The Boot Inn in Cheshire West and Chester

Our main course was accompanied by ‘Fondant Potatoes’, which were anaemic, hard and inedible - clearly undercooked. We pointed this out politely and after a little while replacement potatoes arrived with an apology from the chef. These were as poor as the originals so we ate the meal without them. When our table was cleared we mentioned that we had not been able to eat the potatoes. With undisguised irritation, and in a frankly pretty surly manner, we were told that no one had complained about them before. The member of staff then admitted to not having tried them herself, when asked. Having decided to leave and get coffee elsewhere we went to pay. It was clear that anyone with any authority had made themselves scarce, leaving a young waitress to deal with us as we reiterated how disappointing we had found the experience. An indictment of both how staff and customers are treated here. To be clear, this was a very poor meal throughout. A slab of tasteless rough chicken liver pate clearly fresh from its shrink wrap and the fridge, accompanied by slices of processed brown bread toasted. Zero evidence of the advertised blue cheese in a mushroom starter. A microwave hot fish pie with barely 3 pieces of fish in the entire dish. My parents have been visiting the Boot Inn for family celebration meals for the past 38 years. This was a poignant visit since it marked what would have been my Dad’s birthday, and the place was a favourite of his. We had looked forward to a congenial and pleasant experience, which sadly was not to be. I cannot see us returning.

We started off the afternoon with a wonderful walk around the little Switzerland. The pub itself welcomed me and my family with smiling faces from the manager and lovely, cosy fireplaces. The food was spectacular (props to the chef) and the service was excellent throughout the course of our meal, especially the senior manager. 10/10 for all aspects of this wonderful country pub, would highly recommend!

First class food and service, lovely pub and surroundings

Recommended by a friend and we were not disappointed the food and beer were fabulous!

After a long walk we enjoyed a welcome rest in the quaint surroundings of The Boot Inn. Our lunch of seafood chowder and prawn open sandwich was delicious and reasonably priced. The staff were welcoming and friendly.

It’s been many years since I last visited. Just popped by had nice coffees a wrap and a sandwich. All fine, but it seems to have lost its ‘gastro’ feel to the pub. I was surprised on a Sunday lunchtime how quiet it was. Good value. The staff were lovely. Really nice and helpful.

Called in for lunch having previously stayed over in the camper. Food again was excellent, home made winter veg soup and a melt in the mouth steak ciabatta, both very tasty.

We’ve been to this lovely pub on many occasions. We went for Sunday lunch with friends, the staff were really friendly. Sadly there was no roast beef available at 3pm on a Sunday? We chose the alternative roast chicken which was overcooked and dry. Veg wasn’t much better, roast potatoes were hard. It was so disappointing, I’m not sure if there is a different chef or management but it certainly wasn’t great. Won’t be going back.

Probably one of the best places I've been!!, it's got to be one place to visit especially for the friendly staff & host ,Top chef good food!!, definitely be back again for the roast Dinner & more!!,

Called in to have a drink outside. The pub is in a remote location with a free car park. The pub serves local Weetwood ales, which were good plus the usual lagers and ciders. The male toilets us a little basic. The service was friendly, though.

The Boot has always been one of my favourite venues for Sunday lunch but I was there a week or so ago and it was an unbelievably disappointing experience. The roast beef was good but the rest of the meal was very poor. The roast potatoes had not been roasted at all. The potatoes had clearly been boiled and left to go cold ready to roast but the chef had not done so. They were horrible. We mentioned this problem to our very lovely waitress but no one in control came to follow up the complaint and we were given the full bill. Sadly we will be voting with our feet in future.

Had a good meal here again with 8 friends served by charming young staff but the Landlord overcharged us by over £18.00. In fact all 3 bills were wrong in our group! When politely queried he abruptly said “I should charge you a service charge” rather than try to deal with the error. Always, always, always check your bills here BEFORE you pay. "Creative Accountancy" is definitely the game when he is involved. Please see many similar comments left by others.

