The Castle Inn in Shropshire

We stayed from Friday to Sunday We booked a twin room as two girls , room where a great size and on the ground floor with a patio door leading out to the grass at the back and was quiet , and view of the beautiful corn fields at the back , tv in room and tea and coffee facilities also , had hair dryer and bible and very comfortable beds slept great . Inside very newly decorated restaurant/pub so great very friendly staff and nothing was a problem for them , food was amazing we had to try everything we could from truffle fries , nachos, patience, bread & oils & olives all 5 star honestly portion size was very filling We recommend the lamb, sea bream and the home made pie all tasted beautiful and , also I had the castle burger that was unreal We loved the live singers on Saturday and our friends visited with children and they enjoyed the entertainment provided bouncy castle face paints and children entertainment for them , They also cater for large bookings as our friends visited and the group went into a group of 12 including children and they had sorted out a table for us there and then Prices where great on drinks all very affordable , We sat in the bar area and enjoyed the singers while the men went on to play pool before coming back and enjoying the night , Very friendly locals who told us the hotel has been closed and recently been taken over by a lovely young couple who have renovated the whole property Would recommend this hotel as a great stop or short stay and defiantly be coming back in the near future Thanks Marie

Came here for lunch with a friend. Rather strange set up of a tiny hotel bar leading through to a dining room, which resembled that of a care home. There’s that much large, dark furniture in the room you can hardly move around. The menu is quite old fashioned, nothing innovative. We decided on the chicken. It was rather dry as it came with no sauce. The salad and sides were ok. Can’t say that I’m in a rush to ever return.

One of the worst places I’ve visited! Food was dreadful although staff were rather pleasant it’s a pity the manager doesn’t take heed and plop a smile on his unwelcoming face! Rude

I stayed in this hotel for over 3 months while working for a local company. Great rooms, great service, fantastic food and made to feel very welcome. I stayed in almost all of the rooms, some are in the main building above the bar and restaurant, I didn’t experience any noise, all of the rooms are comfortable and spacious. It is close to a main road and I see some people have said the road is noisy, however I didn’t really take any notice if it was? Great views across the fields at the back of the hotel. Beer garden and patio area for when the sun is shinning!! If you like a warm friendly comfortable place to stay I would recommend The Castle inn, extremely good value for money and nothing is too much trouble for the owner and his team!

Had the misfortune to call here recently - due to not being able to find anywhere else. We soon found out why they were quick to get your order - you were then stuck with it! Mushroom starter - inedible and greasy - residue on the plate meant we did not finish it. We hoped that the main course would be better - no chance - the fish and chips was only just about edible - but again rather oily - this is possibly due to 90% of people now coming in were well over 70 and obviously satisfied with poor quality. My wife tried to curry - wow - a few pieces of chicken floating in an inedible liquid. I had started mine otherwise we would have left at this point. I can only say if you value your digestive system - leave this place well alone. I complained on settling the bill and was met with 'O.K.' You have been warned !!!.

Myself and my partner called at the castle inn on the way home from a weekend away. My partner had the ploughmans salad which he thoroughly enjoyed and there was plenty of variety with ham, cheese, salad, coleslaw, pickles ect. However I had the cheese and onion pie. It was not a pie. It had no crust on the top only on the bottom which was hard. The filling was so full of potato that it was like eating cheesy mash with onion. It has to be the worst cheese and onion pie I've ever had. Very disappointing. We weren't asked by the staff how our meal was otherwise I would have told them that I wasn't happy.

Visited the Castle Inn late on a Saturday evening after a day shopping two adults and two young teenagers. The place used to have a poor reputation but I've recently heard much better things, and having never visited before thought I should give it a whirl and see for myself. Staff were immediately welcoming saying hello to us as we walked through the door. The decor is clean & fresh; a result of being given a sympathetic makeover but retains a cosy ambience. The interior layout is a little unusual but reflects the exterior architecture. We were shown to our table and the specials board was brought over to us. We'd looked at the menu online which offered pretty standard fayre. However the specials board made a big difference to the range of options. In the event, only one of us ordered from the specials but if you look at the online menu bear in mind that a wide range of other choices are likely to be available. The food that arrived was good and resulted in four clean plates. Additional drinks were delivered to the table, and other requests were dealt with and met, including a request for another spoonful of the vegetable curry!!! We shall certainly go back.

