The Half Moon in Wiltshire - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

We have been a few times before and it’s been good but this time we were very shocked and disappointed. We were told that the carvery stopped at 3pm so we were given menus but when we ordered our food the waitress told us that what we wanted was not available, this happened on several occasions. The waitress was very apologetic but no apology from the manager who walked past us twice with no acknowledgment! We paid for our drinks and left.

Had the carvery yesterday. Absolutely superb as ever. Tender meat, hot plates, veg and gravy. Have booked for the Christmas Day lunch for all the family.

Me ans the family have returned many of times, each time they have been very friends to us, very attentive, the food has always been very good!

Really disappointed! We have heard so many great reviews about this place but we were seriously let down. Visited Sunday 25th August as a treat. Quickly sat at the table which was great but all down hill from there. We waited 15 mins before WE asked for drinks (it is apparently table service). Drinks arrived shortly after ordered. Food! Big let down. Not hot, over cooked chicken and crisps cooked to an inch of their life. Chicken wings tasted of fish and pretty much not ate. Nobody asked if we needed anything condiment wise! We asked and they never arrived. We left half the food but staff didn’t check back during eating and to be frank the younger waiter and waitress were not interested at all! They where more interested in who was going to get a vape next! After we ate we waited and waited but no staff arrived to clear plates, check back or ask if we wanted pudding! Ended up paying at bar and skipped puddings. Toilets! The gents were filthy with urine all over floor! We skipped using these and visited the garage up the road. Such a shame as we travelled just to eat here today and the only person who seemed to enjoy their job was the barman! We could understand if it was busy but it wasn’t. Really poor and we will not be returning.

Ordered ‘Hunters Chicken’ but it was the worst I’ve ever eaten. Half a plate of chips, a small chicken breast with a slab of bacon and over grilled cheese and a very small amount of coleslaw. Not worth the penny. £15!!!! Service didn’t come back and check if everything was ok.

Visited this venue twice this weekend, both times food has been delicious, service great with a really lovely atmosphere Highly recommend this place

Lovely place, very friendly staff, relaxed welcoming atmosphere and the roast dinner was perfectly done, very tasty and well worth the money! Will definitely be coming back here again.

Recently visited three times over the period of my holiday. Food on all times good to very good. First visit very good and attentive. Second visit in the evening, again good. Unfortunately the last visit could not be the opposite, food very good, service lacking and surprisingly below average. Manager said be with you in a minute, waited and eventually had to go and order ourselves. Ordered our puddings, no spoons and no sign of them being produced. So had to find some from another table. Overall a good pub, shame some staff let the side down by being on their mobiles - poor

Stopped for lunch had caesar salad with was not too bad the beer shandy was nice and refreshing on a hot day.

We have eaten here whilst owned by previous owner so were concerned by negative feedback over the last year. However, we had a lovely meal, I had ham,egg and chips with piccalilli and my wife had chicken tikka masala. Both meals arrived quickly, hot and delicious. The service was great as was the beer. Hopefully with a new chef in place this pub will now delight all future customers. We wish them good luck

Standard menu but we'll prepared. Ham egg and chips..amazing. thick slices of ham. Good portion sizes. Waitress was really good. Well done guys.

We have eaten here whilst owned by previous owner so were concerned by negative feedback over the last year. However, we had a lovely meal, I had ham,egg and chips with piccalilli and my wife had chicken tikka masala. Both meals arrived quickly, hot and delicious. The service was great as was the beer. Hopefully with a new chef in place this pub will now delight all future customers. We wish them good luck

Even though it was quite empty we waited at the door to be seated, waited at our table for server, waited to order beer, waited to order food, waited for water, waited for food, found out they didn't have what we ordered, waited for menu, waited to order, waited for different food ... Then waited for cheque... Food was OK, but will find another eatery for next meal.

The food was outstanding the waitress was very cheerful even though she was under pressure not once did she not lose her smile met the chef again always a smile this is my go to place for good food and nice people nice one.

Absolutely appalling service - after a one hour wait our food was overcooked and inedible. The "pulled pork" consisted of 2 large pieces of gristle. On complaining our main course was free - considering it was inedible hardly surprising! The main waiter (manager?) was dressed in a filthy shirt and seemed totally disinterested in engaging with us although other staff were more attentive despite it obviously being their break period. I would only recommend a visit if you are a food masochist!