The MOST awful service and terrible food ever except, fish & chips . The manager and servicing employees should seriously attend customer service course!!! Risotto was dried, pasta overly done, steak was outrageously done. We have feedback to the service staffs that the steak has been overly done politely , yet the employees feedback to their manager that we have been aggressive, which we were totally not!!! The employees started to their fake tears, totally incompetent to do their job in customer handling!!! We were unhappy with food and services but definitely NOT aggressive!!! The most awful service that I have ever had. A cook myself, it is definitely not worth paying for poor food and services. Think twice to patronise the place!!!! If you want to destroy your lovely evening? Please give the place a shot!!!

Had dinner here. Sunday roast beef and a Thai green curry. Nothing spectacular but was nice. Sat outside in the beer garden. Feels a bit tatty inside and outside and in need of some TLC. Lovely location, service and beer were excellent and the food good. No complaints from us, but the pub environment didn’t make enough of an impression on us to go back in a hurry. We went off to the Fishpool, the fox and barrel and the Egerton Arms afterwards, which we preferred.

Great little local, beer garden is spot on

Popped in on Saturday evening with two friends after a long day walking on the Sandstone trail. Warm welcome from the staff. We had a lovely meal and few beers. Great service and friendly owner. One of my favourite Cheshire country pubs!

Lovely country pub with friendly staff. Food led but nice to pop in for a pint or two. Serves a couple of local weetwood ales. Rather cosy inside and has sheltered,outside seating . Car park is large and flat . Allows stop overs with prior agreement from pub so do phone ahead or pop your head in. Handy for walks in delamere and “little Switzerland.“ Dog friendly. 🐕 🚐 🥘 🍻 🍷

Worst meal I've had in years eating out. Skewers were clearly not marinated or seasoned correctly, just tasted like a disgusting powdery mess. Beef was overcooked and bland, veg was not even cooked. Fries seemed like they came straight out a packet. Half of the time we enjoyed our time in silence whilst the staff chatted amongst one another about personal matters loudly, worst eating out experience I've had in years.

This is a beautiful picturesque pub. We came late on a Monday evening and ordered half's of the three ales available, include Chester cat which was excellent. Had a lovely chat with the landlord Mike, who also got us a couple half’s of cider on the house which was very appreciated! . Highly recommend!!

I like this place a lot. Weetwood beer and roast beef - what more do you need. Unfortunately I only tend to come here on a Sunday, so generally only ever have the roast dinner, although today I had sirloin steak - and the biggest 8oz steak I've ever had - cooked to perfection. 2 pints of Cheshire Cat and a pint of Eastgate - top drawer.

Old fashioned traditional English pub serving excellent food and excellent beers

I came into this place after a long dog walk to grab a drink, I asked if it was okay to have dogs in here and got told by a blonde haired lady yes along as your in the snug area & bar area, which she didn’t show where the snug area or bar was, while she was on her mobile phone. While another girl was messing about with her hair more than 3 times!The atmosphere in this place was uncomfortable, I didn’t feel welcome at all. They was continuously was swearing to the each other. However a young lad behind the bar was nice and polite wish I could say it about the rest.

Only had a drink on this occasion, but loved the feel of the place and will definitely return to eat. Had both a real fire and stove, so great for the cosy atmosphere. Nice outdoor seating areas, so well catered for all ways around. Assume it gets pretty busy in high season, so maybe adjust your prep / booking accordingly. ### UPDATE 21/04/2024 ### The food is fantastic too. Reasonably priced and very tasty. The skin on skinny fries are perfect!

Great food and drink, worth a visit

Great food and service, didn't have a beer this time as I was driving

We called in for a drink after a walk. Pleasant enough and quaint place. A bit grubby and the toilets need refurbishing. The restaurant part looked inviting but was closed at the time. My wife said she wouldnt eat there as it wasnt very clean.

