The Fox At Farthinghoe

The meal itself was mostly fine, but the service made the whole afternoon a mess. We arrived on time for our Sunday roast booking for four, made under my name on Sunday 18th January, and they couldn’t find it. There was a free table, so we sat down anyway. Then nothing happened for 35 minutes. No one even asked about drinks, despite my partner asking for service about 20 minutes in. My father-in-law eventually went to the bar to remind them we were waiting. My partner had got so fed up that he left to look for somewhere else just as a waitress finally came over. We’d already heard the next table complain about long waits for drinks and dessert, and they got money off their bill. The waitress took our first two courses, then started to leave before I reminded her about drinks. Those took another 15 minutes, and one had to be chased because it was missing. She came back to check our starters, and another staff member later checked the main-course order too. It didn’t inspire confidence. Three of us had creamy garlic mushrooms on toast, which tasted good but were lukewarm. My father-in-law’s soup was stone cold. The manager would have had to call his gazpacho. When the starters were cleared, my cutlery went with the plates. I asked for another set with my main and the waitress never came back, so my partner had to find clean cutlery himself before my food got cold. No one offered to help. The mains were okay, nothing special. After we finished, the plates sat there for 15-20 minutes. Only two were taken at first, and although we asked for dessert menus, they never arrived. We got them only after the people beside us passed over theirs. A young waiter took our dessert order, then another staff member took it again and returned once more to check it had gone through. This sort of confusion seemed to be happening everywhere. Desserts eventually came, with noticeably smaller portions than other tables had received. My chocolate fudge cake was dry, and we had been left with the same one drink each throughout the meal because nobody came for another drinks order. When it was time to pay, my partner went to the bar rather than wait for the bill. Two extra drinks had been added, so we had to dispute them. The set menu was advertised at £20 per person, but staff were adjusting prices by hand, which may explain the billing mistakes we’d seen. Nobody offered an apology discount or any other goodwill despite all the problems. There were no table numbers or clear coordination, and we saw complaints from other diners all afternoon. The Fox had been promoting these Sunday roasts on Facebook, and this was their third or fourth weekend doing them, so I expected it to be better organised. My partner and I used to come here often, but both the service and quality have gone downhill. I wouldn’t recommend it. One star is generous, but it’s the lowest rating available.

I forgot to leave this review after my birthday dinner, sorry about that. We had a really good evening. The decor was brilliant, and the staff were polite and attentive. I’ll definitely come back. Thumbs up all round.

Eating here felt like a test of how long people can put up with chaos. I’ve had better dining experiences at McDonald’s. From beginning to end, the service was awful, with no urgency, structure or sense of responsibility. Nobody apologised or took accountability, and there seemed to be no management in the building. The staff looked as if they’d been left to fend for themselves.

We only looked at the reviews once we got home, and it wasn’t cheap. We went on a Saturday evening when there were hardly any other diners. The soup starter could have been lovely, but it was lukewarm in a cold bowl. The manager said he’d had to microwave his own. My husband asked me to try his mash with Cumberland sausage and gravy. Who serves Smash in a restaurant? The gravy was very salty, probably instant too.