The Old White Hart in Rutland

Nice place to eat, stylish country pub.

I was at the restaurant with 2 friends. The atmosphere is great with friendly staff. However, I was not impressed with the meal I had. The chicken was tough, dry, and lacked flavour. The chips were soggy and almost black. (I think the incorrect potatoes were used to make chips as well as the oil being old and not the correct temperature for making chips). I can not speak for my friends' meals.

OK, this is not a dog friendly pub. But the greeting was “No dogs allowed” rather than “Good afternoon Sir, I’m sorry, but your dog must remain outside”. Just some customer service training required.

What a fabulous pub. Dropped in on the way past and was blown away by the service and the food. Outstanding food and incredible value. Starters and main courses were fantastic and we were too full to have a pudding! I can't recommend it highly enough. We'll definitely be back! Service was brilliant and the beer was fantastic. Why can't every pub be like this??

Good location and a good size and pretty restaurant. We have been here a few times and even met the owner and her brother. However, yesterday for Mothers Day, was a disaster and it truly ruined it for us. First, we were rushed to get our food order as the lady is concerned about their closing time, it was around 2.50pm, our table was booked from 2.30pm. Second, a limited Mothers Day menu was being served; we opted for the Sea Bass. When it arrived, it must be a size of a 100gms fillet of piece with skin, 3 very small baby potatoes cut in half and 3 stalks of broccoli! We thought that it might be a mistake and that we were being served by a starter and just when we thought of calling the waitress back, a lady who seems to be the manager on duty, by the name of Dottie came up to us. We then asked politely whether they have got our order correctly. With a very loud voice she started justifying the price difference between meat and sea bass and continued to say so many other things like the size of the plate etc etc etc.. just made us absolutely feel like a child been told off! With the amount of things she said, there was no apology nor had offered to change our meal if we weren't happy. Feeling awkward with the next table, I just wanted her to leave so I ordered a side of potatoes and roasted vegetables. She came back quite quickly with the sides and said she will not charge us for the sides. The sides she served us looks like a leftover scraped off from the trays! Looked at the menu again and our meal is the most expensive... was it worth it? Definitely NOT! Suggest you look elsewhere!

Did not stay but did visit for lunch. Beautiful pub in a stunning village and excellent staff and service but sadly the food let them down sadly. The manager was lovely and I felt embarrassed for her as the chips arrived, which a few were cold and raw, mushy peas came out..... Cold.... They rectified these problems deducting one meals cost from the total bill. My food was good, sausages on bubble and squeak on a jacket potato........ It wasn't a good day for chef but we loved everything else.... Lovely staff.

A beautiful pub in a stunning village but sadly that is where the good points end. We visited for lunch today and walked into a pub with rakes of appeal with lovely beams and old flooring.... We thought we had picked a real winner. Our waitress was a Polish lady who was also the manager, very pleasant and helpful too. We arrived at 12pm exactly and never received our orders until 12.45 due to a mix up, no problems I said to a staff member as she promptly put this right. My order was sausages on bubble and squeak in a jacket potato and a side of garlic mushrooms which was quite good but nothing to get me back through their door. My wife had the chop main which only came with chips..... We had to order mushy peas to make this a bit more interesting. My wife's food was really poor, raw chips, and very cold peas which both had to be handed back, these were replaced but by then I had nearly finished my food. The manager came over, apologised, and removed the bill for my wife's food which was sadly something we expected due to how poor her food was. Plus points...... Beautiful pub Lovely staff Lovely surroundings Ample parking The food really let them down today as it really is a gorgeous pub. Average awarded due to my wife's poor food. Visited 2nd March 2024

Great place, lovely setting, excellent service, one veggie dish on the menu.

Absolutely rude staff . I worked there and felt uncomfortable.

Louise made us very welcome, dispite dealing with a wake on her own and generally running bar and reception. Highly recommend this beautiful place in a gorgeous village.

Horrendous food, meat was almost inedible, no taste to food, would have been better in a transport cafe. My steak was grey in colour and tasted very strange. Presentation was terrible, however service was good. Will never go back to eat which is such a shame as the pub itself is lovely.

Decent beer and friendly staff.

Lovely quaint old pub. Good beers and good selection of food. Only stopped (twice), didn' t stay over.

