Masons Freehouse

A lovely dog-friendly pub with welcoming staff and customers. My wife had the Fish Pie and I chose the Game Pie from the specials menu. Both were beautifully presented and tasted amazing, with very good value for the quality. We each had a couple of pints as well. 10/10, we’ll be back.

We stopped in for a Sunday roast while travelling and were glad we did. The pub was spotless and had a welcoming atmosphere, and the staff were friendly, attentive, and seemed to care that we enjoyed the meal. The food was excellent, with generous portions, perfectly cooked meat, and all the trimmings done right. A lovely place to pause on a journey. We’ll make a point of coming back next time we’re in the area.

We’d had a very good Sunday lunch, though there was no pork crackling, so we booked for the following Thursday evening with friends. That meal and the service were a real letdown. There was just one server, also serving drinks at the bar, and we waited almost 12 minutes for our drinks. A few minutes later we were told only two fish pies were left, so we chose alternatives. When the food came, the table had only three sets of cutlery, so we had to get our own for one person. The beef was good, but the fish pie was terrible: three inches of mashed potato with just a few pea-sized pieces of what looked like salmon and white fish. The vegetables were cold. Overall, we were very disappointed with both the meals and service.

We stayed on for the quiz after dinner. It was friendly fun, and even though we came last and won the wooden spoon, we had a great night. The drinks were good, with a nice choice. We’d booked for Tuesday evening and weren’t disappointed: the staff were wonderful, helpful, and friendly, and the menu had a lovely range from starters through mains to desserts. My husband enjoyed the haggis bon bons, and we both had the homemade fish pie, which was a joy to eat. We finished with lemon tart and a homemade chocolate brownie. Needless to say, we couldn’t move after all that!