We called in today for Lunch and a pint. We have passed this pub/Hotel many times but never called in it is on the A41 main road.We got a warm welcome and a nice pint followed by a good lunch,the service was very good we will call again soon!!

We stopped off here on a long journey that included the A41. Don't really know what other reviewers are moaning about, we were given a warm welcome and served really quickly. My husband had mushroom soup as a starter, which my son who is 10 said was the nicest thing he'd ever eaten! For mains we had lasagne, which was really tasty, and a bacon wrapped chicken special in a Stilton sauce, also very tasty. The kids had fish fingers and chicken strips, and they both loved their meals too, in particular the peas and carrots! The portions were generous and we thought very good value for the price we paid. I'd definitely eat here again for excellent, simple, tasty food in a nice environment.

We called in for a meal they were busy but not overly so, anyway we were asked what we would like to drink so ordered and took them to the table we then waited 10 minutes to order the food, we then waited 25 minutes for the starter a mushroom soup and I had what was laughably called cheesy garlic bread. Why they called it that is beyond me, it was in fact melted cheese on a piece of un toasted French stick, 3 pieces £2.95?. Only waited 15 minutes for the main course ,a lasagne Verdi with a salad and new potatoes, the salad was one piece of cucumber one piece of tomato and some brown lettuce, the other main was a steak and ale pie with mash ,veg and gravy, this turned up and the mash was a sort of crushed plain potato, no butter or oil just sprinkled with I assume was parsley, the peas were inedable the carrots were just cooked but the pie was soft meat and ale gravy with a very small piece of what looked like suet pastry, no separate gravy was served or offered. We left after paying the bill which we were offered a reduction on but declined as we will never go to this place again.

our room was separate from the restaurant which was good room basic but clean just what we needed view from the room beautiful countryside we had breakfast on our stay and it great and the lady that served us could not do enough for us so in conclusion a very short but pleasant stay

We normally go to the castle on a Tuesday evening but it was a Thursday this time, we were early for our booking but it didn't seem to be a problem and we were seated and drinks ordered pretty quickly. Enticed with the specials board we ordered two bacon chops with chips, veg and parsley sauce, a strange mix of veg namely carrots, broccoli, peas and red cabbage, anyway I didn't have the broccoli 🤔, the wives had their usual lasagne verdi and were very pleased with it 😴, we finished the mains and went on to the sweets, this is where the title of the review is from, the wives had peach melba, can't really go wrong with tinned fruit and ice cream, my mate had a banana split, I chose my favourite pudding of all time, bread and butter with custard 😆. What they served was nothing like bread and butter pudding 😢it was a hard dry lump with raisins and sultanas covered with a custard mix(which was the best part!) anyway couldn't eat it so eat the custard. The waiter returned to clear and asked if everything is okay and I said that what I was served was not what I ordered and tried to explain that the bread in this pudding should be soaked in an egg custard and then cooked not dry cooked and covered with custard as he had said, anyway the staff were very friendly and helpful and said that I would not be charged for the pudding and the coffee for the four of us would be on the house, all in all we have had good experiences and meals at the castle and will continue to go there 😆

Came here for Sunday lunch with my other half, entrance was unfriendly and unwelcoming to say the least. Sat down and waited a while for menus to be brought to us. Waited again for someone to come to the table and take our order.. even though no one had taken a drinks order.. ordered food and drink and waited probably a further 20 mins for drinks, of which our food came before the drinks. The bar was not busy at all, and we only ordered soft drinks. Food was good but beef was very dry. Wouldn't return, no atmosphere and service was poor apart from a young waitress with dark hair who was very attentive.

We met up with friends for lunch and we all enjoyed our meals. There was a large Christmas party in progress when we arrived. I thought we would probably have quite a wait for our food but I was wrong. We all went for the roast turkey and it couldn't be faulted. We could not manage to eat all of the vegetables which was due to the quantity, the quality was very good. The staff were very friendly and the service excellent. A very enjoyable meal.