Went to the Half Moon on Monday 1st July, with friends, the place was not overly busy being a Monday. However after ordering our meals we waited around one hour , when they finally turned up , items were missing , green beans , eggs etc, the chap behind the bar was very accommodating, however couldn’t resolve the issues. The food was just ok , nothing brilliant , desserts were ok but only one small piece of meringue on Elton mess, Overall very disappointing experience, I wonder how they cope at peak times.

Unfortunately both my starter and main were very bland and overdone

Had a very fine Sunday Lunch at the Half Moon today. It was really busy and despite this the waiting staff were attentive and lovely. We had a carvery lunch. I went for the beef, which was pink in the middle, just how I like it. The roast potatoes and Yorkshire pud were really sublime. Best of all though was the pudding. We both had the passion fruit and lime crunch tart with mango ice-cream. This was exceptionally light and zesty!! I will make it a regular thing. Couldn't beat it.

Long wait for food, food was good but we didn't get everything that should have been on the meal.

Only stopped for a coffee here, but the ambience was great and the staff very welcoming. The pub itself looked amazing.

The service was good, the 2 young waiting staff were very attentive. The food was basic and tepid. Limited vegetarian options. The dessert were uninteresting and on arrival small and unimpressive, definitely not value for money.

Absolutely shocking. Unbelievably poor service. We were the only people in the place and it took 20 minutes for our plates to be cleared after we had finished eating and only then because I was waving my arms to get the staffs attention. Would rather go hungry than return here.

The half moon hosted the wake for our family member's funeral and they did a really brilliant job. They had set out a large area for the pub for us and had all of the food ready for our arrival. The food was delicious and catered to everyone perfectly. We also attended in the evening for a meal with 10 people and again the food was really great and the two young female waitresses were brilliant.

Stopped for lunch, will definitely not be going back. There were not many eating, waiter was ok, polite and didn’t wait long to get served however the food wasn’t, my husband ordered the fish and chips with mushy peas and I had the king prawn linguine. The fact that there was so much pea shoots on top of the linguine you couldn’t see the pasta and it was old and wilted really didn’t bode well. It was just warm and had 4 flavour less prawns for £16.25, then the fish, chips and mushy peas was inedible they had been cooked in old oil for far to long and as for the peas or should I say pea, the container they served it in was like a MacDonalds sauce pot oh what they called tomato sauce was pale red jelly tasting of vinegar all this for £15.95. After complaining to the waiter that the fish and chip’s really was inedible they did take it off the bill, but all in all a place we will definitely not be returning to.

Book for 5pm on Saturday, for 3 adults and 3 kids. Took 45mins or more for food to come out, even when it did no cutlery or sauces which after waiting for longer we just found ourselves. Food was average at best, the Halloumi, Grapefruit and Walnut salad was absent grapefruit. Even after chasing food staff were absent. No apology for delay in food. Kid meals supposed to come with ice cream which we didn’t receive - after finally eating 1hr and 10 mins with 3 small children and only just receiving mains, we needed to leave anyway. The pub advertises itself as family friendly but our experience was far from it. I live locally and had taken visiting friends as though would make a pre - bath time easier than cooking etc. a total disaster and would never return, especially as food very expensive for what it is. Many better alternatives locally. We did have however receive the bill from a waiter who was very sweet with the kids, he was stand out. Other than this service appalling.

Only stopped for coffee. Clearly a family pub but enjoyed it

Food was good but portions were small for the the price which I suppose should expect nowadays. New dessert menu with 4 choices? Eton mess tasted OK but was not a mess. I saw the burgers coming out thought I should have had that. Service however very speedy and attentive.

Visited on our way to Doerset. Husband had fish and chips, batter was burnt and really crunchy, chips were dark like cooked in old oil. My ploughmans arrived minus the apple and pickles. Waitress forgot side order of chips. No discount offered for poor quality of food. Atmosphere was dead. Could be a lovely establishment

Seemed to run out of lots of the menu choices and definitely not enough staff. My plate was pretty cool when it arrived at my table too.

Really lovely pub, the food was amazing and the staff really friendly. The beer garden is a bonus!

