The Knife & Cleaver

Absolutely terrible! I cannot believe anyone could write anything positive about this place. It is true that the main entrance to the pub is quaint and pretty but beyond that, I would give this place a wide berth. The barman although very pleasant, did not have a clue what he was doing. It seemed that there were only two individuals serving in a busy restaurant and they were clearly stressed. We were told by the barman that we did not need to reserve a table in the restaurant, we were staying overnight at the venue. We were met at the restaurant entrance by the waitress who asked if we’d reserved. When we explained we’d tried to but had been told it wasn’t necessary, she was clearly put out and proceeded to complain about people who just turned up at restaurants without reserving. We explained we were actually guests staying at the pub that night. Prior to ordering we were told there was no red meat or chicken available as their delivery hadn’t arrived. That really didn’t bother me as I prefer not to eat meat. My husband also decided that he would be happy to go for a meat alternative option and chose the seafood tagliatelle. I chose the halloumi skewer meal which on paper, sounded lovely. Things gradually got worse from there on. The halloumi dish was priced at £19 and was a main course dish. It consisted of three tiny skewers of halloumi, (more like finger food). A small bowl of hummus, half a slice of pitta bread and a tiny corn on the cob that had been cooked with meat. As the plate was supposed to be vegetarian it tasted quite disgusting and was inedible. The rest of the food for what it was worth was edible but certainly not worth £19 and I was left feeling still very hungry. I spoke to the waitress regarding this but although she apologised she did not offer a solution. My husband’s meal was so bland I can only describe it as slop, dripping in cream and slacking in seasoning. Breakfast was no better, I asked for scrambled eggs with avocado on toast. When I asked to have it on brown bread the waitress said they only had white. I did not get avocado either as she explained the ones that had been delivered were hard. My husband ordered a bacon and egg breakfast roll and got a bacon roll instead. We had given up by this stage so finished breakfast, packed and left deciding never again to return. Do not go there! A very poor but costly experience.

As a family we have been going to this pub for 5yrs and in the last 3 years the food has been ok, Went last night for dinner 4 main courses one was burnt and 2 others the chicken was so dry. The 4th soup so was ok. Deserts apple crumble and the crumble was not cooked at all so not edible. Prices are in the range of a good restaurant but the food is not.

On a business trip with three other colleagues, decided to visit here for lunch. The welcome was really friendly and the food that we ordered was really nice, I ordered the pork belly which came with veg and some sweet potato fries. My friends ordered chicken and fish and chips and was great quality food. They didn't have mash on the first night but on the second visit they did have mash but was made with about a litre of milk and wasn't mashed through but that was the only issue. We all sat in the bar after and stayed for a few hours. We sat on some lovely comfy leather sofas in the window, staff were really nice and accommodating. Would reccomend for some lovely food.