The Holly Bush at Salt in Stafford

Went for Sunday lunch 8 of us and excellent service. Food hot and tasty. Very friendly host and staff. New owners of four weeks and they are very welcome in the village of Salt

The holly bush has just been taken over by new owners so we thought we would take a look . Sadly that beautiful old pub still has all the wrong ambience for a lovely experience. It should be warm with a fire in and lovely warm colours on the walls but no. All contemporary and totally the wrong vibe for a five hundred year old pub. all tables for eating . Less tables please and somewhere to have a drink after all you do have a snug and restaurant to eat in. Visit the Fitzherbert so see how to do it right , that way you may get more than a few customers.

Had a delicious Sunday Lunch today (party of 6). Staff were lovely and attentive. Atmosphere was relaxed and tables had decent space between them. Highly recommend 👍

Very nice new owners, great menu options. Great to see the holly bush doing really well again. As local we will be back after.

Amazing atmosphere and great food and a wide selection of drinks, and the staff were fabulous. So nice to go to apuv and feel so welcome

Came for Sunday lunch. The food was good but the service was so slow. Lots of staff but no efficiency of service. When the desserts did not arrive after half an hour we paid up and left.

Went with family for Sunday lunch on father's day after good advertising on Facebook. Table booked for 5.30 and they state they serve up to 9.30 Complimentary starter with adult roast either mushrooms or soup. Two of our party ordered soup and staff returned to say they had no soup left. No alternative was offered. Those diners do not eat mushrooms so had to go without. Ordered Guinness zero they returned to say had none left.. Ordered alcohol free lager told only got one bottle left. Very disappointed with drink stock. Sunday roasts eventually arrived very slow service and roasts were cold. Two diners returned for exchange /heating up.... A side order of cauliflower cheese was ordered and we had to chase up twice. Finally came when the diner had about 1/5th of meal left. One diner had fish and chips and the fish was very dry and cold. Lots of the fish was left.. Noticed other diners had also done the same next to us. All in all a very disappointing experience.. Food tasted OK but service was very very slow and no stocks not acceptable.

Came for breakfast with my dad for Father’s Day. Waited a long time for service. Ordered the potato & spring onion pancakes which stated came with bacon & eggs. Came with bacon & hash browns so I queried. Got served a fried egg a little later. Pancakes served & looked awful with a rubbery texture & with no spring onion! No taste, extremely bland. Asked where the spring onion was. Server came back from kitchen & told me they’d ran out of spring onion! I asked why that hadn’t been relayed to me after I ordered it. They said they didn’t know until I queried it. Shocking. Not paid as I got something I didn’t order. Won’t be back.

Used to eat in the pub at least twice a month and would pop in for drinks regularly when walking the dogs as we live in the village. Food very disappointing and ended up hardly touching my main. Breaded mushrooms were our fav to start, tasted stale and could hardly cut into them. Suet pudding rock hard, veg- I do like ‘al dente’ but carrots/ long green beans raw. We expressed all of this to our server and we did get a discount, however still paid £38 and what we had wasn’t worth that. We would normally share a cheesecake as homemade but as most of our food wasn’t edible we skipped it. I really hope things improve as it’s a great shame things have gone down hill, not been right since Christmas!

We came in for breakfast this morning, all was lovely until the chef started shouting and swearing at the young waitress that was on. She was clearly upset and trying to work through it. This is very unprofessional for all to hear and made us feel very uncomfortable as we could hear all the shouting and swearing from the kitchen between the chefs that were in there.

What a shame. This used to be my favourite pub in the world. Cosy lovely pub with so much potential. Ordered two sandwiches and chips . Sandwiches came toasted which makes me think bread was stale. Thin shop bought bread with a slab of steak stuck in the middle, not even cut up. No salad or nice presentation. Chips were absolutely awful. Pretty much 80% of them were black as pictured. When I spoke to the manager and refused to pay she didn’t seem bothered. No requesting feedback, apology, asking how they can improve. Unless some major changes are afoot this will be another failed village pub which is such a shame. It doesn’t take much to get in fresh bread and serve a half decent sandwich.

