The Ship At Dovenby

Dean gave us such a warm welcome and the service was 11/10. He’s a lovely bloke, and that alone would bring us back. The meal was gorgeous too, with nothing we could fault. Thanks so much, Dean, for making my dad’s birthday unforgettable! 😁

We dropped in this evening after a busy day at work, hoping they could fit us in, and were warmly welcomed by a really attentive guy. The service was incredible and the food outstanding. My beef curry was delicious. It was our first visit, but we’ll definitely be back. Thanks for a lovely meal and fabulous service. You’re all great.

The pub staff are brilliant and friendly, but the accommodation is terrible. We stayed in August and it was filthy. Since it was a bank holiday, we couldn’t find anywhere else. The landlord, Julian, promised a refund for one night and said several times he’d contact booking. Com, but he never did. He kept lying about it and even made two fake calls pretending to be from booking.com. All Julian had to do was be honest and follow through on what he promised. This was truly the worst place we’ve stayed. It’s a shame he handled it this way, very unprofessional and disappointing. I feel for his staff, because it gives the whole place a bad name. Dishonesty is the worst kind of professionalism. The pillows smelled used, unwashed and stale, like greasy hair. There were dirty marks on the sheets and duvet cover, and the carpet was so filthy we only walked on it with shoes on. The bedside area was very dirty, with no valance sheet to even try to cover it up. The bathroom had no blind. Room 1 had a shower full of over 20 dead flies, and a really strong, unpleasant cooking and fat smell from the kitchen. In room 3, the towel rail was leaking, and both the rail and floor were dusty. There was no sink plug for shaving, and the sink unit was worn and damaged.

We were in the middle of moving and had no cooking facilities, so treated ourselves to a Friday night meal. We hadn’t booked, but were welcomed warmly and shown to a seat. They took our drinks order at the table. The T-bone steaks were the best we’ve ever had, and it was a first for my husband. The portions were plentiful, with gorgeous proper home-cooked chips, coleslaw to die for and, wow, cress. I’d forgotten how much I liked it, and you don’t see it dressing a side salad these days. After long work hours I wasn’t feeling great, so I asked for a doggy bag for my leftover steak and they brought a lovely foil takeaway tray. The music was easy to hear without drowning out conversation. This will definitely be one of our regular places to eat. See you soon for another T-bone, or perhaps a Sunday roast, which I’ve now been told at work is to die for.