The Chequers in West Oxfordshire

Issues with the meal potatoes were terrible and Eton mess was not roast great at all. Second time we have been here and still we would only give the meal 5 out of ten

Three phone conversations with the hotel management eventually confirmed that a Sunday roast could be obtained in the Terrace resturant. A table for 7 was booked and confirmed.On arrival the Terrace resturant was set up for a wedding ceremony. No other dining tables were apparent. On querying this with bar staff we were abruptly told "not our problem".Eventually found a deputy manager who set about laying up a dining table amongst the wedding guests ! Meanwhile we tried other local venues but couldn't get in within our timescale.We eventually sat for our anticipated Sunday lunch in a crowded golf club bar surrounded by a multitude of wedding guests.The food was obviously recently pulled out of the freezer, looked and tasted same ! HOPELESS !!We recommend training for front of house management in the art of coordination and courtesy for members of the bar staff.

It isn’t that often I visit The Windmill, but I know the place well enough to know something is very different. There was a different aura in the air today. I didn’t recognise any of the staff members, and whilst they seemed like a large family, they were all unique and discombobulated in their own ways. I must start with some high praise - we were greeted very kindly by a lovely tall Irish lady with a beaming smile. Whilst very busy, she was also very accompanying and allowed us to buy a few of their home-made pint glasses (which she said she wasn’t supposed to do). Hats off to her for the hospitality. Sadly things took a slight turn for the worse whilst we were seated. It was only myself and my partner ordering some pub grub, however, after a brief conversation with the waiter it was quickly apparent that some kind of knowledge barrier prevented us from ordering exactly what we wanted. I have a suspicion this older gentleman was a distinguished chef from years gone by, because there wasn’t a single word I understood in his recommendations. Embarrassingly, we decided to opt for a few beers at the bar before ordering food instead. I must admit, that was a saving grace, for their homemade beer ‘Hawkstone’ was divine. The bartender was full of dry wit which added to a great atmosphere amongst the other guests. He has that familiar family friendly humour, like you wouldn’t be surprised to see him on TV! Not only was the beer exceptional in quality, the slight intoxication seemed to clear up some of the brain fog I was experiencing earlier, since the waiter suddenly seemed to made a lot more sense! So, we finally ordered our meal and enjoyed some local produce - again, simply divine. Despite the great tastes and atmosphere, I couldn’t help but feel the service was jeopardised by the initial language barrier. As such, I did ask the waiter if we could remove our service charge. I should add, this was a new waiter at the time, a dreary English chap who wasn’t impressed with our request. Whilst his thorough and detailed lecture around why a service charge holds such an important role in the overarching finance of the food industry, I tried to hold my ground and get this removed from the bill. It was only after we realised my partner had been asleep for 8 minutes that we sped things up, paid the bill with a 50/50 compromise on the service charge, and got ourselves out of there. All in all, I’d recommend the establishment because, despite some teething problems and unorthodox scenarios, the people are genuine and the food/drink is exceptional. Just keep an eye out for those tractors (given the rural area) - a young man with curly blonde hair had completely blocked my car in so we had to wait half an hour to leave!

When a business contact of mine from London told me he would be visiting Witney, of course I wanted to meet up with him. But also I wanted to impress him and show him the best that Witney ha to offer. When I booked dinner at The Three Horseshoes I was confident that my contact would have a great evening, and it was absolutely the right choice. As soon as he arrived he commented on how amazing the pub was, and how he loved the atmosphere and the log burner too. Our dinner was fantastic and even though the place was busy, the speed or service and the attentiveness of the team was brilliant. They were there when we needed them, and left us to get on with our business conversation the rest of the time. For impressing a really important contact from London - The Three Horseshoes was exactly the right choice and what is SO brilliant is that it is also the perfect choice for a quiet pint or to meet up with friends too.

Good lunch selection. Very nice salads and a good choice of panini. It’s not very clear when you go in what to do if you want to sit inside to eat as all the boards are headed up as takeaway menus. The seating area is really just there to eat the takeaway - so order what you’d like and then take it through to eat. It might be good to make this clearer for customers especially when it’s busy. Overall though the food and coffee were delicious so well worth a lunch stop.