The Hightown Pub & Kitchen in Sefton

Sorry but this place seems to be going from bad to worse. I went in last November with a group of ten of us and the food was dire. I was told by another hightown resident that most of the food is now bought in from brake brothers and heated up but thought I would check it out for myself. In the past I have had all day breakfasts, fish and chips and beautiful curries but now the menu seems to of slimmed down drastically. Back in November I had fish and chips as did three others but all of of fish and chips came out either burnt or the oil needed changing as the batter and the chips were dark brown and pouring with oil. This time I go in again with a few friends and I went for the soup to start and it wasn't what it says on the menu but thats OK. It came with these two tiny bread rolls that were like raw dough or rubber. I could hardly cut them open as they were like tough rubber. They didn't come with butter so I asked for some. The soup was poor and the rolls virtually inedible. One of my friends had cauliflower with buffalo sauce but these fried cauliflower came out luke warm and pretty dire with buffalo sauce only covering one third of the cauliflower. I then seen some of the fish chips and minted peas coming out and it looked burnt so I ended up going for the club sandwich with fries. I was asked if I wanted fries or chips and said fries. My club sandwich wasn't that bad but it came with these huge steak chips that were dark brown and pouring with oil and very soggy. So no fries and soggy chips either burnt or cooked too low temperature in oil that needs changing. One of my friends had the chicken Thai curry or something of that description. His meal came out were the chicken pieces in batter looked like they were just heated up in the microwave having just been defrosted and covered in freezer burn. They were almost cold as tough as leather and looked anaemic they came with a little tiny jug of curry sauce and my friend assured me it was absolutely dire. Needless to say we won't be eating here again unless we hear good food reviews in the future but I suspect that maybe in a few years time if it happens. I might call in for an odd drink as the barstaff were excellent checking to glasses were spotless before pouring and very happy to help. But not food. I'd be better getting a gorgeous sandwich or pie at the newsagents over the road which really are excellent SADLY THE HIGHTOWN PUB & KITCHEN CLOSED ITS DOORS FOR GOOD ON FRIDAY 8TH MARCH AT 7PM. IM NOT REALLY SURPRISED AFTER THE POOR QUALITY FOOD THATS BEEN COMING OUT LATELY. WHEN THIS PLACE FIRST OPENED AFTER NEW OWNERS AND A £600,000 REFURB IT WAS FANTASTIC. SADLY THE MENU SLIMMED DOWN AND A LOT OF THE FOOD WAS BOUGHT IN PRECOOKED IN VACCUM BAGS AND REHEATED IN MICROWAVES OR THE FRYER. MY LAST VISIT WAS ABSOLUTELY DIRE. IVE HEARD OF WOMENS GROUPS BOOKING A TABLE FOR LUNCH IN ADVANCE FOR 9 POEOPLE AND 15 MINUTES AFTER ORDERING A SERVER COMES BACK SAYING THEY ONLY HAVE ONE PORTION OF SOUP LEFT AND 5 HAD ORDERED IT. THEN THEY SAID THEY COULDNT DO THE THREE OMELETTES AS THEY HAD NO EGGS WHEN THERE IS A SHOP OVER THE ROAD. FINALLY THE FISH AND CHIPS COME OUT AND THE PREPACKED CHIPS WHICH ARE LIKE DOOR WEDGES CAME OUT DARK BROWN AND ALMOST RAW IN THE MIDDLE. Hopefully the brewery will find someone new to take over and get fresh food back on the go and hopefully people will give this place another go so to overcome its recently poor reputation

Was on a walk from Waterloo to Formby and this was a good stop off point for lunch. Didn't really have a lot of choice as there are no other pubs for miles. I first came here about 15 years ago when it was more like a community centre. The meals then were an unbelievable £1.01 each. It's changed drastically, you wouldn't recognise it and they've done a beautiful job on the gardens. Glad we did stop here as it was a really good lunch. Had the Hightown sandwich and chips. The chips are exceptional. Their prices are very reasonable.

