The Hayloft is truly an outstanding restruant. The service from the staff is wonderful; creating a welcoming vibe as soon as you enter. The Beef Roast is delicious, served with a variety of vegetables and a Yorkshire pudding. What truly amazed me is the time it took between ordering and recieving our food. I would recommend this place for anyone looking for a new place to eat.Visited during August 2021
GIC_Berks
We were holidaying in the area in early May and had a confirmed booking made online for the 6 May at 19:00. I was even sent a reminder by the booking system, but when we arrived we were confronted with a "Closed" sign and no-one about except some other reserved customers in a similar position. The telephone was not answered either. This is a terrible way to treat customers. From the reviews, it is not the first time this has happened recently. If there was an unexpected closure then the least that should have been done was to notify customers with reservations! Luckily te previous evening we had dined at the Great Trethew Manor's restaurant a stones throw away across the A38, which was excellent, so we went there again, where we were made very welcome an served with another delicious meal.
zume
We chose the Hayloft for my Brother-in- laws birthday as it’s situated half way from each other’s homes, approx 40 mins drive each, we had read the good reviews for the restaurant and they served local meat and vegetables. A week prior to our visit we called to say that my Husband was Vegan and myself and sister-in- law both vegetarian, and was told that was fine and the chefs will do something for us. On the evening on there wasn’t a vegan starter and the vegetarian one had Grand padano cheese, which isn’t vegetarian. We had this without, which was ok, My brother-in-laws squid tasted as it had come from a freezer. Our mains unfortunately didn’t turn out to be any better, in fact worse. My brother-in-laws Seared Cornish Sirloin steak was half grizzle and half fat! Not sure what part of Cornwall this steak came from. The vegan option was mushroom tagliatelle carbonara which had eggs in the sauce! So my Husband ended up with soggy pasta without a sauce and a couple of mushrooms thrown it. The staff were good and were doing their upmost to keep things together as there were a few complaints around us and the young girl in charge did give us a discount on the meals. If we hadn’t called to inform them of out dietary needs I wouldn’t be complaining, but we did. I do not like to give bad reviews, as I know that the hospitality industry are going through a very bad time and I did email the proprietor the day after our visit and I haven’t received a reply.
Richard P
Where to start. I called The Hayloft 3 times on different days to book a table for Easter Sunday lunch, but no one picked up. I resorted to using the online booking system, but that limited the table size to 6 people (I needed 8), so I booked a table for 6 and then left a message on their answering machine telling them I needed a table for 8. I never received any kind of confirmation, and so had to call again to confirm that they had received my message. I finally got through to someone who confirmed my booking after calling a total of 8 times. When we got there everything seemed nice. Some of us arrived a little early and so waited with a drink in the bar area. Their selection was very limited, but the lady at the front desk attributed this to a missed delivery. Then we went through to our table upstairs with the rest of our party. The first guy who took our drinks didn't know what was available, and said it was because he wasn't actually a waiter, he was a member of the kitchen staff. I think over the course of about 2 hours we had 3 completely different people serve us. We ordered our drinks, and then started to flick through the menu... The first thing we noticed was the price hike. Online, their Sunday Lunch menu listed a "sharing roast" at £13, but the new price was £17.50. Starters had gone up from £7 to £10, and even the children’s menu had gone up from £6/£3 for main/dessert to £10/£6. Everything seemed to have had a 30-40% price increase, with no indication of why. This would have been fine if the food had been amazing... But it was truly awful. Four of us ordered the pate and toast. What arrived was a pile of grey, wet, grainy, tasteless, sludge that looked like cat food, with one tiny slice of baguette and a sad little pile of spinach leaves. My guess is that it was spooned out from a tray that had been frozen and then thawed; it certainly didn't look fresh. The battered prawns and squid were pale, undercooked and not at all crispy, and came with a mixture of chimichurri (Argentinian), aioli (Spanish) and Nam Pla (Thai) sauces. I'm all for fusion food, but this was like the chef threw 3 darts at a map of the world and just mixed the most popular sauces from each country. The artichoke salad was average at best. We complained about the pate and they removed it from the order entirely, so we held out hope for the roast dinner at least... But alas, there was nothing to redeem themselves. The lamb was dry, the beef was very fatty and the Yorkshire pudding was overcooked. The vegetables on the plate were average, but then came the "sharing" aspect of the roast dinner. We received one small tray of cauliflower cheese and "roast" potatoes to share between 8 of us. This consisted of a cauliflower cheese that was somehow both burnt and total mush. You could barely tell there was any cauliflower in it. The "roast" potatoes looked more like giant wedges/chips that had been done in the deep fat fryer. Even then they were still pale and undercooked. They certainly weren't roasted at any point in their life. We also ordered another round of drinks just as the roast arrived, which didn’t show up for 30 minutes, at which point we had all finished and so cancelled the order. Obviously, we didn’t stay for dessert. We paid for the roast dinners and the drinks we actually received and left. The lady at reception was nice, but took about 15 minutes to sort out the bill. I don’t know what’s happening at The Hayloft, but management needs to sort it out as soon as possible.