Great little country pub. The food was excellent and the staff great. The only reason I awarded a 3 for the atmosphere is fue to the pub being empty, which was a shame for the pub and staff especially as the food was lovely. Definitely be back for a walk with the dog and a Sunday roast 😋 👌

Lovely pub off the beaten track, will definitely return

17 of us attended after a 5 mile walk, placed order at 10am arrived back 1 hour early and food was on the table within 15 mins. Excellent service, excellent food and beautiful pub.

Lovely pub, friendly staff, great beers, beautiful location and two toasty, cozy wood fires. Food is very good but maybe a little on the expensive side for what it is.

I completely agree with comment made before my review (March 2024). I have visited the Boot for many years...not on a regular basis, but a few times a year. When I last called in, I was very surprised by the way my friend and I were spoken to. The person concerned was sarcastic, rude and how she is employed in a customer service role, I do not know. This is such a shame as it's a lovely pub, the food has always been enjoyable, and other younger members of staff are always polite, approachable and have a smile for the customer. They give the impression they enjoy working there, unlike the person that dealt with us. It's such a shame but I will not be visiitng again!

Great hidden gem. Lovely atmosphere and great food.

Mike is a brilliant publican. Fantastic traditional atmosphere and great food.

Lovely pub, helpful attentive waiting on staff, tasty food then as the saying goes one bad apple spoilt the whole experience. I believe this person was the manager, or at least appeared to be, she was extremely confrontational, rude and quite honestly should not be front of house. I felt like an irritation and an convenience to her day. She ruined a perfectly pleasant visit.

Oh dear a once great place spoiled by a Floor manager whose customer service skills can be best described as ‘Basil Fawlty’ - rude, doesn’t listen unfriendly and argumentative. On thé plus side the waiting staff were attentive and friendly and we enjoyed our food. Shame our visit was tarnished by someone who should reconsider their career choice.

Can't say anything about food didn't have any only had a tonic water this time. It must be twenty years ago for my last visit here it very quiet on this occasion. Very clean and tidy

We had a friendly welcome & the pub had a great atmosphere. Fabulous choice on the menu & absolutely delicious food. We had a large group & our waitress dealt with us all extremely well & was very friendly & proficient. Can't wait to go again

The Boot inn, a boot in the **** more like. No kids menu just kids portions which is great, until you get the bill. Can’t believe a 2yr & 5yr old’s beef dinner and a 4yr old’s fish and chips was over £40. Beef was a bit chewy at that and the fish a bit smelly. All round though food was ok but high cost for the level. Not much of a welcome from the manager lady either, all this looking around to see if there was any space for us, yet the gaff was 70% empty 🙃. Servers were sound. Maybe it was these guys way of saying they just rather have dog’s than kids in.

Great pub food and drinks with friendly staff (just ask them if you need anything!). Sunday roasts, specials and sharing plates… but I find it hard not to pick the burger … just a consistent classic. A picture perfect, proper English country pub.

Called in while on a walk for a light lunch. Unfortunately there was no gluten free sandwich options on the menu, asked if they had any GF bread and was told no sorry. Wife had a sandwich which was fine, but unfortunately unless I wanted to order one of the two option from the main menu there was nothing else suitable.

The chicken burger was great 👍 my wife had the fish and chips It was amazing 👏. Service wasn't bad but a little slow in my opinion. Also no high chairs or baby changing facilities.

A proper local country pub. Great service and food. A warm welcome here and I'll definitely be back. Thank you

Appalling customer service, the staff are unbelievably rude; unless you like being spoken down to by a teenager! Shame as lovely location.

What a beautiful place. Very cosy traditional country pub with log fire and loads of atmosphere. Situated down a country lane with ample parking. Plenty of outside seating which must be brilliant on a summers day and really nice in the evenings.

Perfect place for a perfect evening, great food, great beer and great service. Friendly, dog and child friendly too

Lovely pub, good sevice and excellent roast beef dinner. Highly recommended and can't wait to go back

Cosy country pub, with a real fire. Walkers are welcome, it's a good idea to call before hand if you are leaving your car there for the day. If you go in and ask they are happy for you to leave your car, just make sure you thank them by buying a pint afterwards. Menu looks good, but I always seem to get back when they aren't serving food, so must make an effort to go back for some food.

