The College Arms in Stratford-on-Avon

A fascinating pub that we were told was once owned by Henry VIII and given to Catherine of Aragon on their divorce. Then owned by Magdalene College Oxford for hundreds of years. It’s certainly old with flagstone floors, lots of panelling and a no longer accessible secret passageway to the church across the road. Top that with decent beers, a short freshly cooked menu and friendly service

Tremendous food would highly recommend. Venison pie was to die for, not for the faint hearted, its enormous. Fish and chips was equally a large portion. Ham and eggs was given the thumbs up by my Granddaughter and my grandson thought his tuna mayo sandwich was 'the best ever.'

We made a booking for a table a week before we arrived. There were 4 of us in our party, although we arrived separately to our friends. We had been coming to this pub for decades, although this was the first time since lockdown had been lifted and knowing that the pub had changed ownership, we thought it worth another visit to see what it was like. When we arrived, we made our way into the right hand side of the pub where there was a bar. We arrived at 7:10pm for our 7:15pm booking. We stood at the bar for more than 10minutes before it became clear that we were not going to get served, despite several staff having noticed us. Not one member of staff acknowledged our presence or mentioned that they would be with us shortly. Suspicions were aroused when we also noticed that there were only two tables (out of many) that were occupied. This was a country pub and being a very warm June evening, I would have expected the place to be packed - it wasn't. Anyway, we decided to move into the other bar where there seemed to be more activity (and more likelihood) of getting served, even though we now found ourselves in a queue five deep. Eventually we managed to get to speak to a member of staff whereupon we told them we had a reservation and they directed us back into the other bar from where we had come originally. (arrrgggh!). I should mention that a member of our party had a broken toe so moving unnecessarily was both annoying and painful! We sat down at the table indicated and then waited a further 5 minutes to be presented with two crumpled a4 pieces of paper which were purported to be menus. The waitress also told us that these were the only two meus in the place! All of this meant that our earlier suspicions were deepened further. Was this really a professional outfit? Anyway we placed our drinks order and studied the rather scrappy paper menus. The waitress returned with our drinks although she had to make two visits to deliver four drinks! (Not sure they have any trays!). Time moved on and we waited patiently for the waitress to return. 20 minutes went by and still no waitress. Eventually we had to get up and go ask a member of staff if we could place our order. The waitress returned and started the conversation by saying "has anyone told you about the items that were no longer available from the menu". No, no one had told us and as far as we could tell the waitress herself was the only one serving our table so shouldn’t she have told us when she gave us the menus?. Anyway apparently they were out of fish (so fish and chips was out), had no mash (so Sausages and Mash was off the menu) and they were out of something else too! Basically half the menu was off! So two of our party had to change their order very quickly. Very annoying. By now its was 7:50pm. At 8:20pm we asked when we might get our food and the waitress aid that it was most likely being plated up as we speak. At 8:30pm however she returned to say that there had been a mix up with the tickets and that our entire order had been given to some other table by accident! We asked when they would be re-doing the order and she told us that the kitchen was now closed and they couldn't re-do the order because the chef was now off! Notwithstanding the fact that if food was delivered to a table the people sitting at that table should have rejected it (since they apparently hadn't placed an order), the fact that people would accept, without question, food that they had not ordered must call into question the type of people that would frequent such a pub. Of course, we remonstrated with the waitress and asked to speak to the management, but apparently the owners (Will and Rob) were on a night off and were not available. Not only were we stunned by the fact that they could have given our order to someone else it was even more incredulous that they were not prepared to re-process the order. The waitress kept making excuses that the other member of staff was on their second day (even more reason that the owners should have been around to ensure correct training and guidance), but that they had also had a coachload of people in earlier in the day - why that would make a difference I can't fathom. Basically, this was the worst customer experience. We left of course without any formal apology and without any food. This place is a dreadful example of poor management and even worse customer service. No wonder the place is not very busy. We (and my friends) will never return to the pub whilst under the current management. They simply don't understand what customer service means or what it means to run a successful business. Avoid this place like the plague, unless you fancy a free meal of course - they simply give those away even when you haven't ordered one!!

Grabbed a couple of breakfast sandwiches to take home this morning. Quality ingredients equal AMAZING way to start a Monday!

I was interested to see the College Arms' announcement of its new 'Smokehouse menu' so took a trip there for a mid-week dinner with an American friend. The building is attractive and we were welcomed warmly. There was a good choice of beers and the two we chose were in good condition. The restaurant was empty so we chose to eat in the bar beside the open fire. Brisket is always a good test of a barbecue chef so we chose a portion of this ("smoked for 16 hours") and an order of ribs with a couple of sides and chips. When the food was delivered the presentation was pleasant and the portions generous. Unfortunately the meat was... not good. The ribs were, as promised, meaty but the meat was completely devoid of all but one flavour - no sweetness, no saltiness, no spice. The flavour was burned plastic. I honestly don't know how they had been reheated but there was lumps of black char over the surface of the ribs and it tasted of plastic. The brisket was carved into thick slices but again it was completely devoid of flavour and was dry and leathery with charred edges, not moist and succulent as brisket should be. I'd had a long day and simply didn't have the energy to complain about the food so we paid and left. I was really disappointed as I love good barbecue and want local businesses to do well but there was so much wrong with the way these dishes were cooked I wouldn't know where to begin to tell the chef how badly he d misunderstood what good Smokehouse food should be. The attached photo is of the brisket I took home for my dog. She seemed to enjoy it.

Just reopened in 2018 nowadays is busy pub restaurant with some really good food Sunday lunch is freshly cooked vegetables normally 3/4 roasts (just right) followed by freshly made sweets 🧁 2/3 ale’s with all normal drinks from the bar very friendly staff with a genuine smile Look forward to visiting soon

After a long period of this beautiful pub being run down, Jim and Tanya, the new mine-hosts have really invigorated and brought it back to life. The new menu, decor and staff are excellent and very welcoming. On offer, amongst many other options is a mixed grill and bubble and squeak. Both very good. Portion sizes are sustaining. Optional to eat in either restaurant or bar. Looking forward to trying the new carvery on Easter Sunday. Well done and Thank-you for giving us our ‘local’ back.

poor food, poor staff, poor selection of drinks, staff are rude and unkep. regulars are intimidating,...

Lovely place but.... In the room toilet paper very limited especially in the night when no spare roll there. Rain bath hairs floated to the top. Evening meal very good. Breakfast no choice. Full English and toast only. No milk for cereals. Ran out of jugs for milk for tea and coffee for tables so plastic bottle left on table with milk in . Second cup of coffee asked for old cups taken away and given back with a refil in would have been nice to have a fresh clean one. In bathroom no bin for a lady could be essential. Staff very friendly and pleasant. Would consider coming back if minor details corrected.

We visited the College Arms on a Groupon deal - and it was so good we bought another! The restaurant is lovely inside - stone floors and wooden beams. The staff were friendly and the real ale (I’m told!) well kept. The food was tasty and plentiful, we had crispy panko prawns, gammon steak, chicken fillet burger and lemon meringue pie. We will definitely return - well worth the drive out from home.