The Walnut Tree Hotel

We stayed at The Walnut Tree Hotel for a joint birthday and Valentine’s treat, and decided to eat in the restaurant. I’m glad we did. Everything was freshly cooked and delicious, from the starter and main courses through to dessert. It was a pleasure to make an occasion of traditional British food. So often you stop somewhere and get quickly served reheated food or end up at a chain, but here the courses were well timed and cooked to perfection. We live in South Wales, and would gladly drive over again just to enjoy another meal like this.

The whole place felt chilly, with a draught around our legs, and there wasn’t even soft Christmas music in the background to make it feel festive. The Christmas dinner was very poor for £89, a lot of money for such a special day. The soup was lukewarm, I could barely find the main course on the plate, and the roast potatoes were too hard to eat. The vegetables were overcooked. The person beside me was served what looked like a child’s portion, the same amount of food as mine. The lemon sorbet was runny, the Christmas pudding too firm, and the mince pies were cool. The coffee was warm and bitter. It was worth a couple of pounds at most. Stay away for Christmas dinner.

We were a table of 10 and the only table in, but it still took almost an hour for our roast dinner to arrive. The food was cold by then. The beef was a tiny portion and so overcooked it was like shoe leather. There was only just enough veg to go round, and we had two small gravy boats and a small cauliflower cheese to share. Three people got no Yorkshire pudding. When we asked, staff just said they’d run out, with no warning or offer of anything else. We had to search around for ages to find someone to ask for more gravy. The staff were friendly and helpful when we asked, but they weren’t proactive. The children’s high chair was disgustingly dirty, and we had to ask for a clean one.

We were a family of four staying before a wedding the next day. The family room was spacious, comfortable and well equipped, with an annexe area. We had dinner from a very varied menu and specials selection, and enjoyed it. Breakfast was superb, cooked to order, with buffet choices as well. A great stop if you’re nearby or passing through.