Great local serving lovely food and good local beers

Tragically this venue is NOT disabled friendly.

Always a great place to stop after walking through Little Switzerland. Great Guinness!

Nipped in for a quick drink... the staff where super friendly, atmosphere was cosy and the fire was lit. Happy days.

What a lovely place to visit. We were made to feel welcome from the second we arrived. We were early for our booked table, but shown straight away to our table. Service was friendly & efficient, and the food was delicious. There were 2 menus, the usual one & a Christmas version, but both the same price .we paid £27.95 for 2 courses. One of our party wanted a smaller portion, which was accommodated with no fuss. My husband & I said we wish we'd got a pub like this at the end of our road!

A visit for my fiances 60th birthday. Superb isolated countryside location, friendly and very helpful staff, wonderful food, romantic atmosphere and 2 coal fires to boot!

Fantástica comida en familia. Precioso pub con buena comida. Volveré

This pub is full of character and very cosy. Food was excellent and quick 👍

I love this place. Great food, staff, beers, & location. A star Cheshire Inn.

We visited the Boot Inn for our friends 60th birthday party held on Sunday afternoon. The pub seemed cosy and friendly but the vegetarian food option was abysmal. It was supposed to be a vegetable curry but appeared to be a few overcooked vegetables served with a tin of tomatoes. It had no flavour at all, let alone curry spices. There was no attention to presentation. We were served a naan bread that appeared to be a cheap one from a supermarket, dry and tasteless. I don't know how they had the nerve to serve this. As it was a birthday party for our friend, who was paying, we couldn't complain, as it would have spoilt the occasion. Also, the raspberry in the raspberry tart desert was literally overcooked raspberry jam. This was worse than old school dinners from my childhood. We won't be going there again and I would advise others to avoid, there are plenty of other places serving a better Sunday Lunch in the area.

Great find nestled on a country road a short walk from our AirBnB at Rose Cottage. We wnt to The Boot for lunch one day and for beer and tea the next. Everyone was friendly and the food was fresh and just what we hoped for from our first visit to a real pub in England. Fish and Chips and fish finger sandwiches were so fresh and hot! Yummy thick chips were crispy and perfect with salt and vinegar. And that Sticky Toffee Pudding Cheesecake!!! So good! Great experience!

Nice pub near Delamere Forest to stop by and the only one in the area that opens early. It was freezing inside and dark fur the most part.

Lovely lunchtime meal. The food was great. We left empty, clean looking plates. Pleasant landlady too. We plan to return for a Sunday lunch.

Found this pubbing accident and so glad we did. Fabulous food and great service. Would definitely recommend.

Great staff very relaxing place

Just popped in for a quick pint. Pleasant afternoon.

Really very good food, localy sourced too. Frendly staff and great service. Beer is not half bad too!

My wife rang and spoke with the landlord to book a table for four and proceeded to enquire as to whether the pub was wheelchair friendly. The reply she was given was that the ground floor was accessible but I would have to use the rear entrance. Upon arrival, my wife spoke to the landlord to ask if there was an accessible toilet as there appeared not to be one. The answer was no, so she asked why we hadn't been informed of that over the phone. His answer "I couldn't have asked that, as it's too personal a question." When I confronted the landlord about the toilet not being mentioned and he repeated the same twaddle about it being too personal a question to ask. I explained that he does not need to *ask* but he must inform disabled clients of the lack of disabled toilet, or at the very least "I am sorry but we don't have a disabled toilet." Pretty easy really. My polite conversation was met with nothing but arrogance with the icing on the cake being the final reply: "I've not told anyone for over 30 years, I've never needed to. I will bear it in mind"! We moved to the rear beer garden where it became apparent there was a substantial step to get in. Really not accessible then! The front door has a number of steps to get in so in fact, the pub is not accessible at all. As my father-in-law emerged from the pub he announced that I would be unable to use the toilet even if I could get in as there were also steps. There is clearly more interest in the business coming through the door than the welfare of the disabled. Honesty would be nice so we could make an informed decision ourselves. Shocking behaviour. It's a shame as the food is very good and the waitress excellent. If you have mobility issues, avoid this place despite the fact you will be told by the landlord that it is accessible. It isn't! The one star for atmosphere is because of the landlords arrogance and me knowing I was stuck outside. For the record I have an active type chair and am quite mobile in it.