I arranged a 2 course meal for 42 people which in itself isn't easy, but the process the Castle has was simple and we pre-ordered. We arrived 30 minutes late (sorry!) due to traffic on the day but still we were made to feel welcome. I didn't receive a single bad review from any of the people with me on this trip (many don't use the Internet so probably won't review themselves) Everybody said WOW how did they serve everything so fast and so hot?! Our roast dinners were amazing, I had beef and it was just wonderful, not a single complaint. My bread and butter pudding was full of fruit and delicious. Staff were very pleasant and any queries dealt with quickly. We were made to feel at home. Thank you so much... especially to the chef!

We haven't been here in a while so we thought we'd give it a go on Sunday evening.we turned up at about half seven and we were seated almost instantly and ordered drinks we then perused the menu and specials board and chose our mains my wife and my friends wife had the lasagne and my friend had the cod gougons(a dish you should try) and I had the cheese and onion pie ( you should try this one as well) anyway on to puddings😆my wife and friends wife had lemon cheesecake my friend had the peach melba🤑and I had the fruit triffle a dish not to be triffled with🤔anyways with drinks 3 coffees and a capachino and the bill came to £70.00 for the four of us so more than worth the visit,and the food is certainly not prepackaged or frozen,it's fresh tasty and well worth trying, in my humble opinion😋

We chose the Castle for its location close to our family. The rooms are spotless and very well presented in a separate block away from the popular bar and restaurant. Yes, it is a bit noisy at night with the road noise but that did not detract from the overall experience. Breakfast was excellent and nothing was too much trouble.

Staff were lovely, room was spotless, large and had a great shower. However as the building with the rooms is separate from the pub (kind of like an American motel) it was very open to the public. The door lock did not feel secure and I really did not feel safe. The hotel is located right on a main road which caused lack of sleep. I had dinner in the pub which was fine,nothing good/bad. Breakfast was fine ask the waitress was so lovely.

Beautiful hotel, we got the room in the castle tower - great food both breakfast and evening meal - would go again thank you for making us welcome

We called in for a works lunch a few weeks ago and were very impressed. There were about twenty of us so we all pre booked our choices from a menu that they emailed us. When we arrived we were made to feel welcome and lunch was served very quickly and every one enjoyed what they had. I had the steak burger and it was really good. What others had also looked well thought out and very well presented. Well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Well after reading Sharon W's review before me I really didn't know what to expect. This was my second visit here in a year on both occasions just passing. Earlier in the year we had no problems and the place was in the middle of being re-decorated. That was partly the reason for the return to see the improvement All I can say is that I think Sharon W's review is unwarranted, unless of course they have got a new Chef! We stopped for lunch, table of 4 and everything was 1st class, service included. The place was quite busy on this particular lunch time but there was no delay in the food arriving. I strongly recommend if passing give it a try and ignore the negative comments.

very dated feel, food (if you can call it that) was absolutely shocking everything was either out of a tin or a packet out the freezer and everything was thrown in the deep fat fryer even the mushrooms!!! garlic cheese bread had been microwaved to melt the cheese so was dripping with fat, grease and was just a soggy lump on a plate, i asked for a medium steak and when i cut it, it bled all over my plate, the jacket potato was stodgy and the skin was rubbery as had been reheated in the microwave, when i complained, the barmaid just stood looking at me and said nothing, never apologised, dont ever go here it is shocking, really cant stress this enough, they are advertising for a new chef....... i can see why.....

Room was spotless and comfortable, bar was ideal for a quiet drink with friendly regulars and staff. Would definitely recommend

Stayed at the castle inn for a nearby wedding! Rooms were spacious with out side sitting overlooking corn fields, bathroom was modern and shower was lovely! The only reason I wouldn't give this 5 stars was on entering the room had a rather musty smell however after opening the window and back door this seem to rectify the problem and in the shower there was mold on the ceiling! Not massive issues! Breakfast was lovely staff were friendly and plenty of parking! Would stay again!

