The White Horse Inn

I use this pub a great deal and often stay. The rooms are clean and well managed and the food is equally good. Michael, the owner runs it with ease with a long standing superb team headed by James. The beer is kept extremely well and you really won’t get a poor pint. They also know how to mix a decent Negroni. It’s the best pub/restaurant for miles.

Our visit on Sunday was the 2nd for Sunday lunch in recent months as local to the area. This visit saw us at the back end of service. Sadly, we suffered the consequences. Young front of house team as always very willing, Food, largely disappointing. Few of us had beef. Knives useless which didn’t help, meat very chewy. Roast potato outer skins rock hard, Yorkshire pudding way too crispy. Chicken and veggie option chosen by others looked better. Maybe an earlier sitting would have been better, but still very disappointing. Other local establishments more consistent. Come on guys, up your game on the roasts. A la carte menu been good in the past.

Nice location and friendly staff. Room was clean but only one towel left on the bed. Had to go back into the pub to ask for another as there were two of us. Came to make a cuppa in the morning and everything but milk. Only two plug sockets in the whole room and nowhere near the wall mirror for someone who wants to dry their hair with a hair dryer. Only minor things but they make a difference to your stay and these little things make a difference.

Travelling back to south coast we deviated off the M40, with a view to finding a nice pub. We were not disappointed at all, and found the pub to be most welcoming, and offered a table for 2 with no hesitation. Being Sunday and father's day at 7pm, food was still available, and the fish and chip's and burger we're perfectly cooked and very tasty. James the manager attentive and looked after us very well. They have rooms too, a bonus we will be back.

We are local to Duns Tew, and have been going to the White horse for years, and it is reliably good and deserves its premium reputation in the area. That being said, we had a very bad experience this Sunday at lunchtime. Summary points to the owner / manager and advice to rectify in future as follows : 1. When a party of 4 that has made a reservation walk in, don't leave them hanging at the bar like lemons for 5 minutes before a member of staff bothers to ask them if they have a table. 2. £28 for a Sunday Roast is expensive. I can feed the whole family at home with a quality topside fo beef or organic chicken for that, and I don't have to hang around until someone shows me to my dining room. If you are charging £28 for a Sunday Roast, you are sending a signal to the diner. That signal is: 'this is a premium price for Sunday Lunch. We get that. But you will be swayed by the quality'. The bar is set high, so be prepared that diners might be more prone to finding fault. 3. To point 2 above. In my humble opinion, Lamb Shoulder is not generally regarded as a premium cut. Fine. I love it. Slow cooked, in a pitta with tzatziki. Delicious. But if you are serving it as a roast option, at the same price as Sirloin Steak, provide a decent sized portion. And make sure your roast potatoes are crunchy not chewy, mange touts are not overcooked, and that gravy appears before the meal is served or at least simultaneously as opposed to as an afterthought. 4. To point 3. If your patron complains about the afore referenced meagre portion size and value for money, there are two options. Option (a) you could say is the commercial option : listen politely, acknowledge the complaint, apologise, and ask how you as an establishment might rectify the situation? Suggestions might be a free pudding, some drinks, or the simplest of all - take the dish back to the kitchen and top up. Problem solved, patrons feel they have been listened to, life goes on. Cost to the bottom ranging from £2-15. Option (b) - which is what your manager went with, is the 'alienate your customer' option. First he stared at us blankly. Very awkward. No 'so sorry to hear this', 'let me speak to the chef'. He went with, and I am paraphrasing, 'This lamb shoulder is the Louis Vuitton of lamb shoulders, locally sourced, from Deddington farm ...etc etc etc.' Basically making us feel small and not listening to our complaint. No apology, no offer to provide anything to resolve the issue. To save face we asked for some more vegetables, which duly came. But we really didn't want any more vegetables. My overall point is this. I get that it must be hard to run a restaurant. It's a tough business. But this is a service industry. And your pub was packed and we have always had a great experience. The rest of your menu is reasonably priced. I had the fish at £18 - delicious. And at that price point, no one is complaining. But if you are going to charge close to £30 for lamb shoulder, it better be amazin

We live near the White Horse. Over the New Year some of our guest relations (from Australia) frequented the White Horse. They have asked us to pass on their complements and thanks to Michael and his team for making their stay so enjoyable.