Excellent food, lovely setting.

Went to The Boot Inn for lunch last weekend with my family, which left us disappointed. My fishfinger sandwich contained more batter than fish and left the bun dripping with grease. The steak sandwich my husband ordered was fairly underwhelming.

Family get together on Sunday. 23 persons..13 different mains (pre ordered) food of excellent quality and served at the same time.. service unequalled. Nothing too much trouble. Highly recommend

A lovely village pub offering great range of real ale & wine very good food range 100%

Turned up on Fathers Day and was told bluntly that wouldn’t be served without a booking despite the pub being virtually empty. No mention of this on the website or any signs outside. Will be a very long time before I go back

1st time visitor to the boot, loved it. Brilliant menu, brilliant efficient friendly staff. Food delicious. Quiet when we visited but the feel and atmosphere wonderful. Will be back for fathers day.

I just got to the entrance with my dog, to ask if he was allowed in and a charmless staff member's first words were: We don't allow dogs inside.....I'm afraid. Not even a 'Hello' or 'sorry'. It's in a village surrounded by walking routes. It's got stone floors, so why no dogs?

Great beer & food in a beautiful location, burgers were delicious

Food quality seemed poor value, service was poor and the price of drinks very expensive.

Really lovely pub, good selection at the bar, food is lovely plus loads of local rambles to choose from. Definitely worth a visit for a Sunday afternoon.

It's always nice to end the walk at a pub, especially if you have used their car park. Only had a drink but had a look at the menu. Good service.

Consistently fabulous food in a fantastic setting. Never disappointed..

Previously good pub grub - has gone downhill. Have had great pub food here in the past with excellent service. Visited recently and found was pretty awful and poor value. Beef casserole with rosemary just doesn’t work! Food overpriced. Seem to have new young staff inadequately trained. Wine was cheap but poor; how hard is it to get a reasonable Shiraz. Such a shame as it’s a lovely spot for a walk and cosy warm pub after! 🙃

Staff friendly but food average and very overpriced. Would pop in for a drink but wouldn’t eat there again.

Lovely spot in the countryside, Food was delicious and service friendly.

I've visited The Boot In on a few occasions over a number of years and returned recently for lunch. The exterior still looks as charming as it ever did but inside the place is starting to look tired now and is in need of some new paint and a significant refresh. The service is good as ever and the food is also of a good pub standard. Starter was soup and it was well made with bread that had been lightly toasted then I opted for an open prawn sandwich. This was at best ok. It could have been improved by using artisan bread and perhaps lightly toast it rather than a standard slice of bread from a mass produced loaf. Disappointingly the prawns hadn't been shelled quite right either and whilst it didn't wreck it, it was clearly noticeable and not good. The salad served with it was also a poor effort. Wasn't a bad experience but it wasn't great either and it kind of felt like the best days of The Boot Inn might be behind it. I hope this isn't the case and I hope it regenerates itself with some refurbishment and a more vibrant menu.

An old favorite, lovely cost setting probably feeling a little dated now. Menu a little limited but delicious food.

Be aware, not dog friendly! I cannot comment on the pub or food so I feel a little harsh only putting 1 star, but we came here as it claims itself as a 'best' walking country pub however, after walking for hours, we arrived looking for a nice drink and lunch only to find out they're not at all dog friendly. Another family clearly had the same issue and sat outside eating with hats, gloves, scarves and blankets- we decided to give it a miss! This is the only pub I know that claims to be a walkers country pub, yet doesn't allow dog even in one area. There are no signs stating this (despite having a rudely toned note to walker's in the carpark about booking tables) and nothing is mentioned on their website. Disappointing.

