The Anglers Retreat in Spelthorne

1st December - early family Christmas gathering and our visit didn’t disappoint. The Retreat delivered a superb Roast - tender meat, crispy roast spuds with a delicious range of veg! Even the Christmas crackers were funny! Staff looked after us with food delivered promptly but without being rushed. Also nice atmosphere so we will be back!

Nice local Pub. Need to work on their coffees though. My latte was super super hot. Guy literally hold steaming wand in the cup and keep it that way for almost a min ! Anyone who knows a bit about coffee knows that after 18-20 sec your milk ir burnt.

Terrible roast.The worst l have ever had.

Another excellent Sunday roast From the meat to the vegetables and huge Yorkshire pudding all of it was perfect.

Always room to chill with nice atmosphere

Had a great family meal, tasty pie of the day. Service was good.

Watched the football in here, nice pub , friendly staff,

Good pub grub and excellent beer served in the bar, which is also dog friendly. 🐩

Very disappointed with The Retreat, even though they were quick to take our orders and serve drinks, we did have to wait a while for our food. The food wasn’t great, I had the ‘Pie of the Day’ which was steak and mushroom with mash potatoes and seasonal veg, the mash looked dirty and tasted dirty too and the peas weren’t properly cooked. When it came to paying the bill it was split three ways between my brothers and I, my brothers paid their share with a card and I paid cash but I didn’t get any change and considering there was an obligatory 12.5% tip already added to the bill, I think that it’s disgusting to assume I wouldn’t want my change - even when it’s a just a few pence because that’s my few pence and not theirs

Came here for Sunday lunch and it was awesome

One of my favourite pubs. Friendly staffs good food that's value for money. Particularly rate the roast dinner at this place. Big portions though so make sure you're hungry!

Just had the most fabulous family meal the steak was amazing and the service from the girls was second to none highly recommended 😋

Great food, great service and the best company. Great place to come for a quick bite to eat.

Excellent food friendly staff 100% be going back

Just popped in to pass a bit of time. Seemed quiet busy but service was great.

Bit pricey, but food was excellent , service excellent too

The first time I have been here since before the Covid lockdown, when service hadn't been great. However, today had a nice friendly atmosphere, tasty food and great service. Recommended.

We visit this pub quite a bit and usually have a really nice experience. The atmosphere is always good, the staff are friendly and the drinks are always nice! We popped in for dinner the other night and were massively disappointed with the quality and portion size of our meals. We ordered 2 burgers, £15 each, one pulled pork burger (it’s literally pulled pork in a burger bun, in most places that’s a topping for your beef burger) and a cheese burger, which was burnt and dry. Chips were over cooked and the portion was small. Our suggestion would be to either reduce the price of your burgers if this is the quality you’re going to serve or improve the quality (and chips portions) if the price structure isn’t going to change.

Waited such a long time for some of the courses. Shame staff are ok but meal was so so. Not like it use to be

Lovely little pub for a catch up with friends. Emma the waitress was amazing and so attentive.

Awful food, fish finger sandwich was the cheapest fish finger on poor quality thin dry bread for £9. Friends had the BLT and asked for crispy bacon. Nearly raw fatty bacon on thin dry bread. How do these establishments think this standard of good for the price you chargd is ok. Never going there again

came here for lunch and it was so tasty and delicious! friendly staff and great service 👍 highly recommend!

Genuinely one of the best roasts I’ve had in my life. Was relatively quiet in there but I cannot understand why, the service was great they couldn’t do enough for you and the food was excellent, will definitely revisit next time I’m passing.

Had a great Father’s Day Sunday roast at The Retreat last weekend. I think it’s up there with being one of the best roast pork bellies I’ve ever had. It was a huge portion, fantastic crispy crackling, ever so well seasoned. Sadly no room for dessert as we were all so full - maybe next time. It’s definitely better than the previous French style restaurant they had before.