My friends like it but I find it rather soul-less

We stumbled across the pub when we were out for a drive looking for somewhere to have lunch. We were so pleased we ended up here. The food is excellent and home cooked, the ribs were spot on and the fish and chips easily the best we have had for ages. Will certainly be driving back to Hightown (or on the train as the stations next door) for their Sunday lunch menu.

Stopped for a pint. Decent gaff. Had a great chat with a chap called Professor Bobby Lamb. Look him up. Decent guy.

Only had drinks but lovely cosy atmosphere.

A gorgeous building and cosy inside. The evening we went, they were out of so many draught beers though. Not just one or two but several. Would definitely go back and give it another go though, and the food prices on the menu look reasonable

We had a meal here for my dad's 70th birthday and we were very impressed with the restaurant. The food exceeded expectations - a few of us are gluten free and so we had fish and chips and the steak, both were really good. I have to make a special comment on the chips, I'd go back just for them! The staff were friendly and helpful, location wise is perfect because its next to the station - overall really happy!

Very friendly staff, with a fantastic range of events, from music to quiz nights, plus fun days etc, throughout the year. The venue also offers a good range of activities, from dog friendly to child friendly throughout the year. Well worth a visit.

Had a small function here. The arrangements were excellent. The quality of the food and service were also excellent. Great staff. Lovey building. Thank you.

Excellent food at an excellent price. Drinks equally good, nice and warm too!

Great 3 course Christmas meal, one of the best I've had at Christmas for sure. Geat value too. We'll done. 8th Dec 2023.

Nice food, but ruined by rude waitress rolling her eyes when we asked any questions and bringing the card reader over as soon as we had finished eating waiting for payment without even been asked for bill

A lovely (and busy) pub stop for a bite to eat. Doggy friendly in the snug too. Table service was nice, we were given menus but not told that no pizza was available until we tried to order. Lots of other choices though, fish and chips, soup and sarnie, burgers and club sandwiches. A good sized portion and tasty too.

A warm welcome and an enjoyable lunch.

Good food, service and location

Pleasant and cosy, maybe a little too expensive but if you're going to spend it, The Hightown is the perfect place to do it.

It's such a shame that a place like this churns out poor food, it is clear profits mean more than serving good food when there should be a balance. Cheap ingredients makes for poor food. Frozen burgers with flame grill flavouring on yet charge fresh homemade burger prices. Bland lasagne, they cant even get pizzas right, even my daughter couldn't stomach it Staff where great though, thoroughly disappointed with the lack of quality in the food. Such a shame, came away gutted paying for that.

It's a nice pub good food and drink it is not residential it has friendly staff and a nice outside area

A group of us stopped here after a hike for some refreshments. The menu seemed interesting, so we stayed for an early dinner (it was only 5pm on a Friday). I ordered the fish & chips. I have to say that the food was excellent. And even though they'd run out of some dishes, my friends all managed to get something they liked. Although I initially thought the service was slow, in retrospect, it probably wasn't as they had 9 meals to prepare. The portions were generous and delicious. The prices were very reasonable too. Lovely!

Visited here with my wife and grandson for our tea. Waitresses and waiter were very friendly and efficient. Food was delicious, atmosphere was really good and chilled. Would definitely recommend a visit 👍👍👍

Popped in after a walk and had a couple of drinks. We sat in the beer garden, which was lovely.

The staff were very friendly and helpful. The food was delicious 😋

Always lovely service and the food is fabulous x

We recently attended our sons wedding reception here and I would like to thank Megan and the team for going above and beyond with hospitality and service. The food was fantastic and the food service was very well organised. We were welcomed a couple of weeks before the the event for a food tasting evening and met with the chef to discuss options and dietary needs. The attention to detail was amazing and the seating area and garden looked beautiful. Thank you so much for making the day so special.

First time eating here. Great menu...gorgeous chips! Very dog friendly 👍 Definitely be visiting again soon.

The Keep walking group really enjoyed having a meal and drink here. Staff were very friendly, welcoming and attentive. We will defo be returning. Thank you

Had a lovely roast dinner, staff were very welcoming.

Lovely pub. Really nice and professional staff. They had gluten free options and they took it seriously! Some of the dishes were not available that day but the gluten-free pasta and halloumi I had was delicious!