Stayed in the Hotel on Saturday evening, enjoyed a few drinks and a lovely meal in the evening the food is fantastic, nothing is too much trouble for the friendly staff- enjoyed a laugh with the owner David!

Booked a room to attend a wedding at a nearby venue. Thank goodness we were only there for one night - room had been cleaned but the smell of damp was ever present, at times over-powering. Luckily we knew we wouldn't be in the room for more than about 7 hours as we only went there to sleep at midnight and left as soon as we could in the morning. Damp/musty smell was enough to make me keep my clothes in the car. The bedsheets and duvet had a different aroma - chips/fried food. They had been cleaned but this place seems old and dated and the smells seem long lasting. It needs an overhaul. Breakfast was average, didn't want to hang around too long so ate and left.

Strange atmosphere, menu straight from the 1980's, the service was not good. The cutlery was so thin that it bent. Poor quality food. We were not asked whether everything was ok with our meal at any point. As the plates were taken away I expressed my disappointment with my meal and was told that my comments would be passed on. No apology, or appropriate response. So disappointing

The pub is being done up and what a great difference. Combined with friendly, welcoming staff who couldn't do enough for you, a great atmosphere and really tasty food I will definitely be coming again! Loving the different foods appearing on the menu, particularly the fish.

We heard that the pub been renovated & modernized recently, so we thought to be nosy and have dinner on Friday 15/5/15.when we walked in it looked very old and unwelcoming, but hence we are here we might as well something.The menu is very uninviting with nothing really stands out for me to have, so we had steak and chicken, both were OK but nothing to Brag about. The glasses from the bar were dirty and markedThe atmosphere or the lack of it did not help either.We certainly did not realize that they cater for senior people only.we will not visit again.

We stopped here on our way to Chester for lunch and can have no complaints. Food and service were good, reasonably priced and pleasant staff. The place is being re-decorated and is obviously work in progress, but hey the smell of fresh paint has never put me off my food.

Don't bother with the soups but everything else is very good indeed. The bar and restaurant area is comfrotable, warm and wellcoming. The landlord and landlady are excellent. the hotel has seen better days but is being brought upto date. I look forward to my next stay there.

Lovely warm welcome. The bedroom was wonderful-spotless and finished to a very high standard. The evening meal was excellent, waitress service excellent and breakfast....well needless to say excellent. I would definitely recommend this hotel.

Beautiful views very comfortable .We stayed two night as we went 2 a funerals in Whitchurch .dinner was good as well

We arrived at 12pm, and very quickly had our lunch. Good service and value. All fresh veggies and roast lamb was fantastic. Can't fault it. Kids ate all of theirs too so it must be good.

I've lived down the road from this pub for 20 years and only visited a handful of times! Pleasantly surprised on my recent visit good food and great prices!

Stayed here last night for a friends wedding just up the road. Great room and facilities. Welcoming and friendly staff.Only negatives were no curtain at the room door so got woken up at 5am by the sunlight and a bit of noise from the dual carriageway.Great place to stay.

Stopped enroute from North Wales for lunch on a Saturday. Very quiet but welcoming pub. Food choice was excellent and homemade. Very good quality and value for money. Good real ales on tap. Recommended

Went for a meal at this country pub. Friendly staff, cosy bar area, good choice of beers catering for the whole family, it's well worth a visit. The meal I had was amazing value with quick service from courteous and well trained staff. Had a quick look at their annex hotel and it was very impressive. I have passed this pub several times whilst travelling and given it a miss. I'm glad someone invited the family out for a meal to it. I would recommend the good wholesome country cooking and the atmosphere which was a memorable experience. Well worth a visit!

Prompted by the roadside advertising ("Pub 1,000 yards ahead") and blackboard outside, we stopped here for a quick lunch, hence avoiding a petrol station sandwich or a McKFCKing outlet.Big car park, opening times clearly displayed, prompt friendly service. Interior is all wooden panelling and painted-up window frames, just as many pubs once were. So bit of a time-warp, but not unpleasantly so.Quick service, drinks good value, soup was home-made, ham, egg & chips were fine.