Only called in for a quick drink ,staff friendly and the building was lovely! Would definitely call in again

Called here when passing. Looked an impressive and welcoming but on arrival disappointing. Quiet staff out numbered customers. Only locals outside. Two drinks over £17 which was a rip off. Possibly one of the reasons why it was quiet. Didn’t eat here so can’t comment in food but judging by the drinks prices it’ll be expensive. Don’t mind rural pubs having to make a living but no need to over charge. Sad as it could be a thriving pub if it got its prices right.

Lovely pub in charming village. Rooms spacious and comfortable. Good food. Lovely garden.

Hada lovely pint with dear friends.

Had just a meal with partner and a friend and it was our first visit to the pub. It exceeded our expectations in terms of location, the look and feel of the pub, food and service. We had a wonderful evening and would not just definitely recommend but will be returning.

Here for wedding at weekend , lovely venue, service was good... all friendly staff...

Had a lovely coffee after walking part of Rutland Round. Great friendly staff, super quick service. Thank you 😊

Had a party for 23 people and overnight stay for everyone. From the very start of organising the event Holly was great and always replied to my emails straight away. Nothing seemed too much trouble. The rooms were all light, bright and spotlessly clean. The food was amazing, and service was top class. We cannot fault it and everyone had a fabulous time. Was excellent value for money and would definitely recommend it. Thanks to everyone for making the day so special. Cant wait to visit again.

Great lunch, food was delicious .They had no problem in catering for me as I have a few food intolerances. Service was very good and we will certainly return.

On behalf of Harborough Welland u3a Petanque group, we'd like to thank all staff at The Old White Hart for making us so welcome and for the super lunch. The 4 pistes are all very playable and we all had a great morning, many thanks Kev

I've been here before over the years, but this time, I just called in for a drink. Car parking was a tad tight to start with, and it looked like some "Renault" car gathering, but got in the overflow and parked there easily. The pub was quiet and had a good choice of drinks at a reasonable price. We sat in the garden, which was nice, but could do with a bit of a mow (some long blades of grass). Overall, it is very good and recommended if you are out and about that way.

Friendly staff, hidden gem of place

Not sure about the rooms, but the pub has excellent food. I very much enjoyed it, would recommend.

Lovely pub in quaint settings & very friendly staff. However, food could be better. We ordered fish & chips & the lobster (although we thought the menu was very limited & would have liked more variety) The fish & chips were ok but the lobster was extremely poor - overcooked, very small (2 mouthfuls & gone!) & very overpriced. Won't be eating here again - disappointing as overall a lovely pub.

Fish and chips very good 👍 but we had a £22.00 for half a lobster not happy very very small

We have not been here for some time and I think we should visit more often. The welcome was very pleasant, the service was faultless, the foof was superb - it is impossible not to enjoy a visit here.

I’ve been coming to the white hart for the last 10 years and the food this evening was shocking. Stuffed lamb was either rock solid & overcooked or like elastic bands - no inbetween. My partner had cote de boeuf which wasn’t cooked correctly and was mostly fat! Very disappointing to experience this for the money that’s being charged.

We celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary. My husband is terminally ill and staff went above and beyond to make sure he could enjoy a lovely lunch, as he has swallowing difficulties. I can’t thank you enough for making our day special.

More a 2.5 than a 3. Lovely- looking pub, and came recommended, so we had high expectations. The menu was quite limited, but we had the tomato and ginger soup and breaded blue cheese to start. Soup had a nice warmth but came with 2 tiny and very ordinary bits of shop-bought sliced bread and the tiniest portion of butter I've ever seen! The cheese was nice but a little overcooked and the portion meagre - 4 small bits for £7.50. For the mains, I chose the homemade sausages with bubble and squeak-filled jacket and chantenay carrots. Immediately had to ask for extra gravy, which came out very hot and in a tiny handle less jug so I couldn't pick it up - surely common sense to put it in a jug with a handle, like the one my cold milk was in with my later coffee?! The 3 large sausages were tasty, as was the potato, but I only got half a spud, and to be honest, there wasn't much point to the filling, it may as well have been plain, or mash. The tiny carrots were not well trimmed and were just boiled - I'd expect them to be honey-roasted or elevated somehow, and the whole plate just felt unloved and a bit lacklustre. Similarly, my partner's lobster was small though tasty, and lacked any sauce, and the 'chips' were more scraps and again disappointing and a very small portion. The dessert menu was lacking in choice, and to be honest, we didn't feel like spending more money without feeling we were getting value for it, so I had a cup of coffee (small cup too full to put enough milk in). All in all, for such a nice-looking pub, we expected much more. The service was pleasant, but the food all felt poorly thought-out and thrown together, like the chef just didn't care. The portions were so small we actually had to go find a chip shop on the way back to our hotel as my partner was still hungry!!! At £70, including drinks, the price would have been fine if the food had lived up to expectations, but someone really needs to wake the chef up and get him to love his food, because they've obviously lost (if they ever indeed had) their mojo and passion for cooking. We wouldn't return for food, and it was a shame we spent the whole meal searching for the few positives in there.