Myles Chapman
Really lovely staff and fantastic food every time. Highly recommend.
Emily King
Absolutely beautiful Sunday lunch, friendly helpful staff and a light and airy atmosphere. Thoroughly enjoyed the food with my friends and their children
Sarah_2000065
Emailed to request a booking, didn't get a reply. We then called and booked a table for 6 for a Saturday night. Discussed the menu etc and the lady said she would email the current menu the day before our visit. She did not send it so we called, no answer so left email address and phone number again asking for confirmation of our booking and the menu. Again, we didn't hear anything so turn up last night to a closed sign on the door but staff inside. Someone came to a window and told us they were shut. Rude and unapologetic, no attempt to contact us, no suggestion of where else we could try. Things happen in these testing times, we appreciate that but this is totally unacceptable not to even contact us. AVOID, AVOID AVOID!! We ended up at the Halfway house and they could not have been more helpful or welcoming.
AnneL52
Excellent food and service. Arancini and squid starters delicious and well cooked. Sea bass main well presented and very tasty. Also had pork belly which was lovely. Enjoyed first two courses so much had to have dessert too! Staff very friendly and efficient. No complaints at all. We will be back. Thank you
meljcook1
Really enjoyed our time at the Hayloft. Food was top notch, service very friendly and helpful. Ideal position on the A38 , plenty of parking
Tina Milden
Completely off their game last night , from starters to deserts , very poor , overpriced.
Although staff were great ?
This was my first visit again for this year2022, so my expectations were on a high after our two visits in 2021. Looking forward so much to the lunch and the food they had prepared, on being welcome back the area we’re we normally ate was out so we were shown a table upstairs, which was fine yet the area was small so the tables were close, we had booked via the internet which had a menu showing what to expect, yet it had been changed so my personal choice was not available so l selected roast chicken, food arrived yet there presentation was different the veg was not on it own dish it was part with the meat which meant trying to ensure or change , presentation was ok , but no wow this time round, the dominating item was again the brown Yorkshire pudding, the veg was good but a little overwhelming as there’s so much ( to much) . Finally we viewed menu for dessert bread and butter pudding ( remembering my mums) was the choice, rated for us disappointed , no taste, lacked the magic.
LightPacker424229
This is the third time we’ve been to the Hayloft. Always interesting and well cooked food. The staff go out of their way to be friendly and provide excellent service. Prices reasonable for the quality of the food.
RogerW123
Stopped here on the way back from visiting our new granddaughter in Plymouth having read previous reviews about the Sunday roast. We were not disappointed - two of us had the lamb, two the beef which came plated with most vegetables but with the addition on the table of a large pan holding plenty of nicely cooked roast potatoes along with cauliflower cheese, as well as a large jug with more than enough tasty extra gravy. Everybody enjoyed the lunch and it was good to see the different eating areas handily set out over the two floors. We will return the next time we are passing…as we didn’t have space left to try the great sounding desserts!
Han Hooper
We visit regularly for a Sunday roast and today was the best by far. Updated way of serving the roast is spot on, really tasty meal and delicious puddings.
