The Stables

Review summary

1. S

   Sally

   Devon

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on 16 December 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   We were here for our annual family lunch and hoped for a cosy pub with good service for our elderly family group and a wheelchair user. Unfortunately we were disappointed on both counts. On arrival we were shown to a table directly in line with the front door. The door was hooked open, as was the inside door. The cold wind was blowing in making it very chilly, and the noise of the passing traffic on the main road was unacceptable, so we had to ask for a different table in a more comfortable part of the pub. We were told that the doors were open because they had been trying to light the fire and the room was full of smoke. On requesting 3 sherries at the bar we were told that nobody drinks sherry so they didn't have any sherry glasses, so they had to serve the drinks in 3 small tumblers. The carvery itself was pretty good, apart from the potatoes, which were so hard they were inedible. No one came to our table whilst we were eating to ask if everything was okay, and no one came to the table to clear our plates away once we had finished, so in the end we piled them up ourselves and moved them out of the way. I went to the bar for tap water, but although there was another customer waiting, there was no one there to serve us and we had to wait several minutes for someone to arrive. Later we went to the bar to order desserts/coffees, only to be left again at an empty bar. We waited a while, then more customers came for drinks and when the barman (who also seemed to be the carvery chef and the waiter) arrived he went straight to serve them first! It was at this point we decided to leave and go next door to the garden centre to finish our meal. To be fair, the food was good and the staff were pleasant, polite and helpful, but there were just not enough of them - they were trying to be everywhere at once. The price of the carvery was very reasonable and they do a special discount for seniors, but in spite of this we didn't feel valued customers so won't be visiting again.
   

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2. F

   Francis

   Devon

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on 15 December 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Food was not as hot as should be but we eat at 2pm
   

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3. A

   Amanda

   Devon

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined on 15 December 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   We had an issue with one dish: the nut roast was delayed by over 40 minutes during the Sunday carvery. The manager was very apologetic and offered us free drinks for the inconvenience. We were happy they put the issue right and the rest of the meal was very good.
   

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4. D

   Deborah

   New York City

   4 reviews

   2.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on 15 December 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   Very average roast dinner, the “apple crumble” was a slab of stodge on a plate which I thought was suet pudding. I sent it back. Kids running around and screaming Not a great Sunday lunch. Won’t be back
   

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5. A

   Alison

   Devon

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on 14 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 2

   The 3 members of staff on duty did a sterling job considering what they were up against on a Saturday evening. However there needed to be at least double that. Table booked weeks in advance but not set up when we arrived. Long wait for drinks. Carvery plates cold so food went cold very quickly. Had to chase non carvey meal twice. Confusion over payment of bill due to the deposit we paid in advance.
   

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6. J

   Jen

   Devon

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on 10 December 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   We’d been looking forward to trying the carvery at The Stables, esp as they offered a vegan option. However, the pub was so short-staffed that we waited ages for service and then ended up doing it ourselves! Then we were promised the nut roast, which was eventually served to our table as my partner was finishing his meal! The staff were apologetic but didn’t seem aware that more of them would have been helpful. The food wasn’t great at all, the music was dirgy Xmas music, and overall it could have been so much better. Such a shame as we had hopes of making it a regular visit as we’re local.
   

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7. S

   Sherilyn

   Devon

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on 10 December 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 2

   A really excellent carvery - very tasty, lovely choice of vegetables, and hot! Let down by the temperature in the room despite the log fire - draughty, stone floors and so cold by the windows - really nowhere to sit where you didn't need to keep your coat on. No upselling - paid for the one course and had to find a member of staff to ask for coffee. We might even have considered a dessert!
   

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8. G

   Gabrielle

   Devon

   3 reviews

   3.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on 8 December 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 3

   We had booked this pub based on its previous reputation as we wanted their festive menu. Unbeknown to us it had changed hands between booking and arrival. We were not informed it was carvery only. The food was nice but the carvery was virtually empty and we had to wait 20 minutes for broccoli cheese and additional veg. The staff appeared to not know how to run a carvery. People were queuing for missing veg throughout our visit. Poor if that is the only option. When asked if there would be more veg, the response was, “if chef has prepared some”. Not helpful. Such a shame as it was a treat. Hopefully teething problems.
   

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9. K

   Katen

   Devon

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined on 1 December 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   They have only just changed this to a carvery, have a lot to get right. Beef was tough, vegetables not readily replaced, potatoes Roasted Ha Ha, gravy like water
   

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10. L

    Lesley

    Devon

    2 reviews

    1.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 1 December 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2

    Sunday carvery: plates were cold, all veg cold hence no flavour. The meat was tender, thank goodness. The stuffing ball was an insult to a stuffing ball! Yorkshire pudding okish, gravy could have been hotter. Can’t believe I forgot this, the cauliflower was so hard you couldn’t eat it! Didn’t feel the member of staff manning the carvery had any sense of urgency at all and was pretty dis interested in serving us. They did acknowledge and apologise re the plates, as she could feel they were cold! My half pint of tribute beer was very watery! Didn’t feel like I’d had a beer at all.
    

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