Just had drinks in this pub this evening charged 2 different prices for same drinks. Queried with manager stated must of been under charged then came over with price menu aggressively then came back and took our drinks away and threw my money on the table. Appalling customer service when all I did was ask why I had been charged different price for same drinks.

Nice pub, shame about the neglected beer garden

Thank you Tracy for your fantastic smiley service, we had a lovely time

Great food plenty of choice. We'll close to a railway station

Tracy was fab. Food was amazing, we’ll be back :)

Brilliant evening celebrating a birthday dinner for a large party. Waitress was so attentive and friendly and made sure we were all taken care of on a busy summer’s night. Food fab. Portions great. Anyone considering a night out in formby or Crosby should consider Hightown. Fantastic night. Will be back.

We booked a table for 2 people at 7pm. We entered to not be acknowledged by any staff, I let a bar staff know we had a booking for two at 7pm. Staff were not friendly and immediately told us you need to hurry and order food as the kitchen is closing in 5 minutes. Why offer bookings for dinner when stated on the website food is served until 8pm when you’re shutting the kitchen and hour early. They didn’t even acknowledge our booking or sit us at a table. I tried to be helpful and order our food straight away to then be rudely told well you need to have a table before doing that. Considering we had a booking I would assume staff would show us to a table upon arrival. We found a table by ourselves, made a decision and my friend went up to the bar to order our food. A member of staff came over to me and said you need to hurry up and order your food like we told you when we came in although my friend was already ordering. The whole experience was very unwelcoming, we both felt like an inconvenience to all the staff. When the food arrived, servers just dumped the plates down like they couldn’t wait to leave. It was average at best. Overall we were very disappointed in our visit and won’t be returning. Don’t commit to bookings if you can’t fulfil them.

Such a lovely location in the heart of Hightown, we had a lovely catch over a delicious sandwich. Can't wait to go back.

Went there as part of a large party. The service was unbelievably poor. The staff were extremely rude, yelling at us for not remembering what we had ordered, messing up our orders, unwilling to be accommodating and in a rush to get us served. Anything we asked for was met with a curt response. To top it all off, the food was disgusting especially the burgers, and pizzas. Post our meal we ordered some drinks at the bar and AGAIN we were met with substandard service, rude behaviour and overall gross customer service. Our drinks were spilling down the glasses but the staff was not bothered to even rectify this. Extremely disappointing experience. Every single person within our party voiced a similar opinion and we will NOT be coming back again. If your staff is incapable of dealing with a large party, maybe utilize someone more experienced but do not make your guests uncomfortable because of your staff’s incompetence.

Wonderful Sunday Roasts served here - my first visit and would highly recommend this venue.

Nice place. Good food. Will be going back soon.

Nice pub...service was a bit slow. Barmaid wasn't the best...she glared at us because we changed our mind on what we wanted to drink. ...but overall...we had a couple of starters each and the food was really good.

Meals were cold and under cooked food but we got a discount on drinks staff was very helpful but chef can't cook

This place has had a lot of money spent on it & is now very much worth a visit. The large beer garden has also had a major revamp is is impressive.

Lovely food, lovely staff. Quite a few menu items not available sadly, but great place for some pub grub after a walk in the sun

Met a friend for tea. We both ordered fish and chips. They were good enough to change my peas for none-minted, which was as good as it got. The fish, although a decent size, had the thickest stodgiest batter I have ever encountered and was inedible. The chips, although cooked through had a warmed up taste to them. When I complained, the waiter offered to see if he could 'get the batter crisped up a bit'. We declined when really we should have sent the lot back. A lacklustre apology from the waiter. Not much choice of desert with 2 of the 6 choices not available. Won't be back in a hurry.

Nice place for a drink and some food. Massive beer garden and next door to the train station.

Best fish and chips around. Fast friendly service from Tracy. We’ll be back soon

Staff are brilliant, very attentive, warm welcome, food good.

Excellent food. Fabulous steak and beautifully presented pan fried sea bass. Good prices and lovely location.