I was on myb at back from Durdle Door when I visited the restaurant with my family and relatives who were visiting from India. Our relatives had good exposure to English restaurant and we all liked the ambience. The quality of the food is also great. We ordered vegan/ vegetarian food and there were definitely few options available. Staff was extremly polite. There is ample parking place. Even inside the area is large to accommodate many guests at a time My only complains are 1)It took too long to serve food, 2)the quantity of food served on the plates is definitely small especially when you charge £14- £15 per dish. Even London has many more places equivalent to this restaurant providing similar ambience and quality food but with certainty with larger portions for the similar amount one pays 3)cleanliness was not up to the mark especially in the toilets, it had leaky plumbing system so stinking of urine. Hope the owners take care of my comments as positive criticism and look a them as area of improvements 4) the child food we ordered included juice and ice cream and we had to remind the staff to serve it 5) I tried ordering more food as I found portions smaller but I was told the kitchen was closed. On enquiring with the manager we were told we should have been served as we were sittted before 06 pm However I am sure the staff will look at the reviewes seriously and my next visit will be more pleasant. I do want to go there again

Very tasty lunch with fresh vegetables. Seemed understaffed but that could be down to it being a bank holiday. Our server earned bonus points by saying hello to our dog first.

Went for dinner with 3 children and 3 adults. Children's was disgusting. Burgers were burnt and my grandchildren struggled to eat it. One grandson had tomato pasta from kiddies menu, was spaghetti with tinned tomato mixed in, he is a good eater but couldn't eat it. I and my daughter both ordered burgers which were charcoal and inedible. My sister ordered belly pork with mash and the mash was packet potato with lumps of dry bits in it. Will defo not be returning. We live in Shaftesbury so very very disappointing. A year ago this place was an amazing place to eat but now........ No thanks

Eleven pounds and 30p for 2 pints... bloody rip off... for any 1 get price for drinks 1st..

Absolutely excellent. After a terrible experience in a pub down the road, we decamped to The Half Moon. We were warmly welcomed, made to do feel so comfortable, accommodated and really special. The food was excellent, our requirements accommodated and we were ever so grateful. Faultless.

Good food and service and reasonable prices.

We are in the process of moving to Shaftesbury, so thought we would check out what would be our new local After reading some recent reviews, we had our concerns. The 1 star reviews couldn't be further from the truth. The staff were lovely (having a laugh with our 3 year old daughter), food was great (and reasonably priced), arrived quickly and the guiness was great Most of us had the carvery and it was spot on. Looking forward to visiting again soon

We went on the recommendation of a friend and, to be honest, the food was quite disappointing. The mussels as a starter were brutal, but both the burger and the chicken were quite dry. Good pub to have a beer.

Waited 1 3/4 hours for food to come out was not worth the wait saw 3 lots of food go back to kitchen. Whilst waiting for ours. Not enough serving staff. Took disabled grandson definitely not going back.

By far the worst food I've ever eaten in a pub. Had the fish and chips, totally awful. Tartar sauce was cheap mayonnaise with whole tasteless capers in it.

Visiting family nearby and this was the local pub.Went there for lunch.Plenty of parking space.Didnt book but there were plenty of seats.Had a nice varied lunch,I had a Burger,and one of my party had a steak.Food was good although we had to wait a while for service and the Bill.Still we were not in a hurry.Only one moan.I wish they would use plates instead of slate things.If you leave anything it leaves a mess.

Service bit slow,onion rings to big to much batter

The food was good ,the service was very poor , the tolilet was disgusting.

My boyfriend and I came here months ago when it was taken over by new management and was thoroughly disappointed by the service of who we assume is the manager himself. I asked him a question about a dietary requirement, he said he would go and check with the chef, we were sat right next to the kitchen so saw him go in, only to see him come back out, walk past us and then never saw him again! So had to ask a waitress who was a lot more helpful! That being said we decided to wait a long time to go back incase it was just because he was new to it all and forgetful.. So today we turn up, wait to be seated and although we can clearly see multiple clean and set tables, the same man very grumpily takes us to a dirty table with absolutely filthy menus that I didn’t want to touch and told us he will set the table in a minute (he never did, not even after he bought us our food). I ordered the moving mountains burger and after what seemed like hours I received a flavourless, mushy lentil burger with cold chips and the worst coleslaw I’ve ever had. I overheard a waitress telling the man about half an hour before I received my meal that they had ran out of vegan burgers.. Nobody came to check with me that I was ok with the replacement, and I really wish they had as I cannot stand those types of burgers and would rather have not eaten at all. Nobody came to ask us if everything was ok, and for the first time in my 32 years of life having never ever had the courage to complain about food, I was so disappointed with the whole experience that I had mustered up the courage to say something, but like I said nobody came to check on us and whenever anyone walked by it was like they purposely looked the other way! During our meal we heard 3 other people complain about their food and ask for replacements, and they had to go and find someone to complain to as nobody was checking on them either! We won’t be back as we’ve wasted enough money on this place already!

