Restaurant at Mercure Banbury Whately Hall Hotel in Cherwell

Dreadful state. Would have left if there was anywhere else to go.

Great location, nice rooms and good food too !

Just spent 2 nights at Whately Hall. Had a wonderful stay. The staff were great. Food and drink was good. Wonderful location, right in the middle of town. Everything on the doorstep.

Nice place awful service bar staff were inexperienced poor choice of beers ,but great outdoor space

What a fantastic job the new team have done on this place. Don’t let the previous reviews from old ownership fool you, this is now a professional, refined yet historic hotel. I visited for a conference and the food was fantastic, highly recommend the fish finger sandwich! The meeting rooms are well equipped and the harness room particularly was full of character. The bar is great and the staff are friendly. Thank you to all of the team for accommodating us!

Fantastic Sunday lunch! Very reasonably priced, with huge portions, amazing quality, and friendly service, we could not feel more welcome. We were a party of four. Starters included soup and bread (it could have been a full weekday lunchtime treat), the smoked salmon was simply gorgeous and the terrine was yummy. We all opted for roast dinners, lamb, chicken and beef... all were delicious and the roast potatoes, veg and Yorkshire puddings were wonderful. The treacle sponge was one of the best I ever had, the bread and butter pudding was yummy. One really kind thing was that of our party loves cheese and it was not on the menu. We asked the staff and it was no problem and they made a cheese platter for her. They brought great teapots and were happy to refresh them. The service throughout was outstanding! The newly refurbished dining room, which is art deco in design, looks out over wonderful gardens, I'm looking forward to the dining experience in the summer! The brand new owners and brand new management team, plus all the staff are doing a fabulous job! I'd recommend going there for lunch, dinner, or a cream tea, you will love it!

This place is fabulous, staff are courteous and polite and helpful. Will be back.

Fantastic location for my needs, room was brilliant Food and service in restaurant was exceptional. Really friendly team that nothing was too much to ask

Waited ages to check in but the staff were friendly when they arrived The room was however one of the worst I have ‘stayed in’ & I have travelled all over the world The bath was filthy, there was an old run down sofa in the room. The tv had no sound and made a horrific ticking sound Could not stay and had to check out It’s under construction however is no excuse for filth that I experienced - no way I could sleep here

Staff doing a difficult job with under resourced hotel. Refurbishment needed. Great breakfast and helpful staff. Bathroom and bedroom not great.

This hotel has a fantastic location in Banbury. Everything is within walking distance. Also, the staff were extremely friendly and catered to our needs. However, I found that the rooms are extremely run down and dirty. There were a large number of stains on the walls, including blood by the bed. For the money, I would suggest going to a different hotel as this one needs renovating.

Wow loving this hotel Now outside lots to eat very nice town lots history to the place anyway get down here your self's

I worked here recently, the rooms aren't cleaned out very well 😑 old fashioned and in desperate need of a refurbishment, over priced and some members of management are just rude, would never recommend 💯👎👎

Stayed here in January 2024, really liked the hotel, especially the location. I was on my own with my 1 year old child and all staff members I met were absolutely fantastic, friendly, and extremely helpful. I can't comment on the food as the hotel is card only and I only had cash with me which was a shame as I quite liked the look of the menu. I also wanted to eat in here as I know it's been newly taken over and wanted to help try and support the business. The room in itself was lovely and the bed was enormous, when returning back to Banbury I'll defo give this place a try again

Unfortunately the advertising for the hotel is really disappointing. Was looking for a hotel with room for 3 adults to share, after finding their website which advertised this clearly and openly, I phone up to ask questions about my future booking. Was really disappointing to see them outright contradict their booking system, saying they do not allow this, despite me being able to book a room for 3 adults. Felt like I was told to just go away and shut up, really unfortunately as I was looking forward to staying there, but now it seems Airbnb is the best option when the team at the hotel don't appear to be as progressive and forwards thinking.....

I stayed here for two nights on business and had a great experience. The two people on reception that greeted me when I arrived were friendly and welcoming. The room was good with lots of power points including USBs, a sofa, a comfy desk chair and a nice big shower room. Breakfast was really good, with a good selection of cereals, cheeses and fruit as well as a full English available. I even had time to have a quick walk round the garden, which had lots of early spring bulbs blooming. If I have to visit Banbury again, I will choose this hotel.

Part of the illegal housing project. Do not give them your money.

really enjoyed my stay good food clean nice polite staff the hotel is well placed for seeing Banbury Cross

The restaurant decor is not in keeping with the hotel, 1970s extension, not in a good way. Needs totally updating or use the main restaurant instead of just for breakfast. Food was good, limited to vegetarian options, but what we had was very good but the long wait due to staff shortages was a pain.

Standard pub fayre. Nice, but nothing really fancy. Quite expensive for what it is. We woudn't have eaten here if it was not included in a voucher.

