Attended for Sunday lunch, booked a table in the bar only to be taken upstairs to the restaurant - we had 2 family members with us who struggled with the stairs one due to recent hip replacement. We were extremely disappointed by the service from the young members of staff who were waiting on. Very slow at attending to us, then bringing dirty lipstick stained glasses for water. Nobody asked if everything was ok with our meal throughout our time there. We then waited for over 30 minutes after finishing our main meal to be totally ignored by the staff who were upstairs - at times there were no members of staff to be seen. One staff member could see we had finished but continued to service empty tables before disappearing. We were planning to have desserts but due to the poor, inadequate service received we left. Would not recommend or will be rushing back!!
Keith D
Thought we'd take advantage of the current offer they have on to see what the change of management has meant for the the Plough. Had to wait 50 minutes for food to arrive and when it did the mashed and roast potatoes were lukewarm, veg was overcooked and beef was overdone for my taste. Crackling on friends pork was burnt to a crisp and inedible. The staff seemed to be inexperienced but were pleasant enough. Other customers who arrived after us were served far more quickly so maybe just a blip but we were underwhelmed by our visit
ken_murray1975
We visited for a mid week meal and took advantage of the half price main meals deal during January. The Plough is a very clean pub and has friendly staff. We ordered the haggis scotch egg and crispy chicken starters which arrived promptly and were cooked very well. It was fish and chips and the fillet steak for main. Again, excellent quality and well presented. I would definitely recommend the Plough for food and drinks. The drinks are a touch on the expensive side compared to other pubs in Alnwick but does offer a very good environment and decor. Overall, a great meal in a nice pub with excellent staff.
Maryam A
We stayed at the Plough for NYE/NYD 2023 and it was amazing! It’s location is just perfect as it’s so close to Alnwick castle and Alnwick gardens. The food was absolutely outstanding and the room was beautiful, we slept like logs! They even had live entertainment that seen us into the new year which was an unexpected added extra! We had the best stay, so much so, we’ve already booked in again! Thank you so much Jay and the team and we can’t wait to see you soon!
Joan Y
Great food , friendly staff . Really good food and friendly service. Recommend to everyone. Clean , tidy and easy friendly service. We will be back .
Seaside36712665296
Recently came into The Plough for a late lunch/early dinner with my husband and our 11 month old son. We had booked a table and were very quickly shown to it, a high chair was provided and our food and drink order taken quickly. We also were given some hot water to heat up our son’s food. Service etc was very quick, our food arrived piping hot and was very delicious! No issues with the food or service, both were brilliant! Our issues came at the end of the meal when myself and my husband looked around the bar/restaurant area to find a baby change- we looked in both the male and female toilets, no facilities and discovered there was no disabled toilet or baby changer which we both found to be strange. I asked a member of staff if there was a baby change and was taken upstairs to the hotel breakfast area and given a changing mat and a towel and advised I could change him here… this was very strange considering the restaurant provided a high chair and had a children’s menu so is family friendly. It was bizarre that there was no baby change and the baby change facility I was given was not what I expected at all… There was no bin provided either to dispose of the nappy bag. We would eat here again however the baby facilities need to be looked into!
Mother Fox
DO NOT GO HERE.I’m really happy for the people who’ve had a great experience at this venue it certainly wasn’t ours.Reception at the bar when telling them we had dinner reservations in the restaurant was cold at best.We were followed closely up the stairs by a member of staff - professional distance please.Then we were seated whilst they were setting tables for breakfast, there was no one else in the restaurant (that should have been a big clue).We decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and figured ‘hey if we’re the only patrons we’ll be well looked after’.We ordered wine and aperitifs, the wine was unceremoniously ‘plonked’ on the table. No tasting, no pouring - just get on with it… ok we did.We actually ordered our meals, through a soundtrack of the kitchen staff shouting, cutlery being sorted and staff loudly making coffees - for no patrons???In time our starters arrived, clam chowder (with zero clams) and salmon fish cakes - with added CLINGFILM, Yep that’s right folks these fish cakes have Clingfilm baked right in the middle of them!!!We left. I can’t comment on the main course as we didn’t eat it. We paid for the wine and aperifs and left - the ‘manager’ made it seem like she was doing us a favour by not charging us for our starters….Our waitresses were lovely but they won’t learn anything about good customer service working at this establishment.Do yourselves a favour and go elsewhere. Di Sopra was amazing, great vibe as soon as you walk in the door, absolutely delicious food we’ve booked again for another night.
Catherine McCall
Lovely food, good service. Atmosphere a little lacklustre.