Loved this little gem with the thatch roof And happy decor inside Must come back when the weather improves Staff and service excellent Hot tasty lunch Yummy cauliflower cheese And perfect rum Floater coffee to finish xx

Went for a meal booked at 3pm only a few people in but had to wait nearly one hour for our 3 meals to be served from time of ordering. On arrival chips were barely warm fish quite tasteless . Will not be visiting again!

We had a lovely meal last night. Steak & ale pie was excellent, thank you for the complimentary birthday cake which was a nice gesture.

I ordered beer battered fish and chips and my friend ordered Gammon and chips. My fish came, and the batter was almost un breakable clearly overcooked, but worse, when I did manage to chisel in and taste I found 2 Bones one of which stuck in between my teeth , and not my throat. My friends chips were actually old potatoes all of which had seen better days, and her mushrooms looked like they had been cooked, then allowed to go cold, then reheated as they looked very sorry for themselves. I expressed my concern to the manager lady as clearly on the menu it doesn’t indicate that eating that fish may be a health hazard especially for a child or person of more mature years than myself. She wasn’t overly concerned she said the chef buys in the fish and obviously there may be a stray bone. I tried to explain it should state that on the menu as it wasnt expected nor welcomed as I wouldn’t have ordered it had I known of the likelihood of a stray Bone or 2. . I also asked what kind of chef would allow those chip/potatoes to garnish my friend’s plate of food, she said well they wash and peel and almost that’s how it is. I said but this chef would have spotted the state of them and I dont think I would have presented them to my dog. I picked up a mushroom from my friends dejected plate of food, and said what happened to these as they are evidently well past their eating state.. She appeared nonchalant and thought refunding me the cost of my meal would resolve the problem, so offered a refund for the fish chips only. ‘The chef’, . and I say that very loosely needs sacking as he clearly has passed his sell by date. I could hear all the laughter coming from the kitchen, I won’t be returning, and my prediction is many will follow if this is their accepted standard. Photos to prove I’m not just moaning for the sake of it, you have been warned.

My partner and I love this fabulous pub. We’ve been dining here for years as we like the cosy atmosphere and tasty food. This week we felt like a mid-week meal out so we paid a visit to the Holly Bush. We couldn’t fault the food and our waitress was very attentive. We absolutely love their sticky toffee pudding! Will definitely be returning soon.

Never fails to impress. Another superb meal from a varied menu, food was hot, well presented and served by friendly staff.

Walked in on a review recommendation. Young waitress very very loud and abrupt. Dismissive when we said we were only having a drink. Bar man very friendly and helpful, although was totally undermined by said young, loud waitress. We sat and listened to her tell other customers, very loudly about her concussion injury and follow up with fowl language. Will we return? NO!

“Our dining experience at the Hollybush was fantastic, From the moment we entered, the atmosphere and attentive staff made us feel right at home. The menu offered a range of dishes. The group of us all enjoyed our meals and puddings. Look forward to returning to the Hollybush.

Been a few times previously for lunch. But I’m afraid after this visit never again. Arrived for 1.0 pm. Some items on the menu weren’t available. After an hour wait 4 us had steak and ale pie. Had to have chips as no mash available. Pastry was undercooked . Meat was fine, we had different vegetables.Peas on one,kale on another. Dessert menu, some of the items weren’t available. We didn’t pay for 2 meals.