Really delicious food, friendly and welcoming staff- really nice tradition pub

Lovely pub have stopped in a few times , just love the pink phone box

I don’t like leaving a bad review but this place is awful, just awful. The worst experience that I have had in a pub round Shaftesbury in the last twenty years. Food dreadful and very slow to appear. Service of the 'look in the opposite direction quickly if you think the customer wants something' variety. The website suggests that the place is under new management. Sorry guys, but you have a serious problem.

A handy spot to meet up with family, as we've done many times. Something has gone very wrong since our last visit. We wanted a quick bite to eat, so only ordered starters. They took an hour to arrive! Not impressed guys. On the plus side, the staff were great (but given too much to do). Hope things get sorted out soon...

Waited 45 mins for a beef burger and chicken burger on a Thursday lunchtime. Service really appalling. Burger was a standard frozen burger and tasteless, chicken burger was fried until it was black and tasted horrible. Bun was days old stale, and crumbled the second you picked it up. Very disappointing.

Dreadful and I won't be going back. Two of us went for lunch on Friday 19th Jan and arrived when only one other table was occupied. The garlic bread took about 15 minutes to arrive. We then waited another 35 minutes for our main courses before asking the manager if our order had been forgotten. He just asked the waitress who was run off her feet trying to take orders, serve good and make drinks at the bar. She brought the food immediately so it had obviously been waiting in the kitchen. The fish and chips arrived (yuk), the peas were cold, the chips greasy and the fish was obviously frozen and uncooked in the middle. Everything was tasteless too, in fact it was so bad that we sent it back. We declined the offer to make it again and asked for the bill. They had removed the fish and chips so we paid for our garlic bread and drinks, handed the waitress a nice tip and left.

Excellent service today, tasty food, Great service for our table of eight. Fairly priced. Thankyou so much. Lorraine and Kevin

This place is great for a casual night out we where there for a casual meal thoroughly enjoyed it great service great food can't recommend it enough

Fantastic atmosphere, lovely food bar staff amazing cheesecake even better whoop whoop!!!!! Love you all Great music

This is a lovely country style pub with beams & an open fire. We booked for 5pm & had really delicious main meals served promptly. Sadly we were then kept waiting for half an hour to order desserts, after catching a waitress as she walked by. It spoiled our visit really, as we had 2 small kids with us who were getting tired! Paying the bill also proved to take ages & again required asking for attention. So- superb food, would recommend. Perhaps staff shortages caused poor service but it was a real shame. We will be going again though, as they advertise a Sunday carvery which would be good to try!

Ok for a pint on way home from work

Just visiting Shaftesbury and were lucky enough to find this fabulous old fashioned excellent pub. Fabulous food and service at great prices. Great selection for vegetarian too. Second night eating here and will be back tomorrow night too.

Great food and very friendly staff. Made us feel very welcome. We will definitely be going back whist down this way.

Long waits for food, we were there a total of 4 hours for 3 courses. Staff were friendly but not very attentive, they didn't ask whether we liked our food. Empty glasses were never removed from the table during the 4hrs . - Mini bread loafs that came with starters were either soggy or frozen. - Camembert was delicious and good portion size. - Soup was a miniscule portion - Mussels was yummy with a tasy white wine sauce - Roast dinner carvery good, meat and veg very well cooked. - Rump steak cooked to how liked, very good chips (chunky, fluffy inside and crispy outside). Onion rings too much batter and only slither of onion for my taste. - Pork belly and all trimmings were all very well cooked and flaversome, disappointing portion size and not value for money at almost £18. ‐ Strawberry cheesecake is actually a raspberry cheesecake, but it's very nice if you like raspberry. - ice cream good - Chocolate brownie had no taste and really quite dry. I think Sunday customers should only visit for carvery if they want speedy service and all happy faces around their table.