Positives :large car park which was empty at lunchtime on a Tuesday clean and tidyReasonably extensive menu with daily specialsVery friendly staffFood arrived very quickly and was hot and tasty Small alcoves with firesNegatives Empty at lunchtime so had little atmosphereWe ate a Shropshire breakfast and plaice chips and peasPrices reasonable Would we go again not really. It filled a gap but not the most exciting lunchtime we had been to. Nothing bad but nothing that brilliant .

Called in for lunch on the spare of the moment. An old style pub with plenty of character and a warm welcome. We only had a snack but the food was very good and the staff were very friendly. If I’m ever in the area again I would certainly call in to try out the full dinner menu.

Called in for a Sunday dinner and really enjoyed it. Its a big place but with some nice intimate dining spaces. A really good mune and very helpfull staff. We had no problem in tipping the waitress as she was very attentive. We will be going back again as we did enjoy the experience...

On arrival, we had to search for the restaurant, as it is hidden out the back of the locals public bar. No-one helped us find it, the staff were no help at all at this point, although once seated the service was quite good. We had 5 steaks and one rice dish, but the fairly big portions didn't outweigh the mostly average quality (One of the steaks was very gristly too and just happened to be for our fussiest eater).For over £100 I'd expect better food than my old Mum could rustle up to be honest. Oh, and the Pub in the photo here is not The Castle Inn, it's The Bear Hotel at Hodnet. Maybe we'll try there instead next time.

nice place could use larger bath towels. staff very friendly and despite a large group arrivieing at the resturant we had our meals within 20 minutes of ordering all in not a bad price for a bank holiday weekend

My husband only wanted a snack and was able to have a child's portion. He is unable to eat large meals. This was extremely obliging and he was well satisfied.

service was a wee bit slow but worth the wait as the food and portions are first class. Also incredibly busy and popular so I would recommend you book a table and be prepared to wait. Very family friendly and can cater for youngsters too

I stayed here with colleagues, 3 of us, 3 rooms. A palatial suite, a good sized room and a broom cupboard. Guess which I got?Frankly I don't get how these were all the same price for a start. And secondly I don't know how this room got past building regs. It was a space someone decided could be a room, it opened on to an external staircase and was of French door fully glazed style so for privacy this meant curtain closed = blackout during daylight hours. A permanently lit fire exit sign above the door inside the room meant a green hazy neon light throughout the night. Bathroom door could only be opened partially before hitting the bed. Toilet could not be sat on without being in full view from window (yet another blackout required). The room was furnished to a very high standard but no quality detracts from a broom cupboard. Food at breakfast and dinner was very good. If I stay again I will never stay in that room again. No one should have to. Wifi not working throughout stay.

Stayed here back in July due to prime location for a friend's wedding. Myself and two friends had an excellent time and were pleased with the clean, modern rooms as well as some excellent breakfasts in the mornings we were there. We were very happy with the prices and the evening's in the pub offered a nice country atmosphere and friendly locals! For what it is, couldn't fault it.

Bad experience on our way home from holidayAte here on our way home, got there just as food was finishing - maybe this was the problemVery limited choice, made to feel in the way & poor foodWasn't the best dining experience, but wil give it another go due to good reviews on here

We took some of our family that were visiting on a Thursday evening, as soon as you walked in the atmosphere was so friendly, we ordered a drinks at the bar then were shown to a table in the main dining room, the staff were extremely happy and helpful, the food didn't take long to come and was fantastic, steaks cooked to perfection and homemade specials and deserts. I was extremely suprised how reasonable the bill was at the end. Will definately go back and recommend to everyone. Although one of the other customers said it's always best to book!

Good stop over on the A41 near Market Drayton TF9 3RZ . We were on our way to Chester and being hungry stopped for a quick lunch. It is a pub which looks like a Castle , the owners have actually built a separate extension with 8 bedrooms which look quite new and reasonable. It is out in the countryside.Good pub menu with excellent fish and chips. Service prompt, efficient and cheerful. Food hot. Restaurant separate from bar though you can eat there if you want . Comfortable surroundings