We had booked a table and arrived on time our orders were taken very quickly with drinks been served within 5 minutes. The starters arrived after 10 minutes and were lovely and hot and very tasty. This is were the compliment end I'm afraid. After the starters we waited over an hour for our mains to come in that hour we heard guest been told that they had ran out of this or that which is fair enough but we thought if things were not going to be on the plate we should have been told. There is a log burner in the room and the man who attended it smoked us out twice with smoke billowing when he tried to light the sticks and firelighter with a blow torch he had put on so the smell of toxic smoke and fire lighters hitting you in the nose and eyes. Our dinner eventually came like I said one hour after the starters the lovely waitress placed them down and fetched us condiments. We had no red cabbage, No parsnips, No swede, The least they could have done is put some cauliflower cheese on the plate that if you would like you pay £3 for. The meal we did have was warm and tasty but the fact things were missing made it a rather small Sunday dinner for my husband who had some of mine to fill him up. we decided not to have any dessert because we did not know how long it would take to come. Other customers were complaining about the wait and one person at the till got money off his bill. I would not recommend this establishment until things improve and the wait for food improves there was not a hugh number of customers so I don't understand what the wait was but maybe if we had been told we may have been more understanding.

Arrived on time at 14.00 for our pre booked table On entering the venue we were advised that our table wasn’t ready and to go and take a seat in the bar area and order a drink. There were no seats available in the bar area however it was a short wait of approx 10 minutes. We were then seated in the dining area where our order was taken. It was over 40 minutes before we got our starter. We chose the mushrooms which were luke warm. It was then approx another half hour after finishing the starter before we got the main course which was mediocre at best. Whist eating the meal we could overhear other guests complaining about the wait time .. looking at their watches etc Before paying the bill we visited the ladies which had no toilet roll in any of the toilets. When we returned to pay the bill we mentioned to the waitress that there was no toilet paper in the ladies and also that we were dissatisfied with the time we had to wait for the food being nearly an hour for the starter. She responded by saying “ well it wasn’t an hour was it” She knocked us the price of our drinks of the bill price, however we had to order more drinks because of the wait. We will not be returning to this venue again ever .. the food wasn’t great .. the service appalling .. the attitude of the staff when we gave them friendly feed back was awful and argumentative

Absolutely freezing in there, Sat all meal with coats on! Food was nice but had to wait a very long time for it, even tho only a handful of people in there.

Been coming here off and on for 25 years and previously had never had a poor meal. My gammon was fine, but my partners chargrilled chicken was very poor. It was rock hard and felt like it had been cooked yesterday. Mentioned it to the waiter, and they did offer to make another one, but we had already waited 50 minutes to be served. They did take it off the bill, but as it was inedible my partner now has to cook at home this evening. I hope that they pull their finger out as its a lovely place.

Fabulous food, great service. Lovely atmosphere…all the staff were lovely and it showed in the service we received.

Really disappointed to say that we had a very bland and unimaginative Christmas meal here. The festive menu looked amazing but when we arrived we had no crackers or cutlery, the staff were nowhere to be seen and there was a 45 minute wait between...

We have now visited the Holybush for Breakfasts and Sunday Lunch and evenings mealls every time the food was excellent staff brilliant cannot fault anything.

Very disappointed with this pub, food quality was very poor and wait time was far too long. Will not be returning here unfortunately.

Just had a excellent Christmas meal on Christmas day food was great staff very friendly and helpful nice Christmasy atmosphere

The food here is excellent and the staff are attentive, friendly and very kind. Ive been there four times this year. Good choice of lagers and ales and a great beer garden with an awning for live music. The pub even seems to have a...

We went for Sunday Lunch on a Sunday having seen a post on FB. The food was outstanding and without doubt the best Sunday Dinner we have had at a restaurant ever. You just try it! The only feedback that I would have is that...

Lovely country pub, good service and polite attentive staff but disappointed with the quality and presentation of the festive menu .

We hadn’t been since reopened and the food was amazing all home cooked but good value. The ambience was wonderful staff Laura and Kirsty were attentive, well worth a visit and will definitely going back Heather Cave

Having booked breakfast and waking to a very winters morning we braved the cold and arrived promptly at 9.00 am we were greeted by a very nice man who showed us to a lovely booth by a roaring fire the pot of tea was prompt...

Back to the Holly Bush for my wife's birthday. We find it a beautiful calm place to go for a lunch visit. Service isn't overly attentive but very friendly nevertheless. Food was excellent, so much so we didn't eat that evening. We found it once...