Denise Smith
Sunday lunch wow and raspberry dessert amazing x staff very friendly and they love dogs too, definitely recommend.
The Hayloft is truly an outstanding restruant. The service from the staff is wonderful; creating a welcoming vibe as soon as you enter. The Beef Roast is delicious, served with a variety of vegetables and a Yorkshire pudding. What truly amazed me is the time it took between ordering and recieving our food. I would recommend this place for anyone looking for a new place to eat.Visited during August 2021
We were holidaying in the area in early May and had a confirmed booking made online for the 6 May at 19:00. I was even sent a reminder by the booking system, but when we arrived we were confronted with a "Closed" sign and no-one about except some other reserved customers in a similar position. The telephone was not answered either. This is a terrible way to treat customers. From the reviews, it is not the first time this has happened recently. If there was an unexpected closure then the least that should have been done was to notify customers with reservations! Luckily te previous evening we had dined at the Great Trethew Manor's restaurant a stones throw away across the A38, which was excellent, so we went there again, where we were made very welcome an served with another delicious meal.
We chose the Hayloft for my Brother-in- laws birthday as it’s situated half way from each other’s homes, approx 40 mins drive each, we had read the good reviews for the restaurant and they served local meat and vegetables. A week prior to our visit we called to say that my Husband was Vegan and myself and sister-in- law both vegetarian, and was told that was fine and the chefs will do something for us. On the evening on there wasn’t a vegan starter and the vegetarian one had Grand padano cheese, which isn’t vegetarian. We had this without, which was ok, My brother-in-laws squid tasted as it had come from a freezer. Our mains unfortunately didn’t turn out to be any better, in fact worse. My brother-in-laws Seared Cornish Sirloin steak was half grizzle and half fat! Not sure what part of Cornwall this steak came from. The vegan option was mushroom tagliatelle carbonara which had eggs in the sauce! So my Husband ended up with soggy pasta without a sauce and a couple of mushrooms thrown it. The staff were good and were doing their upmost to keep things together as there were a few complaints around us and the young girl in charge did give us a discount on the meals. If we hadn’t called to inform them of out dietary needs I wouldn’t be complaining, but we did. I do not like to give bad reviews, as I know that the hospitality industry are going through a very bad time and I did email the proprietor the day after our visit and I haven’t received a reply.
Where to start. I called The Hayloft 3 times on different days to book a table for Easter Sunday lunch, but no one picked up. I resorted to using the online booking system, but that limited the table size to 6 people (I needed 8), so I booked a table for 6 and then left a message on their answering machine telling them I needed a table for 8. I never received any kind of confirmation, and so had to call again to confirm that they had received my message. I finally got through to someone who confirmed my booking after calling a total of 8 times. When we got there everything seemed nice. Some of us arrived a little early and so waited with a drink in the bar area. Their selection was very limited, but the lady at the front desk attributed this to a missed delivery. Then we went through to our table upstairs with the rest of our party. The first guy who took our drinks didn't know what was available, and said it was because he wasn't actually a waiter, he was a member of the kitchen staff. I think over the course of about 2 hours we had 3 completely different people serve us. We ordered our drinks, and then started to flick through the menu... The first thing we noticed was the price hike. Online, their Sunday Lunch menu listed a "sharing roast" at £13, but the new price was £17.50. Starters had gone up from £7 to £10, and even the children’s menu had gone up from £6/£3 for main/dessert to £10/£6. Everything seemed to have had a 30-40% price increase, with no indication of why. This would have been fine if the food had been amazing... But it was truly awful. Four of us ordered the pate and toast. What arrived was a pile of grey, wet, grainy, tasteless, sludge that looked like cat food, with one tiny slice of baguette and a sad little pile of spinach leaves. My guess is that it was spooned out from a tray that had been frozen and then thawed; it certainly didn't look fresh. The battered prawns and squid were pale, undercooked and not at all crispy, and came with a mixture of chimichurri (Argentinian), aioli (Spanish) and Nam Pla (Thai) sauces. I'm all for fusion food, but this was like the chef threw 3 darts at a map of the world and just mixed the most popular sauces from each country. The artichoke salad was average at best. We complained about the pate and they removed it from the order entirely, so we held out hope for the roast dinner at least... But alas, there was nothing to redeem themselves. The lamb was dry, the beef was very fatty and the Yorkshire pudding was overcooked. The vegetables on the plate were average, but then came the "sharing" aspect of the roast dinner. We received one small tray of cauliflower cheese and "roast" potatoes to share between 8 of us. This consisted of a cauliflower cheese that was somehow both burnt and total mush. You could barely tell there was any cauliflower in it. The "roast" potatoes looked more like giant wedges/chips that had been done in the deep fat fryer. Even then they were still pale and undercooked. They certainly weren't roasted at any point in their life. We also ordered another round of drinks just as the roast arrived, which didn’t show up for 30 minutes, at which point we had all finished and so cancelled the order. Obviously, we didn’t stay for dessert. We paid for the roast dinners and the drinks we actually received and left. The lady at reception was nice, but took about 15 minutes to sort out the bill. I don’t know what’s happening at The Hayloft, but management needs to sort it out as soon as possible.