This is a gem of a pub tucked away in the Cheshire country side. Staff friendly and welcoming, lovely pub atmosphere with excellent food.

We visited with friends on New Year’s Day for drinks and bar snacks outside. When ordering the drinks the bar lady was rude, tutting and generally being foul faced. We later went back in to order a couple of portions of chips- after she was rude to the couple in front of us. We asked to order food. Her face looked like thunder and she was huffing and puffing “how many are you” “have you not booked?”. We understand that they might have been busy and a simple “I’m really sorry, we’re fully booked in the kitchen” would have sufficed. Her attitude was disgusting. After reading other reviews I can see we’re not the only people who feel this way. We abruptly left and will not be returning, there’s other much nicer friendlier pubs in the area. This lady should not be working in hospitality! It’s a shame she’s ruining such a nice pub.

I’ve had to change my review from 5* to 2*. I’ve ordered a chicken sandwich which is around £15 and you get (a lot of) chicken, a leaf 🍃 a slice of tomatoes, and the bread bun, which seems poor quality for the price paid. You can see the the picture attached where you can spot the (one) leaf 🥲 I used to love this place but now I’m not sure if is still on my list of favourite places anymore. A suggestion would be that the recipe(s) could be improved to match the price? The price is even higher than London but the quality of the food is low.

Always great food,lovely staff and a great location

Having enjoyed many very nice meal over the years this visit was very disappointing. We had booked the Festive Menu only to be informed when we ordered that there was No Turkey left, and we were asked to have another look at the menu, whilst we were doing that the server returned and informed us that the Chef had found 2 portions of Turkey, We ordered the Turkey that was the mistake what we got was a warmed up dry Turkey Dinner with deep fried (Roast Potatoes) It was not a good meal and it will take a lot for js to return to the Boot.

Great atmosphere, good food, nice portion sizes.

Food is lovely but service was slow and not very friendly.

Party of 6 - four of us had good choices of lunch and were enjoyed. Two of us chose hake and sea bass from the specials . The fish were very good, but small. The vegetables, kale and boiled potatoes, were very inadequate - kale is cheap to buy and two tiny potatoes cut in halves are likewise. I chose the cheeseboard to fill up on, and that was excellent and generous, in contrast to the tiny veg.portions!

I booked a table for 2 on Sunday and specified it was for a Sunday Roast. when we arrived we were told there was no roast available. This is the second time this has happened, the first being a family meal for 8 people.

Beautiful traditional Sunday lunch, nice atmosphere.

Food was ok. Everything we ordered they had run out off. Including the wine! Coffee was disgusting

Traditional English food at really reasonable prices. Loverly quaint surroundings.

Lovely original pub and surroundings. £18.50 for a beef dinner is a bit steep but very nice. Extra £4 for mash. Nice staff. A table nearby got fed up of waiting for a waitress to resurface and ordered sweets at the bar. Strange because a few were about. Quite a wait before starter arrived and then for the main. Took nearly 2 hours all told. Anyway, would return if passing but to be honest better value for money at a pub nearby.

I don't know what magical chef was in the back of this quiet pub but my risotto was creamy and delicious, the shavings of cheese ontop really sealed it. Squid was soft and tender and a perfect starter. Whole family loved it, great way for me to end my stay back home

Great country pub that ticks every single box. Friendly staff, good choice of real ales, well cooked food and comfortable surroundings. A genuinely great country pub.

staff were lovely, food was lovely and had a great time in this country pub. would visit again!! recommend to anyone, family, friends, couples. this pub is perfect for any walkers!

Four of us dined recently at The Boot Inn and had an incredible meal. We received a warm welcome with drinks outside on the lovely terrace in the evening sun. All of the party had two courses and each dish was wonderful!! There is a fabulous choice of classic dishes with a modern twist, all looked and tasted beautiful. Also offered are an excellent choice of wines which are reasonably priced. Could not fault the food or the service. Staff are professional, warm and friendly. Would highly recommend The Boot Inn and will be returning very soon