Mark U.
Yelp
Unfortunately we were seduced by an intriguing menu and the claim of oldest inn in England.
We so wanted the experience to be elegant with professional pride but instead it was touristy disinterest. No one in the kitchen is tasting what is sent to the table.
We ordered simple fare , vegetable soup with pearl barley, the porch House salad and the beef cheek sandwich. Soup pretty much flavorless. The bread that came with it stale enough to be day old and a pat of boobytrapped herb butter heavily blended with raw garlic without warning. We love garlic in all its forms but this was almost like eating raw cloves
And then the beef cheeks sandwich came with a toasted version of the same stale bread, decent pickles horseradish sauce, also okay but the main deal the Beef was not just shredded as expected but deep fried in cubes basically losing most of its flavor and tenderness. Again, an indifference. All topped off by an indifferent waitress, who never checked on whether we were okay or liked the food. She seemed preoccupied most of the time, we were ignored.
Mediocre service can be balanced against good food but The Porch House struck out completely. The only thing older than the, if accurate, claims of serving since 947AD, was the bread which probably dates from that era.
Be forewarned.