Fantastic food, excellent service and lovely surroundings, made a superb afternoon with family.

A truly amazing place, beautiful rooms, stunning food and impeccable service

It's been over 10 years since we last ate here but the food and service is just as good as ever (although the menu pictured is dated Spring 2022, this was April 2023).

We called in here on a cold wet day ,the person in charge asked if we had booked we said no so nice person said he would try to find us a table which he did. It was lunch time and very busy ,the place was warm. and inviting and really busy . We ordered the steak and ale pie with bubble and squeak ,it was the best steak pie we have ever had we followed it with sticky toffee pudding with Liquorice ice cream and it was amazing one of the best pub meals ever.

It's one of my favourite restaurant, I love everything there. Always happy to comeback.

Went there yesterday with friends for a dinner , i was very disappointed with the food , portion are to small Lamb was not fresh and overcooked on one side, not enough vegetables and literally 3 small tiny pieces of sweet potato and thats all for 19.50£ !!! My friends eat steak sandwiches and they complain on steaks was very hard to chew .. coleslaw taste was weird too, like its old 2-3 days and come out warm !!?? They use to have very nice food but looks like something big change in kitchen . So very disappointing and will not come back anymore.

Gorgeous hotel. Lovely food. Excellent service. Highly recommended.

Lovely pub in a beautiful village. The food is very nice apart from the chips no one liked. The service is not the best, A lot of people are there for lunch so they just seem rushed.

Great for a meal or a drink. Friendly staff, roaring fires and a welcoming atmosphere.

We're here now sat in the room didn't bring drinks with us was brought here for a Xmas present thinking the bar is open till 11 had food popped back to the room when down to order drinks and the bar was closed before 9.45 so left to sit in our room no drinks and WiFi not working on the TV absolutely stunning place, but really could do with some atmosphere in the bar light music or something and it would definitely be nice to be told the bar is closing early as left now with no drinks and nothing to watch on TV other than free view. 😕 gutted as looked so nice it could be amazing will not be coming back unfortunately

Amazing pub and rooms, all the staff are super friendly, ambience and rooms are top notch. Food in the pub is always excellent

Amazing venue. Worth travelling too.

Lovely little country pub/restaurant. The staff were very attentive. Food was delicious.

Sunday lunch was OK. Gravy was good but all vegetables were undercooked and the food lacked something special.

Very nice friendly and good food.

We popped in for a couple of drinks. Sat outside under the trees. Beautiful rural pub. Let down only by the crisps! Little bags of home made bland affairs. Would have like something nice to go with my pint. Too fancy, no taste. Cracking pint.

the mussel dish and the pork were quite good. but since this restaurant mainly has elderly customers, it should consider reducing the salts they used in the food. Im already feeling too salty as a younger adult. When we were dining, there were flies and fruitflies landing on the food, which was a redflag. thw restuarant should consider installing fly killers.

We have just enjoyed a fantastic weekend stay (including wedding reception), with fabulous facilities, food and staff. Holly and her staff were excellent hosts, and we shall definitely be re-visiting soon!

Beautiful garden great food and service .

Wat hebben we genoten bij dit lieflijke hotel. Gastvrije bediening en superleuke nette kamer. Heerlijk eten en prachtig weer (dat helpt altijd)

Lyddington is a delightful village in beautiful Rutland countryside. The Old White Hart is a stunning pub and restaurant. It's beautifully presented inside and out, the food is wonderful and the waiting staff efficient and pleasant. The best restaurant meal I've had in the last 20 years.