A group of us had one of our yearly get together at the Holly Bush, our first there since the renovations, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The food was excellent and although the six of us each had a different main course we...

Arranged a bite here with friends following a recommendation. What a gem. Lovely setting, great food, friendly staff. We will be returning. Well recommended.

Me and my dear friend had the best Steak meals ever we cannot praise the cook enough and Laura the waitress was really helpful very pleasant and also quite knowledgeable on the history of this Wonderful place

Visited for Sunday lunch and sadly came away extremely disappointed. We found the food extremely bland, unable to tell if the potatoes we meant to be boiled or roasted, the red cabbage was dry and lacked flavour and the cauliflower cheese was the worst I’ve...

WHAT A GREAT NIGHT, FOOD VERY GOOD, SERVICE GOOD THANK YOU KIRSTY FOR VERY GOOD SERVICE WILL BE BACK.

This week we have had the pleasure of eating here over a couple of days We had sausage and mash beautiful the sausages are fantastic thick and fat and juicy The veg you get a mixed of veg in which we love and the mash...

We decided to call in for a breakfast after visiting Stafford hospital, it was most welcoming. Laura saw us to a table near the window and took our order. We had a lovely freshly cooked full English breakfast with the nicest sausages we had ever...

We went at the weekend to celebrate a special birthday with 10 family members and not 1 had a complaint everything was perfect the food service atmosphere the staff were exemplary and even got involved and had a laugh with us “Thank you”

Had a fantastic meal at the hollybush many thanks for saving me a kleftiko it is always sold out and i asked when i booked the table for 1 to be saved so i could try it thankyou its no wonder its popular

Our first visit to the Holly Bush, after recommendation. We booked for our wedding anniversary, and certainly wasn't disappointed. Excellent, food and service, so much so we've booked for Christmas Day.

Great food and excellent beer. Laura and George were friendly, attentive and professional. We had two 12oz gammon steak meals and the hollybush club sandwich and chunky chips and a selection of the desserts. All meals were tasty, good portion sizes and good value for...

Lovely atmosphere in the pub and great food! The only criticism, if you can even call it one, was the portion sizes are not for the faint hearted! We tried 3 courses and were stuffed! The only negative was that the pub had several empty...

We visit this place all the time, we always have a great welcome and the service is top notch, we eat here regularly and have never been disappointed, so if you’re passing, give it a go, and definitely give the ales a try, you won’t...

Beautiful country pub , quiet location , lovely seating area in the garden which is dog friendly. Attentive and welcoming staff. We had a tasty Sunday roast dinner with the family. Many gluten free options , staff understand allergies and are helpful with any questions....

We visited on Sunday on the way home from work . It was beautiful , Sunday lunch highly recommended ! Portion size was great , food was hot and service fantastic . Not forgetting some of the most beautiful hanging baskets I’ve ever seen ....

We used to love coming here before it changed hands but were left feeling very underwhelmed. The furniture now resembles a tea room or Morrisons cafe and the food, even though we went early on a Sunday, seemed to have been sat under a heater...

What a beautiful place and the food was amazing, we had steak pie and it was the best I’ve ever had. The service was very friendly and welcoming too.

Arrived at holly bush ordered a pint of doom bar and a shandy I thought it quite expensive Tried the doombar not very nice we tried the food I had the gammon wife had the steak Steak was over cooked same as the chips mine...

We have not visited The Holly Bush as we heard it had closed. What a nice surprise, the re born pub is excellent. The service was great and the food superb. We will be back here when we are next in the area. A real...

We go for breakfast on a Saturday been five times now and every time breakfast spot on cannot fault anything and staff cannot do enough for you..

Lovely country pub with very large portion sizes. Nice atmosphere and efficient service. Everyone enjoyed their meals. Our server Baylee was lovely, very attentive and provided a first class service. We will be back

It must be forty years since Mrs C and I had a ploughman’s lunch here. Back then, the Holly Bush overlooked fields and had a proper country pub feel, so we were surprised to see that it now faced a cul-de-sac of modern houses. Nonetheless,...