Lovely meal (tourists, our first Sunday Roast) and fantastic service. We enjoyed our meal and drinks so much (I ate lamb roast and it was superb) that we left, changed our minds and returned to enjoy more drinks and dessert on the beautiful patio. Emma, our server, was so friendly and helpful, and we're so happy we spent our Sunday afternoon here.

Was greeted by Louise, she was an absolute delight and welcoming.

Absolutely exceptional service from Louise, polite & friendly throughout and service with a smile which goes a long way. Really helpful with the dietary requirements of my family member as well. Should be proud to have such a great member of staff on their books!

Was greeted very kindly by staff with a special shout-out to Callum who was very kind and helpful.

Had great food and great service. Special mention to Daisy, Pete and Callum, who were all lovely and kind. food was great but the service was even greater ❤️

I went to have a couple of drinks and some lunch for the first time in years was shocked! Ordered a Prawn Sandwich and the bread was mouldy! That's just plain careless! Told the young chap at bar he apologised half heartedly & wouldn't even offer, I had yo insist all I got was a free portion of fries as compensation! A glass of Chenin blanc (large) was £8.50! Most expensive anywhere in Staines! The menu is scarce! Abd as for some of the customers but common, travellers & swearing! Dogs running around everywhere Very Disappointed over all! Avoid like the Plague!!!! 😔

Lovely meal portions large friendly staff

A little on the pricy side. Pity the Gazebo was taken down outside

Great pub, good service, plenty of parking, outside seating, nice dining area. We will be back

Great pub with nice food, and very stylish too. It also has a decent car park, which is very convenient. And also found the staff friendly. Loved they had Sunday roasts and service was quite fast.

Great Sunday Lunch with one improvement needed, it would be nice to have the gravy separately to add. The roast was delicious but drowning in gravy, as was ever ones. Staff great

Lovely Sunday lunch lovely staff restaurant is beautiful too

Recent visit, Food and service was 5⭐️. Both indoor and outdoor seating, good size meals and very tasty food. Lovely coffee.

Loved this place. Really chill and the food was great

Went to the Retreat on my way to pick my brother up from the airport. I found this pub to be quite cosy with a nice atmosphere. The staff were friendly and the food was delicious. I opted for the fish and chips and I must say, it was flavoursome, crispy and flaky. I then had an apple crumble with custard which was nice and sweet. Overall I would definitely recommend if you are looking for some good pub food within the Staines area.

Lovely food but very expensive and a £9 service charge is very steep when the food is priced so high drinks very expensive as well but food you can’t complain always good

Came here to see the open mic night. Good time was had by all.

Good food and great service from Emma

Visited briefly today for a quick snack and was seriously impressed with the atmosphere, food and general feel of the pub. Haven't been there in a while but will definitely be coming back soon!

Amazing food, great selection on menu, Willing to amend menu to help different tastes. Portion sizes great, Espresso martini 🤌🏻 Pub clean, friendly and very social. Special mention to Jack, attentive and friendly, top cocktail maker

On the positive I really like this place good staff and USUALLY good food - I have had great Sunday Roasts and Superb Pizza in the last 3 months HOWEVER I went today and was really un-impressed with my Jacket Potato with Chilli & Cheese, which for a Wednesday lunch at £9 could have been so much better . The potato was completely undercooked and there was so little Chilli & Cheese that it was almost the vegan option. Chilli & Cheese are hardly expensive so not sure why they are rationed to such an extent that both my lunch and my wifes were pretty much just rock hard potato - wont be ordering again!!!!