Me and my fiancée had one drink at this pub and are appalled by the experience we had. We do not mind employees having a drink at their work place whilst off shift but the head chef was clearly intoxicated (basically shouting to the person standing next to him, their trousers falling down and generally being rowdy) when it was just past 8pm. The head chef was fondling himself at the bar and bullying his coworkers. He was also making racist, homophobic and sexist jokes with other coworkers at the bar. Definitely inappropriate while there were still families enjoying their meal. Won’t be coming back.

Food was amazing. Great service. Responsible prices.

Lovely last minute Christmas dinner for family. Very well presented. Brilliant food. Nice to see the head chef come out and serve our food. Great atmosphere. Highly recommended.

The Half Moon, Shaftesbury . Thank you Rod for finding a table for my son , my brother and myself on a very busy afternoon . Much appreciated . I had sausage and mash , with peas and gravy , all I can say is wow !!!! Lovely meal and so nice and hot , brilliant , my son had the farmhouse burger , he has a good appertite and he could not quite finish his meal , also a couple of drinks rounded off a great afternoon . Thanks to yourself and staff , obviously a great thank you to the chef . Once again many many thanks .

First time for a carvery here today although we have been for evening dinner before. It was the best carvery we have had! Everything is cooked fresh on site and every element was beautifully flavoured. The meat was a real joint of outstanding quality and cooked to perfection. You can refill your plate as often as you like! I highly recommend this friendly, cosy pub and its fabulous food! Booking recommended as it’s extremely popular for Sunday lunch which gives it a lovely atmosphere too! We are heading back there for Christmas Day lunch and we can’t wait!!!

Took 40 mins to get orders taken then a further 40 mins to get our food. One of the burgers came out burnt and then the replacement came out with about 2 breadcrumbs on it. Nobody asked how the food was and then no one came over to ask us if we wanted the bill or deserts.

Service was very poor, after our drinks the waitress didn’t return for our food order and once we did order our food it took a surprisingly long time to come considering it was quite empty, when our food came the chicken burger was burnt and it resembled a piece of charcoal(wish I took a picture of this). when I made the waiter aware he didn’t seem too phased at all, when the new burger arrived this time it had little to no breadcrumbs at all. At this point I’d given up. Don’t eat here unless you hate the person your going with

I just want to thank you all so much . You hosted our Shaftesbury Ambulance station Christmas party . Our Christmas dinner was just so good ! I can honestly can say it’s been the best Christmas dinner in many years food . The chef coming to the table during our meal was such a great touch . The staff were so friendly and attentive . Thank you again . We would highly recommend this lovely pub xx

Had a great meal here . Staff great , would highly recommend.

Went for Christmas bash with volunteers from local charity shop. The drinks at the bar are outrageously expensive. The food was appallingly bad. Lovely staff and nice atmosphere. What a shame.

Six of us recieved a very warm welcome when visiting for Sunday lunch. Our waiter Tim and the other waiting/bar staff provided an excellent & friendly service & the carvery was first class. We will be back.

Very nice Sunday Carvery, enjoyed by all the party.

Shocking Christmas party. Paid for cocktails to be told no ingredients, refund given, 50 minutes for our first drink to come 2 hours for food, have to go to bar for drinks won’t bring them to your table, starters breaded cheese without the cheese in two, roast potatoes hard and carrots, gravy served in a beer glass, cauliflower cheese mixed with gone off broccoli, stuffing pink, slow service awful.

Lovely pub with friendly staff and food is very good.

We were a group of 15 and we had a great time here for our Christmas get together. We ate from the Christmas menu and the food was really good. They made up feel very festive with the table decorations and even gave us an expected magic show after dessert. So nice to see this pub back to being a venue of choice in Shaftesbury.

The Half Moon has a warm and cosy atmosphere. The manager is really friendly and our waiter, Tim, was happy, attentive and helpful, and made our visit even more enjoyable. We will definitely visit again.

Brilliant food was fab staff was really friendly would recommend it fantastic the manger was really nice to . Will go back again soon

We were in Shaftesbury for a few nights and called in at the Half Moon for a meal. We received a very warm welcome, excellent service and very tasty food...and drinks! Can throughly recommend the Sticky Toffee Pudding. The best I've ever tasted in my...

