Black Boys Hotel

Lovely room, on suite and breakfast.

Quite possibly the worst meal I have ever had in a pub/restaurant in my 72 years. Lobster Thermidor, at least thats what it was called. Lobster was an over cooked, dry stiff chewy semblance of what should be something succulent. Served with a strange leek and egg tart, again, over cooked and dry and tastless. A few salad leaves and a bowl of extremely salty and over seasoned chips! A small jug of salty sauce - which I presume to have been the wine sauce? What happened to the cheese crust? Lobster Thermidor, is a dish of lobster meat cooked in a rich wine sauce, stuffed back into a lobster shell, and browned. The sauce is often a mixture of egg yolks and brandy, served with an oven-browned cheese crust, typically Gruyère. Only reason I did not complain at the time as we were with new friends and I did not want to show them up. I quite understand not to expect cordon bleu levels of culinary brilliance from a pub, but, this was bad. Why sell food that is beyond the ability of the staff to prepare? One of the other guests had steak that had to be sent back and replaced with one that was sinewy, they couldn't eat it! Place was noisy, crowded, not a place for a relaxing experience. No, its just a money making scam - should have known better than to expect anything else, should have stuck to scampi and chips, oh wait, dont mention the chips! Won't be a next time.

This historic inn provided a very warm welcome for weary travellers cycling the Rebellion Way. The bedrooms were comfortable, clean and well decorated, but the stand out was the food. The dinner menu was extensive, well cooked and beautifully presented. Breakfast choices were plentiful and tasty. All in all a great stay.

Very friendly and popular and the food is excellent. Just a word of caution - bring your appetite as the portions are very generous!!

Great place to stay, rooms are comfortable if a little dated but good nether the less. Staff are friendly and warm, great menu and the portion sizes are epic! Food coma bother nights I stayed

Rather disappointing for the cost. The room was very dull - no thought given to decor it seems, coffees and teas very basic and toiletries the same. Would have expected a lot more for the cost of £120 - too expensive for what it is. There was only one bedside lamp so reading only possible for one of us! The breakfast however was really good but probably would not stay here again due to the aforementioned and the cost.

I took my wife and our two sons for a Mother's Day celebration the evening before (an 8pm booking as they only had this or 8.30pm left), but, unfortunately, our experience wasn't good. While the food was passable (not the high standard we've experienced here in the past), the lack of coordination in serving our meals was disappointing. After over 45 minutes waiting for our food, the first two dishes, which weren't piping hot, arrived. Then we waited another 5 minutes for one more dish and 5 minutes for the final dish. One of the reasons to go out for a meal is to eat it together, so we waited until all meals were served meaning some already luke warm food was cold. The food itself was okay, and the portions were big, but it was just on par with average pub food and I feel it didn't reflect the prices. To make the experience worse, after finishing our main courses, we eagerly anticipated indulging in some desserts. However, it seemed like all of the servers had disappeared and we waited 20 minutes before finally seeing anyone in the dining area, and flagging them down. When we finally managed to request dessert menus, we were then left waiting indefinitely without any acknowledgment from, or sight of, the staff. Frustrated, and with two boys becoming tired, we reluctantly made the decision to leave without dessert. We had to fight our way to the bar (not because it's busy but because there's nowhere else for people just drinking to sit) to pay. When we told the server who was now behind the bar with all the other servers (they weren't all needed there) why we were leaving without dessert, she just shrugged and said, "we're busy". It's disheartening that what was supposed to be a special occasion ended on such a disappointing note due to the restaurant's lack of attentiveness and organisation. We had hoped for a nice family meal but it was disappointing. I won't be back soon. We're from out of the area but I have made several visits with family and for business. As a result of this experience I'm now thinking of cancelling a booking next week at the sister pub, The Recruiting Sargeant as I'm concerned once-high standards in this chain have slipped.

Great evening meal and amazing breakfast. Fab choice of beverages

We stayed one night in the family room (n. 106). The room itself was very well presented and huge, the mattresses were comfortable and the bedding clean and crisp. Most of the pillows were good and soft but mine were a little too firm, so uncomfortable. Breakfast was very good but not excellent. We also had dinner there, great menu and great offerings (especially the lamb three ways and the steak burgers). Great location but overall very expensive for what you get.