Food was good considering... Went in for lunch with mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, took over 2 hrs to serve us, from ordering our food to receiving our starter. I understand from the waitressing staff (who were seriously overworked as there were only two, and they both deserve a bonus for keeping it together and keeping going) that one of the chef's had walked out that morning, after seeing how many covers there were that day, so well done to the remaining staff for managing to get any food out at all. The food was good once it came, the salt and pepper squid was nice, as was the roast Lamb; the lamb was almost too big, as a whole half a roast shoulder was served. Which was just too much meat and people struggled to finish it which was a waste of food. The Lamb could have come with more veggies as these were definitely lacking. On the whole the experience could have been better if the Retreat had more staff on; they could afford more staff if they cut their lamb portion a bit and served some more veg! The waitress did reduce our bill by half as a good will gesture. But 2 hrs is still a long time to wait. I only hope their management sorts out their staffing soon.

Really pleasantly surprised. Came in for a quick lunch with a friend as saw it online and was close by. The food was really really good. We had the Bruschetta which was really tasty, with chickpeas and a rich garlic oil topping, one of the specials of Potato Skins which had a generous portion of cheese, then the Zingy Burger and Kedgeree as mains, both of which were really tasty and good portions. Not the cheapest but the food was worth the price in my opinion.

Sunday lunch… staff not that bothered about serving drinks , in fact they didn’t add them to the bill when I looked at home ! 2 lunches one beef one lamb(end bit of lamb) was asked if we needed anything else salt and pepper no one returned not even to check if all was ok or even with the salt & pepper. No staff approached us for the bill so we went to the bar area on our way out , where most of the staff were gathered talking. Such a shame as the pub was lovely.

I have to say that the food is very good. The skate special was particularly delicious. I have lived in Staines for many years and written several reviews for The Retreat. But the periphery stuff really let them down on my last visit: children running around the pub and restaurant was not an auspicious start. We ordered wine: Pinot Noir and Picpoul. Former was off so we ordered Rioja. When the bill came, we’d been charged for Pinot. The Picpoul had not been chilled so came in ice bucket. It took a while to be chilled. After the meal (9.40pm), we ordered coffee. Server came back to say machine had been switched off. I have never been in an establishment where this has ever occurred. As I said, great food but other things are really letting the place down.

Tonight had skate off specials board Absolutely delicious and Emma and Mia very helpful Should make sure specials board is more noticeable as easily missed if you don’t know where to look

Staff are lovely, beer is great, food is decent. Good selection of spirits, maybe needs some more premium whiskeys and Mezcals. Atmosphere is nice, decor classic. They deserve to be busier during the week.

It’s such a shame. This pub is so close to being half decent but just as you think it will deliver it lets you down. There for live music and the Ireland rugby game. No sound on the TV for the rugby, music on too early (why have music and rugby at same time?) and then when everyone is into the music it’s turned off and last orders called (10.30pm)! Who calls last orders at 1030 when you have 60-80 punters in? Sorry you just don’t deserve our custom. The ‘owner’ is taking the Mickey out of his customers

Great evening with live music and the rugby on, pub full of atmosphere then call last orders at 22:30 with a pub full of paying customers….hardly the best way to retain customers…

Served by Jack, well done, very welcoming and attentive

Warm welcome with Great food. roasts and pudding, were lovely with 3 kids. great service from Callum. Would definitely return

Really friendly welcoming staff. I popped in for a catch up with friends. They serve lovely coffee and we were never made to feel uncomfortable just sitting drinking coffees for an hour. We will go back for a meal soon. Thank you

We were served by Emma, Daisy and Bekah last Sunday. My party of 4 all opted for the Roast and we can honestly say that it was wonderful. The staff were very attentive without being intrusive and were very friendly. Thank you The Retreat for a wonderful meal and great service!

Food was nice but expensive and portion on the smaller side. Went for the chicken burger, the salad consist on one small slide of lettuce and one slide of tomato, that's it. Chicken was nice though. Limited menu too.