We were just passing by and thought we would give it a try. So glad we did, muscle’s starter was exceptional. Staff are helpful and polite Would highly recommend

Arrived early as we didn't know what time they started food , they told us food would be available to order in 1 hour . But then the guy in reception said they would open the kitchen straight away . Curry and chips was superb and the gammon very good service.

Arrived late afternoon was told kichen would open in 1 hour but They opened the kitchen early curry was superb, very friendly . Would recommend

Great Sunday roast, attentive staff, nice atmosphere. Highly recommended.

Stinky toilets. Cold food. Dated decor. Hall and Wood House need to modernise this place, very dated menu and microwaved to order. If you are passing I wouldn't stop by in it's current form. Staff were friendly though.

Staff work hard but food was not good veg under cooked and roast potatoes too, has been better it’s a shame as staff work hard new chef needed

Went for dinner at this pub , and heard other patrons complaining of frozen food being served ! our food was at the other end of the scale..was so hot it burnt my partners mouth..the brownie dessert was cold and tasteless..

Service was good. And meal was very nice.

As 3 of the 5 pubs were closed for various reasons I thought I’d pop in for a quick pint. No one behind bar and waited 8 minutes to be served, prices what you’d expect. Absolutely NO atmosphere it’s the most soulless pub I’ve ever been in, there are speakers but not even generic lift music playing. I guess it’s position is the only reason it has customers there’s nothing to tempt me back

Great food and lovely staff. Prices were reasonable and it wasn't busy when we arrived at 12 but soon got busier. Didn't have to wait too long for our food either. Nice place v

really good "proper" food, good value for money, on our visit they did seem a bit short staffed, but that can't be helped and the team there handled it superbly. bager ales on tap, good ale served.

Was sat at a table, was told someone would be over in 2 minutes for a drinks order. 15 minutes later, no one to be seen so I ordered at the bar myself. Waited 15 minutes for starters that were cold and served in dog...

Came here recently for a couple of drinks and some food. The drinks choice on offer was good, and all was going well until we ordered some prosecco, which was completely flat and the taste was that of a bottle which had been open for...

Lovely food, good menu selection,nice pub too, prices are average. Had the carvery was lush. But the service was shockingly slow, 35 mins for drinks and a menu. And just took ages before other food came out. Shame really

A charming looking pub inside & out. BUT… The service was almost non existent, the food was terrible, the chairs were uncomfortable, and the prices were ludicrous. Left feeling hungry & disappointed.

Had breakfast at the full moon. Chef was accommodating and a master at his trade. Lovely guy and pub. Would definitely recommend.

Nice pub, garden could use some love, Dog friendly, Child friendly. IPA was very smooth

Food amazing ! service was really poor. We should have known to leave when it was empty on a Saturday, midday with really nice sunny weather! Left feeling a bit disappointed /regretting going there Customer tips: Don’t bother booking a table , they are all free Bring a book to read while you are waiting to get served There’s a KFC a few minutes drive away Management tips: Clean your tables, so many tables had food, drinks ect from the last visits Hire more staff so one body isn’t tending the bar, cleaning, taking table orders, receptionist greeting at the door, serving food and god knows what else! Update your menu so everytime we ask for something we don’t have to be told you don’t do that anymore or have ran out/discontinued things Use the empty black boards to actually advertise on , people do actually look at them Cut the grass, it’s overgrown and looks unkept

Good old fashioned pub and excellent food and service.

Spur of the moment booking for somewhere new. Enjoyed the food though unnecessary over spicing of the gravy. Dog friendly and large dining area so easily found a quieter spot. Will definitely visit again.

Great atmosphere super friendly staff, great food

Unfortunately went on a quiet night, I only wanted something quick and easy so I only ordered sausage and mash.. it was okay can't fault what I ate

Friendly staff that go above and beyond, we felt like regulars by the end of our two day stay in Shaftesbury. Lovely welcoming atmosphere with great service and delicious food. Reasonably priced too.

Generous portion of tasty prawns served with crusty gluten free bread and side of hand cut chips provided an extra gluten free option in addition to the two gluten free main courses available from the regular menu. Pleased to notice the thoughtful provision of female hygiene products freely available in the “ladies”.