Helen Haswell
DO NOT GO HERE.I’m really happy for the people who’ve had a great experience at this venue it certainly wasn’t ours.Reception at the bar when telling them we had dinner reservations in the restaurant was cold at best.We were followed closely up the stairs by a member of staff - professional distance please.Then we were seated whilst they were setting tables for breakfast, there was no one else in the restaurant (that should have been a big clue).We decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and figured ‘hey if we’re the only patrons we’ll be well looked after’.We ordered wine and aperitifs, the wine was unceremoniously ‘plonked’ on the table. No tasting, no pouring - just get on with it… ok we did.We actually ordered our meals, through a soundtrack of the kitchen staff shouting, cutlery being sorted and staff loudly making coffees - for no patrons???In time our starters arrived, clam chowder (with zero clams) and salmon fish cakes - with added CLINGFILM, Yep that’s right folks these fish cakes have Clingfilm baked right in the middle of them!!!We left. I can’t comment on the main course as we didn’t eat it. We paid for the wine and aperifs and left - the ‘manager’ made it seem like she was doing us a favour by not charging us for our starters….Our waitresses were lovely but they won’t learn anything about good customer service working at this establishment.Do yourselves a favour and go elsewhere. Di Sopra was amazing, great vibe as soon as you walk in the door, absolutely delicious food we’ve booked again for another night.
linda j
My friend and i stayed for a couple of nights,the room was very nicely decorated and taken care of and the food was amazing.The staff were polite and helpful,special mention to a young woman with dark hair i think her name was chloe she couldn’t have done enough for us.And even though we had some difficulty with the room the bar staff were absolutely amazing at sorting us out,many thanks
My partner and I stayed here for 4 nights, and the whole experience was fantastic. Staff were very attentive, polite, friendly and very knowledgeable of the history of Alnwick and surrounding areas Rooms were spotless, extremely comfortable and the level of detail faultless. Food was reasonably priced, but most of all absolutely delicious. Breakfast, lunch and evening meals were exceptional (truly recommend) All we can say is thank you Clare and Juan, you have made our stay so special and one that we will remember for a very long time. Pete n becks (will shall return)
Ian B
Not the best trip here in our recent experience. Very friendly but staff stressed despite being half empty. Served bad pint then moaned when asked to sort it out. Food was only passable. Sorry but standards slipping.
C C
Slooooow service for breakfast. Food not very nice...cold and bland. Only ate here as we were staying in the hotel (which was lovely) but unfortunately the breakfast not up to the same standard
Booboo
We booked a table in the afternoon for later that evening and had an email confirmation. When we arrived, our car wouldn't fit safely through the long narrow entrance to the carpark, so we had to drive around to find parking. When we got in, we waited downstairs to be seated (as per the sign at the bar). There was one bar person on who saw us waiting (the front area was empty apart from us) but didn't acknowledge us or tell us she would be with us in a moment. She was busy doing something, but good customer service would have been to at least say hi and tell us she'd be with us in a moment - especially as she walked past us several times. I caught her eye at one point and smiled, and recieved a brief half-smile in return. Eventually she came over, found our booking on her system and sent us upstairs. When we arrived upstairs at the restaurant, the manager wasn't expecting us and couldn't find our booking (yet the woman downstairs had found it - surely on the same system?) and seemed quite flustered by this. We waited while they cleared a table for us. It then took a while for someone to come and take our order, and then even longer for our food to be served. Our table had been booked for 7.15 and it was 8.10 when we ate. When the food arrived, we all found it to be bland and overcooked - hard parts on the lamb from overcooking, mushy pasta that fell apart, no differentiation in taste within the dishes, so the whole dish tasted the same. Most of us ate it because we were so hungry by that point (and it wasn't actually offensive - just very bland) but one of our group only managed a few mouthfuls of theirs. I was disappointed to spend nearly £20 on a dish that was so unappetising. I think perhaps them not expecting us meant that they were unprepared and had to quickly put something together - so maybe the issue was with the booking system. Even so, a warm welcome and a smile or two would have helped.
EmmaC
A beautiful meal in a lovely setting in the upstairs restaurant. The menu choice was excellent with the regular menu and great local, seasonal specials. There was also a great drinks selection. Staff upstairs were welcoming and friendly, keen to ensure we had a good night. The food was some of the best I've had in a while. Portion sizes were good and everything was clearly prepared and cooked fresh to order. Between us we enjoyed mushrooms & the kipper special for starters and then the biggest, tenderest steak pie and chicken with haggis for mains. We didn't have room for pudding (despite a tempting selection). Prices were very reasonable, especially considering the fresh and local ingredients. I liked that no compulsory service charge was added (as is the case in so many places now), allowing us to tip as we wished. Thank you to the team at the Plough for a lovely meal. We will definitely return next time we are in the area.