Emma and Jack looked after us and the food was delicious

A group of us came here for dinner on a Sunday evening before Christmas. The ambiance was very poor with only about 14 people in the whole place and we were a group of 10. For me, personally the menu was extremely basic and unexciting. The one thing I really wanted was off the menu so I ordered a burger. It was OK but they had forgotten to put the cheese in it so we had to send it back to have it put in. We had to wait for the condiments to come, I would have thought they’d be on the table already especially as they were obviously not busy. The staff were friendly and helpful though. Certainly won’t be rushing back!

Very lovely staff, very accommodating and caring. Food could do with a bit more care but was lovely.

The food is amazing with a decent size menu. Plenty for kids and lovely staff. In the evening it gets nicely quiet, and if you don't want to sit inside with the sports on, there is a nice seating area outside with benches. All in all, a decent pub! Edit: They do proper pub grub, no carvery. Stars unchanged in this edit.

Really nice place for lunch and dinner. We both loved it there .very clean and tidy staff were absolutely brilliant. Don't drive past

Had to leave a fab review for the New Years Eve party held at the Retreat. The pub was busy with an excellent atmosphere. Bar service was quick and the cocktails were yummy. Responding to another review left about the event - the bar was closed for 10 mins before & after midnight to allow the staff to also celebrate the countdown (which is pretty standard IMO). There were quite a lot of children - especially in the earlier part of the evening as there was a facepainter, balloon modelling, fancy dress etc to keep them amused - but towards the latter part of the evening the dancefloor was all adults; the DJ was great, playing excellent music until 1am

Went to the Retreat for to their New Year celebration. We are very local and have been a couple of times previously (before Covid) and stopped because the last time they ran out of beer and got really stroppy when we complained (a pub with no beer at new Year???? No excuses). This event resulted in a similar not great experience. There were loads of kids - this was made obvious before we booked the tickets - kids are great at Christmas but 6 and 7s years old at new year (at midnight) is not what you want. And again the new manager seems to be "very confident" and any observation or complaint (tickets said the event finished at 2am but the music stopped and 1am and the manager "closed" the bar for a good period of time) was treated with distain bordering on arrogance. Basically the bloke is a bit full of himself....not a customer facing individual..do not recommend this place for anything other than a quick drink. However, have been told food is better than previously but given the proximity of the 3 Horse Shoes (excellent food service and ambience) and Wheatsheaf & Pigeon - good beer and service why would you go to the Retreat if a local!

Extremely disappointed with our experience. My mother in law booked a table of 14 for a family get together. She paid a deposit and gave pre orders, she even spoke to the manager Alex in person and he went through all the details. When we arrived they had no record of our booking, so no table laid up . Emma was extremely helpful and sorted us a table and after some searching found it was their mistake. She got our table sorted. We had to get our drinks from the bar , whilst waiting to be served at the bar a young lad came round served himself and his friends and then went back and joined them. The food was extremely slow to come out and some cold but after waiting so long we just got on with it. One of our family has allergies which was stated in the pre order, this food should have been brought out separately to avoid cross contamination but it wasn’t so the poor waitress had to take it back and double check, this is not acceptable , allergies are life threatening and should be taken seriously.Some of our family had finished our food before some had even got their food. Emma really was good and seemed to be the only person working. We then waited a further 40 minutes before the desserts came out. Then to top it off 12.5% service was automatically added. If Emma had not been so accommodating and professional we would not have stayed. Not a manager in sight. We will not be returning.

Oh my goodness, where do,I start. We arranged to meet friends on Christmas Eve. I tried to order an espresso martini when I was rudely told by the landlord that he didn’t have time ! We finally got our drinks minus the espresso martini & then the landlord shouted out to a fairly busy pub that he had made an executive decision & was closing at 9pm, without a sorry or anything. The man’s arrogance was startling. He ruined our Christmas Eve & we will never return, well not until he leaves anyway, which I’m sure won’t be long given the way he treats his customers. Absolute disgrace

We’re local to the pub and due to bad experiences it was the first time we’d visited since the new General Manager had taken over. Significant difference. Beer kept well, good atmosphere and food even better. Well worth a visit