Really lovely staff and fantastic food every time. Highly recommend.
Absolutely beautiful Sunday lunch, friendly helpful staff and a light and airy atmosphere. Thoroughly enjoyed the food with my friends and their children
Emailed to request a booking, didn't get a reply. We then called and booked a table for 6 for a Saturday night. Discussed the menu etc and the lady said she would email the current menu the day before our visit. She did not send it so we called, no answer so left email address and phone number again asking for confirmation of our booking and the menu. Again, we didn't hear anything so turn up last night to a closed sign on the door but staff inside. Someone came to a window and told us they were shut. Rude and unapologetic, no attempt to contact us, no suggestion of where else we could try. Things happen in these testing times, we appreciate that but this is totally unacceptable not to even contact us. AVOID, AVOID AVOID!! We ended up at the Halfway house and they could not have been more helpful or welcoming.
Excellent food and service. Arancini and squid starters delicious and well cooked. Sea bass main well presented and very tasty. Also had pork belly which was lovely. Enjoyed first two courses so much had to have dessert too! Staff very friendly and efficient. No complaints at all. We will be back. Thank you
Really enjoyed our time at the Hayloft. Food was top notch, service very friendly and helpful. Ideal position on the A38 , plenty of parking
Completely off their game last night , from starters to deserts , very poor , overpriced. Although staff were great ?
Restaurantji Recommends
This was my first visit again for this year2022, so my expectations were on a high after our two visits in 2021. Looking forward so much to the lunch and the food they had prepared, on being welcome back the area we’re we normally ate was out so we were shown a table upstairs, which was fine yet the area was small so the tables were close, we had booked via the internet which had a menu showing what to expect, yet it had been changed so my personal choice was not available so l selected roast chicken, food arrived yet there presentation was different the veg was not on it own dish it was part with the meat which meant trying to ensure or change , presentation was ok , but no wow this time round, the dominating item was again the brown Yorkshire pudding, the veg was good but a little overwhelming as there’s so much ( to much) . Finally we viewed menu for dessert bread and butter pudding ( remembering my mums) was the choice, rated for us disappointed , no taste, lacked the magic.
This is the third time we’ve been to the Hayloft. Always interesting and well cooked food. The staff go out of their way to be friendly and provide excellent service. Prices reasonable for the quality of the food.
Stopped here on the way back from visiting our new granddaughter in Plymouth having read previous reviews about the Sunday roast. We were not disappointed - two of us had the lamb, two the beef which came plated with most vegetables but with the addition on the table of a large pan holding plenty of nicely cooked roast potatoes along with cauliflower cheese, as well as a large jug with more than enough tasty extra gravy. Everybody enjoyed the lunch and it was good to see the different eating areas handily set out over the two floors. We will return the next time we are passing…as we didn’t have space left to try the great sounding desserts!
We visit regularly for a Sunday roast and today was the best by far. Updated way of serving the roast is spot on, really tasty meal and delicious puddings.
Sunday lunch wow and raspberry dessert amazing x staff very friendly and they love dogs too, definitely recommend.