I was delighted when I was told we were going to The Old White Hart. I hadn’t been there for over a decade. It was still excellent. The room was spacious and clean. The bed extremely comfortable. Supper was a special treat. The cheese soufflé, pork loin, followed by a sticky date pudding with liquorice ice cream were all superb. The wine list was perfectly adequate with a few real gems to tempt the palette. Breakfast set us up for the day with home smoked salmon and a full English to die for. Excellent homemade sausage! The owners are a lovely couple who will talk about sailing just quickly as how much they have enjoyed being the owners for 25 years. We will return!

Called into The White Hart for the first time in ages and was not disappointed. The place itself retains lots of its character and style in what is a beautiful village with its stone built buildings. Delicious bowl of pea soup, followed by dessert to die for. Spotlessly clean toilets too, maybe not the first thing on anyone's mind when visiting a restaurant, but always nice to see. Well worth a visit if visiting the Rutland area.

Visited here after a day of walking in this beautiful area. The outside look of the place and the gorgeous beer garden drew us in to an equally lovely interior. Fires were burning in the fireplaces, the staff were extremely friendly so it seemed the perfect place to relax, rehydrate and refuel before the 40min drive home. Soft drinks here are a little on the pricey side compared to home (£4 for a pint of Diet Coke), but the food prices are on par with other similar establishments. The food here was really good. Not huge portions, but not stingy. I had 2 starters and a side for my main - fried cambozola with fig chutney and dim sums in a hoisin sauce, along with a side of sticky rice and leeks. Hubby had a steak burger. For desserts I had a date sticky toffee pudding and hubby a chocolate brownie. Everything was utterly delicious and the service throughout impeccable. It was lovely sitting inside by the fire, but I’m sure it would be just as good in the warmer weather to sit in the beer garden which looked enchanting with it’s fairy lights after dark. Even the toilets are beautifully decorated with a framed tiara on the door for the ladies and a dickey bow for the mens. Would definitely come here again when in the area.

Holly and her team are fantastic and so welcoming, food and rooms are really good and amazing value for money. We will definitely be returning. Highly recommended.

Eaten here many times over the years and have loved the place so was pretty confident taking friends for their first time! How wrong I was……we were made to feel very unwelcome, the waiter was rude and unhelpful. Food mediocre, we all had Côte De Boeuf which was exceptionally fatty…. Overall very disappointing

Stopped in for a meal on a Monday evening. Very friendly service, lovely food. Unfortunately seated right next to a main thoroughfare (despite the place appearing fairly quiet), so frequent footfall by staff and other guests past our table was a bit distracting. Nonetheless, would recommend - the pork loin was lovely!

Thank you so much for making our stay at The White Hart so enjoyable. We had a great short break and will certainly try to have another one with you in the future. We loved our room which fitted our needs so perfectlyThe food was amazing and seeing your smiling faces whenever we came to the dining room was such a bonus.Please thank all your staff for their extremely good and pleasant service.Sincerely,Pat and Alan Wright

Went here for lunch with a group of friends. The maincourse was nice, had fish and chips which I would recommend. The setting is nice and the service was efficient. What let it down was the desert. I chose the special which was ice cream with cookies. The ice cream came as a mosh and the cookies were very hard. Certainly not worth the £7 that I paid.

Came here on a spur of the moment decision, Excellent value room with a massive bathroom,. Small but varied menu, can recommend the calves liver washed down with an excellent Carmenere. Well kept beers with a varied choice on hand-pump. Well presented breakfast.

this is friendly local pub?hotel with friendly staff and excellent service despite being very busy. the Sunday roast was excellent especially the roast beef nice and pink just as I like it. we h ad room for puddings which were fabulous.My sister almost licked the plate clean with the date sticky pudding with toffee sauce

Let’s start with the positives; the service was friendly and reasonably efficient, and the outdoor seating was pretty much as good as the ‘outdoor dining only’ regulations that were still in place would allow. Heaters would have been welcome. What brought our lunch down to Average was the quality of the food. The lamb was unremarkable but the gravy was baked onto the plates. The chicken was overcooked, and the accompanying risotto was sticky. Puddings were better, especially the sticky date one. Prices seemed to have risen significantly during lockdown, and with the quality as it was, the value was poor.A little attention to timing would work wonders.