We walked over from the canal to this pub as my parents had been before and reckoned I would like it - they weren't wrong! The pub was busy even on a Monday evening, and the food was simply lovely. I understand that this pub...

We were booked in Sunday lunch. With free starter. Emailed twice no response. Filled out three enquiry forms To ask if this offer applied to bank holiday weekend. All I had was a rather curt "yes it is" No sorry for keeping you waiting. Sorry...

Loveley character pub in pretty village. Service a bit slow, but food worth the wait. The flowers outside the pub are a show.

We have just returned from The Holly Bush having made our first visit , where we had Sunday Lunch . Lovely village setting , accessible for my limited mobility mother , super friendly staff, professional, attentive service, lovely food with good variety on the menu...

Visited with my daughter one Saturday afternoon . Lovely friendly pub I did used to come with my Mum and Dad years ago before it closed. Service was good everybody was friendly and attentive. The food is good but not amazing. I had the steak...

We visited this pub on Thursday evening & what a beautiful little place it is. It looks so pretty from the outside with the wonderful flowers in full bloom. We ordered the mushrooms & duck salad for starters & I must say the portions were...

4 of us enjoyed a mid week lunch in the very pleasant and comfortable dining area. The menu is standard pub fair and reasonably priced. All our meals were tasty and freshly prepared, the mixed grill was massive so make sure you’re very hungry if...

Went there with family and had a great meal. Staf were great, and food was delicious. The refurb and front of the building looks great with the flowers. Definitely will come back.

The creme brulee was amazing, honestly one of the best desserts I've had in a long time. Definitely one to shout about. The special I had of the T-Bone steak was cooked well to my liking, medium rare. Overall a good atmosphere and Bierre Moretti...

Had a great time at this pub with attentive staff, tasty food and a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. Would recommend to anyone!

Very disappointing. 2 slice of beef very small good job we paid for extra meat £3. Slice of turkey which would sit in the palm of my hand. Previous to that the Sunday dinner included a starter of soup or mushrooms. No soup was available...

Visited on Sunday with family. Excellent customer service and amazing plated Sunday lunch. Will definitely be recommending to friends and family and will be visiting again soon.

This is an old pub with a lovely modern interior, food was great although only had a small gammon, will come again

Me and my partner were coming down the tow path on the canal and decided to stop off at the hollybusy! They were really busy but squeezed us in, everything was great and there was even a free starter offer on that we got to...

Good food staff were nice and was really busy, after we had finished we sat outside in the rain but under a big tent and was relaxing

Came for Sunday dinner today after seeing on facebook there was a free starter offer. we were one of the first few tables in at 12, however the venue quickly filled up with other diners. We've never been here before and were passing from Birmingham,...

On arrival, took ages to find our booking. Sat down and all seemed fine. Drinks were ordered and duly arrived. Sunday lunch ordered with different starters. Mushrooms were cold and not cooked. Sent back and replaced after everyone else had finished starters. Told that the...

Absolutely dreadful! We went today for Sunday lunch, we ordered our ‘free’ starters . These were delivered and the soup was ok but the panko mushrooms were just raw, cold mushrooms in breadcrumbs. Sent back and replaced about 15-20 mins later. Before I had eaten...

We are local to the area but hadnt been to this village pub for about 15 years! We wanted to see if we could use it a regular eatery and remianed open minded bout reviews we'd read - good and bad. We booked a table...

had the small appetites menu, there was more than enough food, super tasty and great value, really impressed, staff were lovely, def be back again, thank you

Quick decision today to pop down to Salt to visit this lovely wee pub. A damp day but still plenty of people in the garden listening to the live music, which sounded really good. We decided to have an early dinner at 3.30pm and were...