We went for food and drink and ordered a drink then asked if we could eat. We were told they could tell us the answer in 4 minutes. We never heard anymore and finished drink and left. This is the 6th time we have been 5 out of the 6 have been nightmares. Come on guys you have an obligation to make that work it's like Fawlty Towers. One time we waited an hour for a main course and we're told by a waitress that she couldn't ask where our food was because the chef would shout at her.

Tracey was a great server on our visit on the 7th April despite my dog barking when she came to take out order. Good food and beers 🍻

We came for a celebratory lunch/dinner. Impeccable table service and the food was just as. We had a great time. Served by Chloe. Thank you.

Helpful and friendly staff, we had a couple of Gourmet Burgers and were just amazing.

Nice building and decor, but poor service and poor selection and quality of food. Investment in staff and menu would make this a goldmine!

10/10 customer service from Tracy 10/10 food

Visited today with my brother in law and had salt and pepper fish and chips. Fantastic meal best I've had in a pub for a long timeWill be returning again soon

A very large hotel with pub and kitchen, right next to the railway station. Walked in early Sunday lunchtime, every table was reserved ! Fish and chips lunch was absolutely lovely, but chef, don't put the large lemon in our tarrah sauce please ! And don't think your lemon roulade will be the same size on your plate as in the menu. Lovely beers and plenty of nice staff, but didn't think we received a warm welcome. Back room was dark and would benefit from small flowers on table to brighten it up.

Just popped in for a few beers. Friendly staff & good service, recommended.

I went 3 times in the space of a week. Food was great staff were friendly and beer choices fine too. But the following 2 visits the cask beer wasn't on. Hope it's just a temporary blip, I'll try again very soon though.

Amazing place. Polite people. Very welcoming. Really fast service

Such a lovely place to visit. The food is amazing, the staff are very friendly. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.

Very good, better than it use to be. Food hot, that's the main thing.

Schöne Location und sehr guter Service

Met up with 3 friends for lunch, great location as we were all able to get the train, 3 from Liverpool end and 1 from Southport and the venue is right by Hightown Station. We got a lovely welcome and were given a table by the very welcoming open fire. Food was great, 3 of us opted for fish and chips and 1 for the Katsu curry. Dessert was delicious and the house wine was appreciated by us all. I would definitely recommend The Hightown.

Booked yesterday looking forward to 2 course roast on arrival told only Gammon or Chicken, neither what I eat. Husband got curry, which he said was ok. I got Lasagne it was burnt dry but also greasy on the palet. Not nice at all, the staff were nice but I came to eat not make friends, also I was told because we were booked at 5:30 that's why there was no other choice of meat on the roast and we were advised to call ahead and ask to save us choice of meat. Really. We were coming to see what it was like as we were looking at booking a table for 20 for my sons 40th. Well, needless to say, that ship has sailed. The Hightown also lacks atmosphere and cosiness. It was not a great experience.

Really great atmosphere staff fab, willing to keep the kitchen open longer if prior warning, food lovely clean tidy and plenty of room for large groups xx

Just visited the pub , we had the salt and pepper fish and chips and it was one of the nicest meals we have had in a long time . Nice pub friendly staff .

Lovely family friendly pub & kitchen. Food was delicious, I couldve eaten the Lasagne twice. Nice portion sizes for childrens and adult meals. Staff are great. Tracy was lovely and couldnt have done more for us, she was brill with the kids too.

Had my dad's wake here. Fabulous food , excellent service. Couldn't fault anything

Very hospitable, good food reasonable prices

Called there this afternoon. Staff attentive and polite. Well laid out and best of all. TOILETS WERE SPOTLESS.

Nice homily pub dogs are welcome which is a bonus

Garden is great but food can bit hit or miss. They now have live music some evenings which is very noisy, so make sure you check.

Love visiting this local pub, food is delicious and the staff are wonderful

Lovely home-made apple pie washed down with hot chocolate

Great pub....looked after us all so well !! Staff fantastic and so friendly.

It was temporarily back to its previous high standards but then a further visit proved otherwise. Waited over 1 hour for meal and it was dried up and tasteless.