Stayed here recently for my honeymoon, not that they did anything to recognise that-not even a congratulations, but moving on.Check in was awkward and uncomfortable. We arrived around 6pm as we had a long drive. Waited for a while at the reception before a lady appeared from the bar-it felt like we had disturbed her evening. She then walked us through the bar with all our bags which was uncomfortable, and unnecessary as you can walk around the outside and as it was busy we kept bumping into people.We got up early for breakfast the next morning as it is included if you book via their website which is good. Breakfast was not great. Pretty mediocre. Salmon had seen fresher days.We returned to the room to find the cleaner there which was fine but she just walked off and we didn’t get the room cleaned again for the rest of the stay despite leaving the please clean me sign on the door. I’ve never been anywhere where they clean the room whilst you are at breakfast...Jacuzzi bath in the room was lovely (and the reason we chose this pub), however the bottle of bubble bath they left was basically empty and as we didn’t get the room cleaned again we did not get anymore. Would normally have asked at reception but we felt like the lady running the show would have shouted at us so it wasn’t worth it.A fridge in the room would have been a nice touch.The room itself was lovely and impeccably clean when we arrived. Additionally the bed was comfy and the duvet was good quality. Good WiFi throughout the pub.Lots of car parking space too.We chose here as it had the jacuzzi bath. Other than that there is not much to do around the area, not many nice walks. It was perfectly pleasant but I will not be coming back here. Much better value places in the UK.

We were grateful to the restaurant for accommodating our late booking as our planned table that evening was unavoidably cancelled at short notice. It wasn't a pleasant evening weather wise otherwise I would have loved to have sat outside - it looked very inviting; traditional pub setting with heaters and lights. Looked lovely The restaurant inside is glorious - well lit and decorated in a contrasting modern style. The menu was extensive and had some different vegetarian options (makes a lovely change for us fussy eaters!). The service was patient (my friend and I were having our first post lockdown meeting so we took our time getting to reading the menu). The restaurant was well organised in terms of sanitation. Food was great quality - substantial portions and great value too.

The Sea Bass was only just acceptable, and having told the restaurant manager that there was no reaction other than “I’ll tell the chef”. It wasn’t fresh. The confit of duck didn’t come cleanly off the bone. Neither dish was as tasty as it should have been. Desserts , service and ambiance were good, but when the mains are below standard, and quite expensive, the Old White Hart disappoints.

We stayed at The Old White Hart five years ago when celebrating a significant birthday. We needed to break a long journey with an overnight stay and chose to do so at The Old White Hart. We were not disappointed! The hotel/pub is situated in a beautiful old village. The accommodation is really quirky - some rooms are within the main building and some are in adjoining cottages. Through pure coincidence we stayed in the same room as before (Oakham) which is actually the ground floor of a cottage steps away from the hotel. It comes with a private outdoor sitting area, which was most welcome on a glorious August day. The room itself was clean, comfortable and included a huge jacuzzi bath. Check in was easy and friendly, and we enjoyed cold drinks under the apple trees in the garden after our long drive. The pub part of the building reflects the age of the village and is divided into a number of rooms that flow into each other with lots of cosy nooks and crannies, making privacy (and social distancing!) easy to achieve. The dining room includes a conservatory, making it very light and airy. It was very difficult to choose from the appealing dinner menu but, once we did decide, the food was excellent. Service was attentive without being overbearing and we enjoyed a nightcap in our sitting area under the stars. After a good night's sleep we fortified ourselves with an excellent, perfectly cooked breakfast (one full English, one smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, both accompanied by toast made with amazing bread) before continuing our journey. The location, accommodation and food at The Old White Hart are all excellent and offered incredible value for money. Thank you to the team. We will be back!

Fresh, competent cooking. Very good for those with peculiar dietary requirements! We stayed in the B&B for 3 nights and ate there every night. Really tasty and a lovely dining room.

Stayed for dinner whilst in Lyddington, great menu, friendly staff, great service, food was delicious, plentiful and great value. Would definitely visit again.

Easy to book, when we arrived the car park was pretty full as was the garden area, the terrace and the tables by the entrance door!We were taken to our table (name and telephone number left when making the reservation).It didn’t appear that any tables had been removed for social distancing. The dining area was very full.Outside people were in tight groups socialising with scant regard for distancing.On this occasion I didn’t think the food was up to standard. However, the Carrot and Ginger Soup was rather nice.We will I’m sure go again but we will wait until things calm down a bit.

