back and a beautiful garden. We had some trouble with the...

Very rude staff!!! Recently visited for an evening drink, and when going to the bar to order the senior manager serving was very rude. He continued to eat his chips whilst serving, refused to pour any drinks until full payment was made (my wife took...

We had an excellent visit to Merlin’s on NYE. They were very accommodating of our large group (10 adults and 9 children!!) we had plenty of space, colouring for the children and lovely patient wait staff. Food was well organised and arrived in a timely...

We had an amazing time at Merlin's Cave on 31st December, group of 6 adults and 7 children . The food was brilliant, the service great,the ambient fantastic, we are all looking forward to book our next experience at the pub.Special thank you to the...

Appalling service…. Paid for a Christmas Dinner … to be told after we had our starter, that they didn’t have any vegetables for our main!!!! The manager totally useless… No draught Guinness!

15 of us walked to the Merlin’s cave, after 50 minutes the second couple was served, it took over 70 minutes for every one to get served and we had to take 3 drinks back as they did not taste right. The venue looks good...

Arrived with only half hour notice for a family group of 6 including 2 teenagers and elders! Shonna was quick to recognise me and sort out a well suited for all and drinks were served quickly.. food was turned around quickly with all our mad...

Varied menu and some good food, although one of our party didn't like her veggie dish. Nice atmosphere. Not too noisy and no musak(!) Service attentive

We (a group of 6) visited for our works Christmas dinner which had been preselected. We ordered a bottle of Prosecco which took around 15mins to arrive and was just plonked on the table. We were then served our starters which were lovely & staff...

Wow..... Just had a really nice pleasurable lunch here.. Travelling and combining business with others and this place was a perfect choice.. It delivered perfectly in all aspects... Thank you merlins cave

Booked a Xmas meal - table for eight. Three had covid so couldn't attend and lost their £10 deposit which makes sense. Although, the waitress told us that all eight meals would be served to us and we had to pay for all eight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Resolved...

The staff were attentive, friendly and good humoured. We had good fun! The food was however underwhelming. We had the 3 course Christmas dinner for £34. The trout was good, the beef pie was poor with stringy bits of beef in it, no mushrooms (it...

Lovely pub and garden and the Youngs refurb looks really good. Dropped in Saturday for dinner as had not eaten here since the takeover. Seated quickly and staff friendly and attentive. All good so far, then came the food. Really disappointing. My wife had Scampi...

Appeared to be short staffed, even tho’ all waiters and waitresses appeared to be working hard, the service was sloooow! My pie was tasty, but the cavalo Nero needed at least as long again cooking time to be edible, plus it was a little too...

We ordered a round of drinks. 2 pints of larger; 1 pint of Coke; 1 Orange juice and lemonade. 4 drinks came in at £20+. The Orange juice and lemonade was the worst I have ever ordered from any pub anywhere. The orange juice was...

We came for sunday lunch yesterday with our 6 month old puppy. The staff were so accommodating and gave us our own comfortable alcove in the bar. The food was delicious and the staff could not do enough. We will definitely be back.

Have not been there since the new owners took over. I must say the food was much better and the decor a nice mix of modern and old world. Comfy chairs too with lovely service

Warm lunchtime welcome. Although the pub was very quiet the layout didn’t make us feel like we were in an empty pub. Service was very good. The food was ok, although we all felt the menu was too big. The hake dish was tasty but...

Absolutely pouring with rain so it was nice to be in the warm but not dry. The pub has been refurbished tastefully and with good quality fittings and furniture. Few snagging details we had a Waterfall coming down the wall. Staff coped admirably and moved...

After a very disappointing visit over the bank holiday weekend, we decided to give Merlins a second chance, going with friends who had heard only poor reviews. The food was great, service good and we received everything within a reasonable time of ordering. Given our...

The revamped restaurant area is pleasant and has a good atmosphere. The menu was fine for our needs and we enjoyed it.

Hubby and I went with some friends to this lovely venue in Chalfont St Giles for a birthday dinner. Food was delicious and the service was excellent - particularly from Bradley. The space itself was very deceiving in that is was a lot bigger inside...

Went for supper with friends. The food was tasty, although my fish appeared to have been salted again. The atmosphere on a Thursdays evening was lovely. Staff were either overworked or inexperienced.

I gave a poor review of the new restaurant on opening night but gave it a second chance because we need a good local place for occasional meals. Pleased to say that It was improved ; we felt welcome, and were served in reasonable time...

Had a great meal with lovely welcoming and attentive service in the cosy bar area this week. They do pub grub well. Brought our dog, who was also made welcome. Well done!

Staff didn’t seem to be totally with it and food was average. Ordered sausages and mash which came in a bowl. Mash was not fresh and gravy and veg chips non existent all for £15, really. Treacle tart was out of a packet. Luckily we...

Having heard not great reviews we were very happy with our food. Staff were a bit gormless. Needs more efficient staff. But we ate every morsel.

Took the family for lunch today at the Merlins cave and I must say it’s the best Roast I’ve had for years. I had the roast chicken which was lovely and my Grandad had beef which was cooked as he wanted so he was very...

Mid week catch up with friends. Food was fresh and tasty. Drinks were good. Staff were wonderful, friendly and attentive. The new decor is beautiful. The only flaw is the price. Nice food but £16.50 for fish and chips, £17 for a pie is a...

We were looking forward to the Merlins reopening after a change of hands and some refurbishment, thinking that a brewery with a chain of pubs taking it over would know what to do with this well located great looking pub. Well sadly that wasn’t the...

Went for dinner with some friends and loved it. Service was amazing and food was delicious. Will definitely be going back.

After picking myself up off the floor after paying for our drinks,£11 medium wine, £6.50 pint lager,£12.50 gin and tonic.decided to look at menu same sort of pricing levels £35 sirloin steak etc. far to expensive for our budget, we shared the burger £16 small...

Food was absolutely awful starter was the most disgusting dish I have ever had. It was a fancy pate with a dollop of runny lard on top and no flavour the sour dough crisps where a joke The roast dinner was cold and the chicken...