11/12/23 I felt the need to review this again as they apparently have a new chef. The whole line up is new. Service was excellent- didn’t get his name- ponytail Northern Irish guy. He was amazing. Food- here is where it was not as good before. Huge Sunday roast but it lacks taste. We ordered 2 roast lamb, 1 roast chicken and 1 salmon fish cakes. The roasts were huge. However my fish cakes were the size of a gold ball. So 2 golf ball size fish cakes, chips and salad for £15 is a bit dear as half a roast chicken is £16. Most importantly…. The food was nothing to shout about. It’s ok - it doesn’t stand out. I would come again though because it’s convenient. So… I’d say - give it a go if you’re in the area - don’t seek it out. If you travel to this area, seek out the Three Horseshoes in Laleham instead. It’s only 2-min drive away. September/October I’ve been here many time in the last 15 years and have seen it changed hands a few times. The food has been consistently good so cannot fault it for that. I’ve taken my son there after school at least 2-3 times a month over the school years and he’s now a grown man! We’ve had meals there, drinks… always good. I hope it operates for many years to come. As long as the food, service and ambience are good - it should do well whoever the management is. So, with the latest new management and new menu- the dish I can recommend is the red snapper risotto! So so good. Looking forward to try the others soon.

Daisy and Emma were brilliant, waitresses . Really felt special.

Brilliant sunday roast dinners for meat eaters and vegetarians alike. Very large portions, well cooked and presented, served by lovely, helpful staff. Recommend the belly pork and beef, the lamb on the next table looked lovely too. Couldn't manage any desserts. This is proper, well-done sunday dinner. Very nice side dishes especially the cauliflower cheese. Had to wait 30 mins for food to arrive but we were a table of 6 and that was very acceptable given everything is freshly cooked. It was a bit cold in the back room but kept the dog cool. When one of our senior guests gave feedback on a minor issue the waitress apologised and knocked the meal off the bill, no questions. Brilliant service, we will be back.

I cannot recommend The Retreat in Staines enough. The food is always on point, service is fast, and friendly and just an excellent vibe everytime. Just a big double thumbs up to Alex and the team at the Retreat. Sterling job. Absolutely love the food.

Lovely Sunday lunch although I prefer to be in control of the gravy myself rather than having it where the chef wants it

As a local I visit this pub, my wife however now refuses. The Restuarant service is terrible. Food is awful and over priced, waiting over 40 minutes for kids nuggets and chips when there’s only one other table eating in the restaurant is unacceptable. On every occasion we’ve been here and eaten, my wife has had to complain about the food but no one seems to care. We asked to speak to the manager 4 times when our Sunday roast was inedible but he never came over to see us. Today when we stopped for lunch there were dog water bowls up in the table and on the bar - not a great advert for hygiene. The toilets are pretty disgusting and the vibe is tired and disinterested. Overall a terrible pub and I can’t recommend it for food at all. I want to love this place but as it stands I can’t and feel I have to write this in the hope that the management take notice!!

Fabulous sunday roast today at The Retreat. Haven't been for a while and the food was amazing. Very generous portions, roast potatoes were freshly cooked and tasted lovely and the cauliflower cheese was delicious. Highly recommend. Understand that this is a new chef and have to say, their doing a great job. Dog friendly and very comfortable, great atmosphere.

Teagan was very lovely, very attentive and friendly. Really good service. The food was really good :)

We went for Sunday lunch and chose roast beef. The beef was tender, there were a good selection of fresh vegetables, crunchy roast potatoes and a Yorkshire. The portions were very generous, even the children's meal were !arge. The pub is very nice inside and the staff were efficient and helpful. We will certainly return and am happy to recommend this pub.

Lovely pub. Food was amazing. Pork belly for myself and my husband had fish and chips. Our waitress Emma was really lovely. Will be back asap.

Great atmosphere and fabulous staff. The Sunday roast was the best in the area for sure 👌🏽. I recommend the trio of sides with it!