Attended for Sunday lunch, booked a table in the bar only to be taken upstairs to the restaurant - we had 2 family members with us who struggled with the stairs one due to recent hip replacement. We were extremely disappointed by the service from the young members of staff who were waiting on. Very slow at attending to us, then bringing dirty lipstick stained glasses for water. Nobody asked if everything was ok with our meal throughout our time there. We then waited for over 30 minutes after finishing our main meal to be totally ignored by the staff who were upstairs - at times there were no members of staff to be seen. One staff member could see we had finished but continued to service empty tables before disappearing. We were planning to have desserts but due to the poor, inadequate service received we left. Would not recommend or will be rushing back!!
Thought we'd take advantage of the current offer they have on to see what the change of management has meant for the the Plough. Had to wait 50 minutes for food to arrive and when it did the mashed and roast potatoes were lukewarm, veg was overcooked and beef was overdone for my taste. Crackling on friends pork was burnt to a crisp and inedible. The staff seemed to be inexperienced but were pleasant enough. Other customers who arrived after us were served far more quickly so maybe just a blip but we were underwhelmed by our visit
We visited for a mid week meal and took advantage of the half price main meals deal during January. The Plough is a very clean pub and has friendly staff. We ordered the haggis scotch egg and crispy chicken starters which arrived promptly and were cooked very well. It was fish and chips and the fillet steak for main. Again, excellent quality and well presented. I would definitely recommend the Plough for food and drinks. The drinks are a touch on the expensive side compared to other pubs in Alnwick but does offer a very good environment and decor. Overall, a great meal in a nice pub with excellent staff.
We stayed at the Plough for NYE/NYD 2023 and it was amazing! It’s location is just perfect as it’s so close to Alnwick castle and Alnwick gardens. The food was absolutely outstanding and the room was beautiful, we slept like logs! They even had live entertainment that seen us into the new year which was an unexpected added extra! We had the best stay, so much so, we’ve already booked in again! Thank you so much Jay and the team and we can’t wait to see you soon!
Great food , friendly staff . Really good food and friendly service. Recommend to everyone. Clean , tidy and easy friendly service. We will be back .
Recently came into The Plough for a late lunch/early dinner with my husband and our 11 month old son. We had booked a table and were very quickly shown to it, a high chair was provided and our food and drink order taken quickly. We also were given some hot water to heat up our son’s food. Service etc was very quick, our food arrived piping hot and was very delicious! No issues with the food or service, both were brilliant! Our issues came at the end of the meal when myself and my husband looked around the bar/restaurant area to find a baby change- we looked in both the male and female toilets, no facilities and discovered there was no disabled toilet or baby changer which we both found to be strange. I asked a member of staff if there was a baby change and was taken upstairs to the hotel breakfast area and given a changing mat and a towel and advised I could change him here… this was very strange considering the restaurant provided a high chair and had a children’s menu so is family friendly. It was bizarre that there was no baby change and the baby change facility I was given was not what I expected at all… There was no bin provided either to dispose of the nappy bag. We would eat here again however the baby facilities need to be looked into!
DO NOT GO HERE.I’m really happy for the people who’ve had a great experience at this venue it certainly wasn’t ours.Reception at the bar when telling them we had dinner reservations in the restaurant was cold at best.We were followed closely up the stairs by a member of staff - professional distance please.Then we were seated whilst they were setting tables for breakfast, there was no one else in the restaurant (that should have been a big clue).We decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and figured ‘hey if we’re the only patrons we’ll be well looked after’.We ordered wine and aperitifs, the wine was unceremoniously ‘plonked’ on the table. No tasting, no pouring - just get on with it… ok we did.We actually ordered our meals, through a soundtrack of the kitchen staff shouting, cutlery being sorted and staff loudly making coffees - for no patrons???In time our starters arrived, clam chowder (with zero clams) and salmon fish cakes - with added CLINGFILM, Yep that’s right folks these fish cakes have Clingfilm baked right in the middle of them!!!We left. I can’t comment on the main course as we didn’t eat it. We paid for the wine and aperifs and left - the ‘manager’ made it seem like she was doing us a favour by not charging us for our starters….Our waitresses were lovely but they won’t learn anything about good customer service working at this establishment.Do yourselves a favour and go elsewhere. Di Sopra was amazing, great vibe as soon as you walk in the door, absolutely delicious food we’ve booked again for another night.
Lovely food, good service. Atmosphere a little lacklustre.