We've been to the Hollybush on a number of occasions now and have always thoroughly enjoyed our meals. We went for Sunday lunch most recently and had a lovely meal. The food was fantastic and the service was great. Would highly recommend, we'll be back...

We booked Sunday lunch and so glad we did as it was so busy. I'm not surprised though as its a lovely county pub in a great quant village within Staffordshire. Straight away I was over the moon that they serve Madri on tap! My...

Called in with mates for a spontaneous bite to eat. Lovely thatched roof country pub with heaps of charm. Flowers are incredible. Food was great value and delicious. Have been recommending ever since.

Stumbled upon this quaint pub with a group of friends. What a find. Delicious food at reasonable prices. Very friendly service. Will definitely return when next in the area.

Visited with my elderly parents for Sunday Lunch, the soup starter was extremely spicy so much so we were unable to eat it. Below average roast with the stuffing balls inedible. Fruit crumble ordered for pudding which was also very poor. My Father was also...

Great breakfast, too much food for me to eat, had to take a doggy bag of bacon & sausages home. We had two large breakfasts, scrambled egg & one vegetarian breakfast (which was bigger than the normal breakfast). Great service, with friendly staff. George (the...

First time visiting this pub which was recommended by friends. The food we ordered arrived quickly and was very tasty. The Service was excellent from start to finish. The pub itself is beautiful. We will definitely be coming back.

Always brilliant at the Holly Bush. Went again the last night, superb from start to finish. Food was amazing, staff friendly, lovely atmosphere and the place has been decorated beautifully. Service was speedy and the staff were very pleasant. Delicious food and a great choice...

Sat outside with my husband and friends. We sat under the marquee to avoid the wind and rain and enjoy the singer I think his name was Callum Scott he was brilliant. The food and service was excellent another fantastic visit. Thank you holly bush...

Visited the Holly bush yesterday, we were out and the weather was bad so decided to go in have a drink, we ended up staying for dinner as the place seemed very nice and welcoming. All the staff were wonderful. I had fish and chips...

We have as a family of 4 visited the Hollybush on many occasions mainly in the evenings or with my wife for lunch. Our treatment by staff is always welcoming and friendly and if we haven’t made a reservation we have always been accommodated. The...

Very disappointed Consulted website before booking Sunday menu and evening menu said to be available so fancied some things from menu but got there and told only Sunday menu available Had a very average roast

Absolutely fabulous breakfast. Food is of really good quality and cooked perfectly. Always hot which is really important to me. Service excellent,staff very helpful and very polite. Have been a few times now and NEVER disappointed

I took the team here for food and drinks and I have to say the service was fab from start to finish! From initial interactions with Kirsty on buffet requirements to the serving of the food! Staff were really attentive and the buffet food was...

First time coming here , the service was excellent, the food was amazing and quick which is even better and the price of the meal was reasonable. Would definitely recommend and will be coming back .

We came for dinner with friends and it is an amazing pub with lovely staff and delicious food. Can't wait to come back!

We came for Fathers Day Breakfast. We had a lovely time, amazing breakfast and brilliant staff. Will 100% be coming back!!

We visited today (Father’s Day) and had one of the best Sunday dinners we have ever had. The staff were very polite and nothing was too much trouble. We will definitely be back to try the rest of the menu!! I would highly recommend this...

It was absolutely disgraceful, when we addressed that the food was bad the general manager George gave us verbal abuse and we were asked to leave, the general manager told us that we were making customers uncomfortable because we were not satisfied with the food,...

16th June 2023. Quite a few menu options not available. Service was slow. Forgot our drink. Main meal mediocre. Dessert crumble to be avoided. Made me feel very poorly. Will not be rushing back.

Had not been for a few years. Went for my birthday. Welcome was friendly, did not have a starter. Steak pie was lovely, veggie ( bean) burger was very nice. Large meal good job I did not have a starter. Fudge pudding was also very...

Have not been here for 20 plus years, I’d heard it was taking over not so long ago so thought we’d give it a go when we had chance too, today was that day. I took my daughter and little grandson. From the moment we...