Lovely food, good selection, very good service, fair prices. The seared duck breast and stir fry/noodles was just excellent. The place is very old, and has been kept "as was" to a large extent. Maybe the furnishings are just a tiny bit TOO tired, but everything else more than makes up for that. Nice garden, big car park, picturesque village.

I really don't want to be tough on this place as it's setting, the building and the staff are fabulous. A Petanque Court at the front was such a cool touch, I imagine that's great fun in the summer with a beer. We were stopping in the area for the weekend and wanted to plan our Sunday lunch. The photos of the food from a quick Google search of the area looked to be the best and they could accommodate a group of six. Veggie options available, happy days.Of said group of six, I was the only vegetarian. Not a problem, I love a Sunday roast as much as anyone. A nut roast, a pastry or some veggie sausages would have sufficed then I could dig in to everything else with everyone else. They had half a dozen meat options but no veggie alternative, I was absolutely gutted. Instead I was referred to the specials board. Not a problem I thought. All that was on offer was a sundried tomato Risotto with ricotta cheese crispy ball type things. This would be spot on during the week, but on a Sunday I expected a bit more and I didn't want to stick out like a saw thumb, I wanted to enjoy the Sunday vibe. I'm not a preachy non-meat eater, I just don't eat meat! I glanced across the room and clocked another vegetarian receiving similar news and the disappointment on their face was clearly visible. The risotto was nice, don't get me wrong and the other five in the party enjoyed their food. I just expected more and I have never been to a restaurant for a Sunday dinner that was so lacking in options for 'special requirement' eaters if you will. I appreciate this is a pretty fussy review, however many are knocking meat on the head and looking for alternatives. Please guys, you have a great place there. Accommodate the Veggie and Vegan mandem.

We spent a very enjoyable lunchtime with friends here. We opted for their three course lunch menu and were extremely impressed with the value for money and the high quality of food. The surroundings in this old world pub are delightful and would very much appeal to foreign visitors. Service was good and we were able to spend as much time over lunch as we wanted, never feeling rushed. We will definitely return.

If you are looking for somewhere to enjoy delicious food served by friendly, attentive staff then this is the place to visit. The restaurant is set out most attractively, tables nicely placed so as not to feel crowded and your meal is never rushed. The menu is varied with changing 'specials' and the vegetarian option always excellent. Food is always beautifully presented.

Thursday evening, just dropped in and got a table no problem. However, it very soon filled up. This old village pub was extended and renovated very tastefully a couple of years ago.It is a short drive from our home and we know that the food is always good and locally sourced. We were greeted by the owner Holly who is always cheerful. A pleasant young man found us a table and was very attentive all evening.My husband chose the Spring rolls as a starter (very adventurous for him, they were delicious), I had the Scollop and Prawn Thermidor, the scallops were really lovely in a Parmesan sauce. My husband enjoyed the Medallions of fillet steak whilst I tried their own Beef Burger, something I don’t normally go for. It was well presented but I just can’t get my head (or should I say my mouth! ) around the Berger and roll! I wish there was another way to present a burger that enables you to eat it without incurring a mess! None the less the taste was very good. I didn’t recall any crispy bacon and the cheese was minimal (pity!) Otherwise lovely evening and it saved me cooking! I also enjoyed a glass of house Pinot Grigio and my husband a glass of IPA and a flagon of tap water.

On New Years Day, after a lovely walk around Eyebrook Reservoir, my husband and I decided to call into the White Hart at Lyddington with a view to having a drink, maybe a light lunch and recce the premises for our Golden Wedding family party celebration later on in the year. On walking in we were immediately greeted with “Are you dining with us today”. Not being 100% sure we would be eating a light lunch there, we headed for the bar. The majority of the tables in all of the rooms had been laid out for dining. At the time of our arrival about 12.30pm there was only one table occupied in the restaurant and none in any of the rooms that had been set for dining. The whole place was very quiet for a Bank Holiday. On entering the bar, I was immediately asked not to sit at a table that had been set, as this had been reserved for dining. I could only see one table that had not been set, so we sat at that. Within 30 – 40 minutes of our arrival another couple was also asked not to sit at the table we had wanted to sit at and they left the room completely, so I have no idea where they went. The lady in the couple was clearly as unhappy, as was I. I can understand if there are a lot of people wanting to eat, that they are given preference over anyone who is only having a drink, but when there is hardly anyone in the venue commonsense should prevail. After this we decided we did not want to spend any more money there and so decided we would go home for our lunch. At 1.30 pm we left and in that time only one other (third) couple came in with an intention of eating there. The whole pub was very quiet. Needless to say The White Hart at Lyddington has been taken off our list of potential venues for our Golden Wedding celebration. We will not be spending hundreds of £s in one evening if we are not made to feel welcome when we are only having a drink.This experience has left me wondering how many other potential customers the establishment has lost with their apparent rigid policy of no-one sitting at a table unless you are eating. We will definitely not be back and the other couple moved from the table they wanted to sit at, probably won’t be going back, how many others?