Lovely features in an old building, with adjoining conservatory. Had an excellent meal with social distancing between diners. The staff were very attentive and nothing was too much trouble and helped make a lovely evening. Breakfast the following morning was plentiful and cooked to order , however coffee was a bit bland for my liking

We stayed at the Whateley Hall Hotel recently and on the Sunday evening we booked for dinner in the restaurant. The food was very good - the service was good too. The wine stock a bit limited but there had been a wedding on the day before so that could of been the reason. Liked the features in the restaurant as this is an old building and the features have been well kept - and it is nice and warm in there too.

I booked for a special family reunion afternoon tea. It was superb, so much that we had to ask for a box to take away all we couldn’t manage. One of our party was gluten free and it was the best gluten free sandwiches and cakes she had ever been served a special well done to the chef for that! We were looked after by Renz ( sorry if I got that wrong) but he was wonderful and he even helped my Mother down the steps to the car in the rain! We had a lovely afternoon catching up with cousins from abroad and we couldn’t have picked a better venue. I would highly recommend afternoon tea here Thank you

Tired decor in need of a total upgrade. A real throw back to a Berni Inn! Food very uninspiring. Service was excellent.

Good menu,well presented and enjoyable,staff excellent and attentive, variety on offer plenty of choice and large portions.

Nearly empty is not a good recommendation. Average quality but with attentive service. Having paid in advance I did not have much choice.

Had very enjoyable three course meal on first night of stay at hotel in Swift Restaurant.My garlic mushroom starter on brioche was fab. Main was hake fillet with delicious tomato and herb sauce with beautifully cooked vegetables and tasty dauphinoise potatoes. Dessert was delicious Winter Fruits cheesecake - beautifully presented. All washed down with house filtered water and a bottle of refreshing chardonnay.Highly recommended

Attended a meeting but no food. Polite atmosphere with access to professional services for businesses presentations.

Food good and plenty of it. Staff were very friendly and accommodating. coffee in the lounge afterwards was lovely.

Hotel in need of renovation room tardy carpet stained.Long queue for bar evening meal And for breakfast Breakfast table was not fully set no condiments eating utensils etc and place was cold Service in bar and restaurant was slow possibly due to it being full for New Year

Nice food and service but a little expensive.

A catered dinner was included during an evening with The Killing Game, who entertained us with an interactive murder mystery. I found it odd that an entire large group of adults were only given bottles of water but I suppose the real money comes from running up drinks tabs. We had very uninspired menu choices, and for our own table anyway not even enough food for each person out of eight to get two little roast potatoes during the main course. We all very politely took one or two sprigs of broccoli or a sliver of carrot so that no one would go without but it was a grim little roast for sure. Luckily the desserts were good and we all enjoyed them. All of the staff as well were all smiles and did the best they could with what was available.

Popped in yesterday for quick cream tea. Beautiful surroundings. Lovely cream tea - great service and very reasonable. Spent a very nice hour in this very nice establishment. Well recommended.

Ive eaten here a few times, mainly for lunch when here on business. The food is fine pub grub. The service both for food is slow and especially the strange arrangement at the bar where you have to use the phone to get a bar person to provide drink. Sometimes you have to make several calls just to get a drink!

Well prepared food, good quality and friendly staff. Although the prices are a little on the high side. It's Banbury not London. Recommended!

I had an evening meal, burger, onion rings and chips followed by Eton Mess and really enjoyed the meal. Breakfast was really good too, nice quality food and good service, thank you

Had afternon tea gifted to me for big birthday, so took the friend who bought it and was looking forward to a cosy tea and quiet catch up with my friend. Sadly not to be. Our table was reserved in the middle of Reception area, in front of the desk, phone constantly ringing. Worse than that we were in the middle of what appeared to be candidates waiting to be called for Waitrose interviews. Felt like we were sitting in a goldfish bowl being observed by people all around us and so much people traffic. What happened to little pots of jam and cream with a scone? It came ready spread with cream and jam. Cost cutting I guess. Shame on you Whately Hall.

A group of 35retired businessmen meeting monthly and trying a lunchtime meeting for the first time. Well looked after by catering manager. She was a star. Great Christmas meal for £15. Unbeatable for value and quality.

A pleasant hotel restaurant offering a limited choice of dishes, not being busy does not give it a great atmosphere. Portions are quite large, service from a very friendly staff who were very attentive, coffee served reasonable.

Vine aquí con un grupo de amigos, una buena selección de comida en un menú fijo (Reservado) y muy agradable. Había uno o dos comentarios que las porciones de pescado eran pequeñas pero no tienen pescado y tuve dos estupendas comidas sabrosas. Paté de pollo Ballotine, //cerdo, tarta de limón/crema brulée - todo genial.

Admittedly it was very quiet, but the staff were incredibly attentive and, just as importantly the food was both quick and delicious, as well as good value.

