The Talkhouse

There was a nice table by the open fire, the meal was delicious, and the service was good. We decided to give the Talkhouse a try after the change of ownership, and you can see the new owners are putting in effort to make it a pub and restaurant worth visiting for good food and a warm atmosphere. We'll definitely return and try more of the menu.

We'd had good food and service on our first two visits, but this third time the service was woeful. They seemed understaffed and unsure what was going on. They couldn't find the right menus and had no idea what the "pie of the day" was. Some dishes were poor quality and tasteless. Since we'd prebooked, it was frustrating that they had to move people off a table to fit our party. Maybe it was a one-off, but there were a lot of people in the pub who were probably disappointed. A shame for them and for us.

The new manager gave us a lovely, warm welcome. The beer was good, although London Pride at £5.50 felt pricey. Both fires were lit by noon, and the new armchairs were comfortable. Just what we needed on a miserable, wet Wednesday!

Such a shame, because our previous visits were completely different. On the bank holiday last week, there was no food and none of the cocktails listed on the wine menu online, just three cheap, standard spritzes. The tables were sticky, and it was cold with the back door left wide open.