Very poor cooking skill and not as described on menu. Vegetarian option on the specials board was ...pancake with lentils, pulses, spinach and butternut squash topped with cheese sauce. What came was a heavy pancake filled with unseasoned spinach and three pieces of butternut squash pushed into a small meat pie dish with a little melted cheese on top. I asked the waitress to ask the chef about the lack of lentils and pulses and she came back with the reply that they were in it. We found three tiny pieces of something which might have been old peas. The pancake was heavy, the dish was badly presented and tasteless and certainly not worth £10.50. Despite making my feelings known no attempt was made by the rather unfriendly bar person to do anything about it. I will certainly never eat here again and will advise friends to give it a miss too. I was the only diner on a Friday night which rather shows their poor reputation.

I visited for supper on Saturday. Lovely venue, very warm and cosy on a cold November evening. I ordered steak and chips and whilst my steak was really nice, tender and properly cooked, the chips were the worst I have eaten for a very long time, they looked nice, were crispy but tasted terrible, I would recommend that the chef reviews the cooking oil used then I might be able to try them again. It can't be that difficult to cook tasty chips, I've eaten them in loads of other places.

Really disappointed with our experience today. Toilets really nice however food really poor. No taste. Service poor would not go back.

Met here for a group annual meal having ordered well in advance and found the meals to be average at best. I had lamb which turned out to be 3 small lamb chops that once you cut the meat out of the fat and bone was a pretty small portion. The steak looked even worse with portions so small I would need at least of them. Cooked OK, good flavouring but just too small.Scallop Thermidor starter was one queen scallop, two small bits of salmon and a runny sauce, but enough to warrant the price. Staying overnight only to find my room was 200m away in an annexe to the hotel (another converted house in the village). It was November but only a light drizzle, if it had been heavy rain no good at all.

Lovely setting so high expectations for the food but disappointing. The lamb was tough and the fish had a very strange smell! Not much taste to any of it, I'm afraid.

We went here by default as the other pub in this lovely village was closed. As it turned out - a lucky decision. During the early part of the week there is a 30% discount on lunch so we enjoyed homemade soup and delicious homemade sausages with colcannon. Very friendly and efficient service and a really nice ambiance in the modern and stylish restaurant. Well worth checking out and every bit as good as its competitor at a much lower price on certain days.

Almost a perfect place to stay provided you don't want to eat! Pretty village, attractive place, excellent rooms, very nice bar with log fire, lovely outdoor area with a petanque court as a bonus. We were a group of 8 old friends who meet up for a three night reunion once a year. We always dine in and enjoy good food and plenty of wine. The food on our first evening was frankly poor but none of us wanted to offend the organising couple so we put up with it. The food on the second evening was very poor indeed and by then we were being honest with each other so we unanimously agreed to drive to somewhere else to eat. What a revelation - our meals were well presented and delicious and made us realise just how tasteless and overcooked our White Hart food was. And, as has been mentioned before, no member of staff ever asked during or after our two meals whether everything was ok. They didn't react when we told them we were going elsewhere for our third evening and when our organiser told them during checking out that we had been disappointed by the food they didn't appear to care.

Had a lovely meal here with some friends WOW the summer fruits with clotted cream for pudding was fantastic, service was great too A****

Popped in for a bite to eat for lunch. The variety of food in the menu was disappointing, very meat and fish based. The usual risotto option for vegetarians and nothing vegan. What year is this?

Looked promising for a light lunch having a smart looking restaurant and a pleasant bar area with seating which we selected . In the event it was a disappointment.