Only giving 4 stars because the food wasn’t the best and really it was below average and over priced. The Service from Jack was excellent and really made up for the quality of the food. He was the only person to come to our table and ask if everything was ok , because of this we decided to stay and order more drinks! Lack of atmosphere but he was extremely attentive , made an effort with us as customers and really made a difference to our experience.

The food was very bad won't go again

The retreat was OK the meal was not bad the table was sticky we treated our niece. dog's in the restaurant!!! Barking felt we were kept waiting wish it was still the lucan arms never mind won't rush to come back again.

Teagan the 🐐, amazing food and service :)

AWFUL. Apart from the incredible delay of our starters (more than 1h since our waiter forgot to put through our order) and an extra starter we never ordered (??), the food was terrible. Old oil used for our garlic prawns and also the duck bao buns has 2 square pieces (2!!!) of something resembling pork (we ordered duck). A restaurant full of inexperienced children who clearly don’t know what a decent dining experience is.

A horrible Christmas day experience 2021 but subsequent visits have been excellent.

This was a lovely pub which served superb food.unforunately no longer.Sunday lunch cold,frozen food.dont waste your money. So sad to see this decline

First time at the retreat and it was amazing. Food was delicious and service was really good. Good roasts and nice pizzas.

The Retreat never disappoints, whether it’s a special occasion or just a casual lunch, the staff are always super friendly, service is always great and the food is always outstanding! Today we had a server by the name of Emma who went out of her way to make my daughters birthday extra special - thank you so much!

Nice place. Decent food. Recommend coming for Sunday lunch. The highlight of the visit though was definitely our server Emma. Very friendly, polite and attentive. Thank you Emma!

Had a meal out to celebrate a new job. We sat in the restaurant section. The Retreat is walking distance for us, so we can both have a drink. We were served by Jack and he was very attentive, we gave him 5 out of 5 stars for service. We ordered 2 starters which we shared, Louisiana Chicken & Duck Bao Buns, both were very nice. For mains we ordered a Pizza & a Calzone, again delicious. After asking for a short break we both had a dessert. Warm Chocolate Brownie & 3 scoops of Ice Cream. Only criticism would be the scoop of ice cream with the Brownie could have been bigger.

Loved the atmosphere, service and food! Emma was lovely, hosting us with smiles!! One of the best place to visit with furry ones 🐶 love how they get the free treats and water services!! Highly recommended!!

First time coming to The Retreat - really impressed with the staff, particularly our waitress Emily; so attentive and made sure we were well looked after! Would definitely come back :)

The best pub around! Love the food, atmosphere and service. Jack and Pierre are especially some of the most excellent waiters I’ve come across - friendly, efficient and caring. My weekly pub that I’ll always be a customer of! :-)

Alex was a great host. Very assertive and welcoming.

The Retreat…my new favourite! Alex the general manager was so welcoming and friendly, and Jack who served us had us giggling the whole time. Highly recommended!

Just had an amazing experience at The Retreat and the food was amazing. We had sharers/ starters and it came in good time and tasted so good. I will say a special thank you to Alex and Jack that made the experience even better! They are a brilliant duo and had us in stitches, an absolute credit to the place! Thanks guys :)

Very friendly and efficient staff that just want you to enjoy yourselves. We've had Louise serving us twice now and she's lovely.

Always a friendly welcome here (very friendly to dogs too with water and treats available). New menu is great with some excellent value lunch options. For lunch today I went for the chicken club sandwich which was great quality and a huge portion. Food was served promptly which makes it a good option for grabbing lunch during a work day. Good beer selection (not many ales, but if you want colder, fizzier beer the selection is great) and they now have Sky Sports also so possibly a good place to catch a game with friends.

Really lovely service from Emma, food was delicious.

Was served by Emma , what a lovely helpful waitress made us feel totally welcome