I have never ate anywhere where you cannot see substitute mash for chips etc. I asked about 3 different dishes and apparently chef could not make any changes whatsoever. Unbelievable and therefore extremely poor service. I ended up ordering the lasagne but the pasta was so hard I could not eat it, it was also not hot enough so obviously had not been cooked properly. I informed the waitress but they didn’t do anything about it. Will not be returning.

Sunday lunch with the group singing, very good 👍

Good food and good service. Well worth a visit.

I visited on a Saturday with two friends, having walked up from Waterloo along the coast. We arrived at 12.30, ordered drinks, and by 12.40 had ordered food. One starter arrived in 20 mins, the other… we had to ask where it was. It was the same dish, no idea why they didn't just make two at the same time. At one point our table waiter asked if any of his colleagues had brought it out. No one knew what was happening. The dish arrived another 30 mins later. Our main course arrived 1hr 30m after we'd ordered. It wasn't even busy when we got there – maybe three or four couples – but seeing people who arrived 30 mins after us get their food before us really got our goat. Our table waiter was not attentive or on the front foot to advise us of any delays etc, we were up and down to them asking what was happening. Too many young members of staff with little to no hospitality experience combined with overly long serving times have soured this pub, and it is no longer a "walk to" destination for me anymore.

Excellent service and delicious food 😋

Only had coffee but it was really nice and could not have asked for better service.

Excellent choice of food, reasonably priced. Friendly staff and efficient service.

Food and staff are friendly and welcoming.

Dined here this lunchtime,2.11.22. Waited 40 minutes for our meal. I ordered an ommelette that was undercooked. The meal was not inedible just not as good as it should have been. If Ihad been asked how I enjoyed my meal would have raised these points, but was not asked!

Always a pleasure to dine here. Welcomed in even without booking. Staff very willing and respectful.

Decent range of beers on tap, big garden, friendly staff. TVs were a bit loud indoors but I suppose if you were watching football that's what you'd want. Didn't order food but everyone that was eating looked happy.

Tbh, the day we went, food was not brilliant, I was meant to have their succulent burger,, I got 2 thin patties on a bun, my wife's fish,, even tho cooked on the inside looked pure white batter on the out side,, 2 Sunday roasts very lacking in a mix of vegetables,, just a load of cauliflower banged on to fill the plate, disappointed as the previous visit the same burger was as it should be,, which is why I ordered it again,, will have to think before going again as it was 100% not the same 🤷‍♂️🤔

Very friendly and helpful staff, very clean it glowed. Toilets were very clean. Would deffinatly go back.

Been here at least 5 times always great food, took my folks tonight & disappointed my 12oz steak was warm, poured my peppercorn sauce to warm the steak up this was cold, received a replacement steak, not the size I ordered quite small….. Mums salmon meal was also poor the potatoes were hard & the greens came 2 minutes after the meal were soggy & cold. Poor.

1st timer and absolutely loved it. We will be returning. Tracy was amazing and her table service was impeccable. Food was amazing and all on menu was reasonably priced and a good choice too.....see you soon!!

Used to love this hightown pub, tried on 3x occasions, was let down, either by chef or staff , meals going astray, not that nice a meal. Buck up hightown we need a nice pub a reliable one food organised nice food , staff

Met up with friends for a get together. Really nice atmosphere, great service,friendly staff

Good choice and nice beers. Large outdoor area. Suitable for children. Dog friendly. Great stop off place for Hillside train station.

Terrible food, prices have gone up and the quality and portions have plummeted.

We've been waiting to try this place for a while so, were quite disappointed when they didn't have the wine we wanted, they didn't have the puddings we wanted either. What they did have was great service, from a local girl, good food - my Steak was perfect and their Chips were the best (although my Blue Cheese Sauce was very thin) and lovely atmosphere. We will be back and hopefully, their menu items will all be in stock.

Nice food, nice spacious and relaxed place to eat, prices are pretty reasonable. Great place to go for a quick bite to eat 👍 Also next to Hightown train station so handy if you want to leave the Car behind 😉

So much better than it used to be . Lovely pub now !

Lovely beer garden loads of areas to choose from, drink not to expensive and the starters we had were gorgeous