DO NOT GO HERE.I’m really happy for the people who’ve had a great experience at this venue it certainly wasn’t ours.Reception at the bar when telling them we had dinner reservations in the restaurant was cold at best.We were followed closely up the stairs by a member of staff - professional distance please.Then we were seated whilst they were setting tables for breakfast, there was no one else in the restaurant (that should have been a big clue).We decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and figured ‘hey if we’re the only patrons we’ll be well looked after’.We ordered wine and aperitifs, the wine was unceremoniously ‘plonked’ on the table. No tasting, no pouring - just get on with it… ok we did.We actually ordered our meals, through a soundtrack of the kitchen staff shouting, cutlery being sorted and staff loudly making coffees - for no patrons???In time our starters arrived, clam chowder (with zero clams) and salmon fish cakes - with added CLINGFILM, Yep that’s right folks these fish cakes have Clingfilm baked right in the middle of them!!!We left. I can’t comment on the main course as we didn’t eat it. We paid for the wine and aperifs and left - the ‘manager’ made it seem like she was doing us a favour by not charging us for our starters….Our waitresses were lovely but they won’t learn anything about good customer service working at this establishment.Do yourselves a favour and go elsewhere. Di Sopra was amazing, great vibe as soon as you walk in the door, absolutely delicious food we’ve booked again for another night.
My friend and i stayed for a couple of nights,the room was very nicely decorated and taken care of and the food was amazing.The staff were polite and helpful,special mention to a young woman with dark hair i think her name was chloe she couldn’t have done enough for us.And even though we had some difficulty with the room the bar staff were absolutely amazing at sorting us out,many thanks
Restaurantji Recommends
My partner and I stayed here for 4 nights, and the whole experience was fantastic. Staff were very attentive, polite, friendly and very knowledgeable of the history of Alnwick and surrounding areas Rooms were spotless, extremely comfortable and the level of detail faultless. Food was reasonably priced, but most of all absolutely delicious. Breakfast, lunch and evening meals were exceptional (truly recommend) All we can say is thank you Clare and Juan, you have made our stay so special and one that we will remember for a very long time. Pete n becks (will shall return)
Not the best trip here in our recent experience. Very friendly but staff stressed despite being half empty. Served bad pint then moaned when asked to sort it out. Food was only passable. Sorry but standards slipping.
Slooooow service for breakfast. Food not very nice...cold and bland. Only ate here as we were staying in the hotel (which was lovely) but unfortunately the breakfast not up to the same standard
We booked a table in the afternoon for later that evening and had an email confirmation. When we arrived, our car wouldn't fit safely through the long narrow entrance to the carpark, so we had to drive around to find parking. When we got in, we waited downstairs to be seated (as per the sign at the bar). There was one bar person on who saw us waiting (the front area was empty apart from us) but didn't acknowledge us or tell us she would be with us in a moment. She was busy doing something, but good customer service would have been to at least say hi and tell us she'd be with us in a moment - especially as she walked past us several times. I caught her eye at one point and smiled, and recieved a brief half-smile in return. Eventually she came over, found our booking on her system and sent us upstairs. When we arrived upstairs at the restaurant, the manager wasn't expecting us and couldn't find our booking (yet the woman downstairs had found it - surely on the same system?) and seemed quite flustered by this. We waited while they cleared a table for us. It then took a while for someone to come and take our order, and then even longer for our food to be served. Our table had been booked for 7.15 and it was 8.10 when we ate. When the food arrived, we all found it to be bland and overcooked - hard parts on the lamb from overcooking, mushy pasta that fell apart, no differentiation in taste within the dishes, so the whole dish tasted the same. Most of us ate it because we were so hungry by that point (and it wasn't actually offensive - just very bland) but one of our group only managed a few mouthfuls of theirs. I was disappointed to spend nearly £20 on a dish that was so unappetising. I think perhaps them not expecting us meant that they were unprepared and had to quickly put something together - so maybe the issue was with the booking system. Even so, a warm welcome and a smile or two would have helped.
A beautiful meal in a lovely setting in the upstairs restaurant. The menu choice was excellent with the regular menu and great local, seasonal specials. There was also a great drinks selection. Staff upstairs were welcoming and friendly, keen to ensure we had a good night. The food was some of the best I've had in a while. Portion sizes were good and everything was clearly prepared and cooked fresh to order. Between us we enjoyed mushrooms & the kipper special for starters and then the biggest, tenderest steak pie and chicken with haggis for mains. We didn't have room for pudding (despite a tempting selection). Prices were very reasonable, especially considering the fresh and local ingredients. I liked that no compulsory service charge was added (as is the case in so many places now), allowing us to tip as we wished. Thank you to the team at the Plough for a lovely meal. We will definitely return next time we are in the area.