Having booked a table for a pre-performance diinner at leat three mutha ago were sort of pointesd rather unceremoniously and listlessly towards a table. Unfortunately for whatever reason most table are in a droughty location so every time he door opens you get a dought, and I am rather susceptible to this! The menus are printed on flimsy paper and were sort of ‘plunked’ on,our table, they looked as if someone had slepton them, I tried to, exchange one of them as it looked quite disgusting! Food was ok, but nothing special. We had been there several times pre-performance of Lyddington concerts, but I think I would prefer to avoid the restaurant I the future. People arriving before us (they appeared to be locals) were shown to a table and served before us. The atmosphere could be quite lovely and quaint, but they obviously do not rely on occasional diners, the separate ‘restaurant area’ seems to be ok, but seems to be reserved to larger parties of 6 +. As there were only two of us we were not important and tables do not appeared to be reserved for advance bookings. My husband enjoyed his steak, portions are reasonable,neither large nor small, my fish dish arrived without ‘sides’. Most likely would prefer the concerts without prior dining!

When my wife and I were considering where to celebrate our joint 145th, there were only 2 venues we considered good enough. We’re extremely happy that the Old White Hart won the day. We’ve known this place for 19 years, and under Polly’s guidance it has gone from strength to strength. Food delicious, surroundings delightful, service excellent - thanks Andrew. AND fantastic value for money. It would be invidious to mention the other option by name, but let’s just say that the bill would probably have been tripled !

We visited yesterday evening as a foursome, after an afternoon out. We had not booked, but noticed meals were served from 6.30pm. We arrived just after 6.

Well managed and maintained country Inn property in this picturesque village.

We came as a family of four on a night when the restaurant was very full.

Stayed in The Annex for 6 nights and everything was wonderful. Lovely welcome from the staff, lovely room and excellent and varied food. Attention to the small details is obvious and this made for a relaxed break. Thanks to all the staff.

Had a delicious meal at the Old White Heart and would highly recommend a visit. The staff were all very pleasant and professional and the restaurant is beautiful.

Disappointing. On entering, receptionist hardly looked at us. Asked if table for two was available , she asked what name and immediately looked at her list. As we hadn't booked she should have asked us that first. Not a particularly welcoming start. .Server taking our order pleasant . When meal served, she apologised for the chips as the supplier apparently hadn't delivered fresh potatoes. This didn't seem a problem so started meal. My chicken in breadcrumbs filled with cheese, although well cooked, had very little taste and even less cheese. In fact I could see no cheese at all. It seemed like something you would buy in a box and pop in the oven for a quick meal. On starting on the chips, it was apparent that they were less than good . Half of them were black and totally inedible. If these were the hand cut chips that were listed on their menu then McCain oven chips would have been preferable.! .as I don't eat too many chips, the half that were edible were sufficient. My husband was happy with his Gammon steak and he seemed to have slightly better chips. We both had a sweet and both were lovely, so no complaints there. We are not complainers, so after paying for the meal, I quietly mentioned to the server my impression of the meal. Not her fault but she needed to let someone know what was coming out of the kitchen. Throughout our lunch, at no time did anyone ask if everything was ok and even when paying we were not asked if everything was satisfactory. You are usually asked that in any establishment , especially the chain restaurants so would have expected it from the White Hart. Overall, beautiful surroundings, inside and out, but no atmosphere, not brilliant food and certainly not worth the price, even with the third off during the week. With hindsight, would have left on being served our particular meal. We won't be returning ?

Booked this mini break some time ago, and it did not disappoint. The lady who greeted us was very welcoming and friendly, making sure everything we needed was accommodated, she showed us to our room and gave us a quick tour of their facilities.

Booked for my partner and parents to stay here to celebrate their diamond wedding. Excellent value well appointed rooms which came with an excellent breakfast. Nice touch was homemade shortbread in the rooms.

Just enjoyed a great weekend meeting up with some lifelong pals at this delightful country inn with rooms. Lovely setting in a quiet village, great food, beer& wine. Excellent service with personality we will return later in the year.

We've eaten here several times and whilst the food is very good and the service is efficient it's not a warm and welcoming place. In fact I'd go as far as to say some of the staff seem a tad superior, which I think is a shame because it could be a great place. On our last visit it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; it wasn't empty, just lifeless.

Ok, to be fair one does not expect much by way of a vegetarian option for Sunday lunch at a countryside pub - even so, this was very disappointing. No vegetarian options on the paper menu, only on the board... Tagliatelle - which we ordered (main course)... so far so good..