The Bamburgh Castle Inn

We only came in for food and drinks, not an overnight stay. Our meal was lovely, and after the more difficult customers had left, we caught an amazing sunset from the beer garden. The staff handled a chaotic bank holiday weekend really well, even with people complaining about every little thing. Well done to everyone. There are still plenty of pleasant customers about, and I hope we can come back.

The dish tasted good, but the portion was small for anyone avoiding meat. I paid £17.95 for five pieces of ravioli, as the photos show. I know pubs are having a hard time, but so is everyone else. You can judge whether that feels like good value for pub food.

The pub itself is lovely, with nice views, and it's dog friendly and conveniently close by. Sadly, the food and prices let it down. The £17.95 scampi and chips was just small, very standard frozen packet scampi, not whole tail scampi as we'd hoped, even if frozen. With the sea right there, that felt off. There was no choice of garden or mushy peas, just mushy. The £16 chicken pesto pasta had sauce running at the bottom of the bowl. It was fairly tasty, to be fair, but I couldn't find the pesto, and the sauce was watery rather than creamy. The torn mozzarella on top was nice, though there was no hint of parmesan. The panna cotta was another disappointment: thick and heavy, like solid blancmange, with a gelatinous mouthfeel and nothing like panna cotta. I can only assume it was a bought-in frozen item. We were only there for drinks and food. I understand the prices reflect the coastal location and high overheads at the moment, but they seem above average to me.

The winter deal was really good value, and the food was a definite highlight, absolutely delicious. Staff were friendly and kept everything running smoothly from check-in through check-out. My room was spotless and the bed comfortable. Had an excellent stay at this lovely hotel, and I'm very grateful for it.