Vinimos aquí simplemente porque nos preguntamos lo que era, después de haber comido aquí por las fiestas de navidad. Estaba muy tranquilo - para ser justos - un fin de semana en enero tiene que ser tan tranquila como llegar aquí. Sentimos que había sido un poco innecesario reservar.

Once a year I meet a very long standing friend for lunch at the Whateley (we were school friends in the 1950's). This is just to say that once again we were very impressed with the service we received from the waitress, Rachel. She was so friendly and helpful, without being intrusive. and we much appreciated it. We also appreciated having a nice table overlooking the sunlit garden and the quiet and civilised atmosphere of the dining room. The food was nothing special but we did enjoy our pizza followed by pear sorbet.

Bonito vestíbulo, pero el personal del bar si se sirve muy lento en tomó 5 minutos para conseguir un vaso de agua, Guinness era plana y la coca cola. necesitamos más personal cuando hay una fiesta

Si usted compra la cena de dos gruesa fijados previamente deben ser conscientes de que es un pequeño menú, no ordenar del menú principal de restaurante.

Mala experiencia, no volveré. Bebidas caras con un personal antipático. Actores extra fue el misterio, lo hicieron para la comida!

Wonderful old world charm and feel about the room with lovely white linen and tables well presented and good staff service. Good all round menu and Mercure will try to change and match if something is not to your liking. Really well worth a visit.

Was living at the hotel and got my breakfast here every day.For at nice hotel like this the food are average (that means ok/good compared with high end places) - They got many things to choose from so thats good.

This was the second time I stayed at the hotel and ate here as part of a training course being held there (3 days October 2015 / 2 days November 2015) and the one word to sum up the entire dining experience was inconsistent. At times the food was lovely, well cooked and clearly good quality ingredients. At other times it was like eating from a school canteen. The staff were all lovely and polite but some seemed ill prepared for service given I only attended the restaurant during service times. There often seemed to be staff buzzing around the hotel but often not somebody where you needed them, when you needed them. Disappointing that the cooked breakfast items are in a hot buffet cabinet, particularly as the fried eggs always become a lump of rubber in that scenario. It never seemed busy while I was there so it couldn't be too hard to do the cooked breakfast to order.I must compliment the Prawn and Crayfish start that I had. I had it on each visit and both times it was delicious. The puddings also seem to be a strong point as they were all yummy!

I travelled here and stayed for four nights on a coach trip. The vegetarian option was awful and seemed to be a boil or microwave in the bag effort which tasted it. Just a plate of mush really. The front desk staff did offer an alternative though. The service was very dated with an overly patronising waiter.

This place is a bit odd. It's a huge hotel but seemed totally empty and finding a member of staff was difficult. The waitress was ill informed, slow and didn't really want to be there. The food wasn't great and it took so long to find someone to pay at the end, we could have easily walked out without anyone noticing.

Nothing special...... sad..... breakfast well laid out but...... just not bulk cooked and slapped out in trays. Tasteless.

Our dream Christmas in England .this hotel didnt let us down ,from christmas dinner to the little chrissy pressy from the hotel .the room we stayed in was street facing ,the church bells on sunday morning was so special. will be coming back next year for my nieces wedding looking foerward to staying once again

Nice location, average food, slow service. Fine if you're staying at the hotel, but better options in town and surrounding area. Breakfast was good.

The food here was actually quite good. Had prawn cocktail to start and there was lots of it. Main course for me was salmon which was cooked well and the accompanying sauce was tasty. Pudding was brûlée which was delicious.Very good value.

Home from home ,nice and relaxing nothing rushed,Can't say we disliked anything,all the staff aimed to please good choice. Of each course was good not to many so can't make up your mind

We had dinner as part of a package so we had a set menu (although there were 3 choices for each course). The food we were served was lovely. We are unable to comment on the normal menu unfortunately but if it is up to the same standard it will be very enjoyable. Our only dislike was the eager waiters/waitresses trying to clear away our desert plates before we had finished.

The food was fine and the waiter delightful. But I was seated next to a closed window, from which there was a howling draught of cold air. I had to move to another table.

Restaurant staff were fast efficient and very accommodating. Evening meals were very appetizing and well presented. Goof variety. Sign a of a good chef: vegetables were very tasty and edible. Breakfasts were not adequately supervised. Constantly short of supplies of yoghurt and muesli

We were starving and very jet lagged just after having checked in. We ordered room service for he Caesar Salad with grilled chicken breast. (Although it says sardines are optional, they arrived on top and really smelled up the room.) The chicken was moist but the salad wss drenched in dressing making it very soupy and soggy. My hubby had fish and chips with smashed peas (new way to serve peas, which he left). Prices with a coffee, Guinness and 2 waters was over 30lbs. Won't do that again- there are way too many choices a few steps from hotel. BUT the room service was excellent.