please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
We walked to the pub with our dog. As we walked through the door the small dark haired bar barman shouted out "No Dogs!". My wife had even walked through the door and we were no more than two yards inside. No apology, no explanation (there was a stone floor and this was a pub not restaurant), no concept that it was absolutely tipping down, we had walked three miles, that there weren't many people in the pub and, get this, it is a country pub! We turn around and walked back into the rain. Contemplating a long walk back to the next village, we decided to stay outside and have a drink. I walked back in and asked the bar man whether there was another pub nearby which did allow dogs. He said we could try one in the next village about one and half miles away. I said that we had walked here and not driven. He said that he didn't make the rules and started laughing. Again no apology and no explanation. I told him that I was about to buy a drink anyway but he had just lost my trade. He said "Good", that I had "an attitude" and told me to "get out!"! The days of me getting irate with small, spotty boys working in a pub are over so I smiled and walked away. I feel sorry for the owners of the pub. It is clear that the staff in the pub have no concept of customer service in a tough diminishing market, and they are, literally, turning customers away.
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We popped in on our way back from Silverstone.
Gorgeous little country pub, warm atmosphere, very friendly.
The food was fabulous!
I would recommend this pub, it is a real gem.
After reading the previous posts I must say I can understand why the kitchen didn't want to disappoint JDP and their guests. I would much prefer for upfront honesty, than the quality to suffer.
AR2206 - The pub was not discriminating, but merely accomadating your party and outling their policy on children leaving the pub after 8pm. This is a reasonable request. Are pubs really the ideal place for children after 8pm???
Perhaps wacky warehouse would be better suited for your family!!
Sorry! Just felt this pub was lovely and I really don't like moaners!!!
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Was looking for somewhere for an evening meal and called into this place as we passed. As we browsed the menus near the door we were promptly told that the kitchen couldn't cope with any more orders and that we wouldn't be able to eat. Looking around, the place wasn't even at full capacity.
Disgusting how this place would turn away paying customers - my mate has worked in several pub/restaurants and has said that they'd never turn away customers, no matter how busy they were.
Instead we called in at the Red Lion in Bloxham and had a beautiful meal for a much cheaper price than the ones on the Duck on the Pond's menu. It also had a much nicer beer garden overlooking the river. So all worked out well for us.
Avoid Duck on The Pond as they don't value custom.
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I just called this pub to make a reservation for this coming Saturday..10 adults + 5 children...was told 6pm would be fine as children have to be off the premises by 8 - 8:30pm!!
What a joke! I find this is pure discrimination against people with children....fyi Mr and Mrs landlady of this pub, children are not pests, they are human beings and I find your policy petty and pathetic!
I have driven past your pub on the way to work everyday for the past 2 years and have always thought it looks nice and welcoming, so thought would give it a try...after this, will not set foot there ever!
Another thing, I was under the impression that the pub trade is tough at the moment....obviously, you must be doing well if you can afford to pass on a group of 15 people!
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Having attempted 3 times to reserve a table and being told to ring back at a more convenient time (for them), then having them hang up when I pointed this out, I would not visit this pub until a more customer focused person is able to be half courteous on the phone. Their loss - plenty more pubs in the area!
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Cathy and Dave run this pub very well and serve one of the best pints of Hookey
you will find. I was there with my friends on new years eve, good food, disco and a fantastic fireworks display at midnight.
Don't drive past you will miss a very good pub.
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lovely food and floor
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I found them to be a nice clean pub in a pleasant location. The pond is safely fenced off with nice seating outside.
Great food for me and my husband, as pensioners we found the food reasonably priced and a good choice of ales.
We went for our 50th wedding anniversary and it was well worth the drive from Yorkshire.
Loved the staff they were very helpfull
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How strange....three 'reviews' in 24 minutes and by three 'reviewers' all of whom joined BITE today and are 'reviewing' their first pub. Wonder of wonders....they all liked it !!!
Now call me a cynic, but please !!!
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I came here Bank holiday weekend with my partnter and 2 children.
We loved it here the food was great and very reasonable.
The kids enjoyed the pond, they loved the ducks too.
We definitely recommend the pub and we will go again.
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Stumbled across the duck on the pond while visiting family in Banbury, probably the finest village pub i have ever visited.
Very good service from freindly staff, good atmosphere on the weekend evenings with locals.
Visited the pub 4 times during the week, well worth the short travel from banbury.
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A delightful pub in lovely surroundings, very nice garden with a large pond. Found the food to be excellent and not too expensive, good choice of real ale and lagers.
All the staff were more than happy to help.
Will definitely return.
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Do not eat at this pub!! We are a family of 5 who recently stopped off at this pub to break up a long journey south. We had found it on the internet and it seemed to have a lovely menu, if a little pricey, but we were on holiday, so we were treating ourselves. The portions are very small for the riduculous prices they are charging, fishcake and chips is nearly �9 and is one sad looking fishcake, half a dozen chips and a bit of salad. Fish and chips is a better portion, as it should be for just short of a tenner, but the fish appeared to be of the bought in frozen kind, not what you're expecting for that kind of money. However the worst offender was the plate of king prawns that were incinerated beyond belief. I have never tasted anything like them, there was literally no meat left inside them, they had been cooked for so long, and all they tasted of was burnt butter. I mentioned how disappointed I was with them to the waitress, who didn't say much, and my husband mentioned it to the lady behind the bar when he went to pay. She said she would knock them off the bill, but it wasn't until we arrived at our holiday destination that we realised she hadn't even bothered to do that.
All in all a very disappointing start to our holiday, and at �63 for a bar snack for 2 adults and 3 kids a very expensive mistake that I will not be repeating.
On the positive side, the pictures of naked ladies in the toilets proved quiet an education to my 3 sons!
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Last time visited found it was a locals get served first rule at the bar even when i was waiting on my own ,should have walked out but chose instead to get ripped off for food.Never again!
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The Duck on the Pond is a free house. When I visited I was offered a small but enticing choice of Hooky Bitter or Loddon Hullaboo. I chose Hullabaloo which was in good condition, and thought I was in for a treat.
However, for no sane reason the landlord chooses to cream his real ales with a sparkler on each hand pump. When I commented that it was frothy he resentfully replied "it's meant to be like that". Not by the brewery it isn't!
Also for no sane reason the landlord had refrigerated the ale to lager temperature. I sat warming my pint between both hands for at least ten minutes before I could taste it fully. Refrigerating ale too much wastes energy as well as killing the flavour.
Like most buildings in South Newington, the Duck on the Pond is built of attractive brown Banbury ironstone. The pub looks like it could be 17th century. The bar is over-modernised and rather too shiny for an historic building. The garishly over-decorated men's toilet and its "tasteful" soft porn photographs are particularly brash and out of place in a village pub.
Most of the pub's floor area is now a restaurant. When I visited the pub its menu looked rather conservative, which may be no bad thing. I was hungry but I didn't try the food, as I would not enjoy eating in a pub which deliberately serves ale so badly.
The Duck on the Pond has great potential, most of which is unfulfilled. I could bear all the naff d�cor if only the landlord would treat ale as ale.
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I agree with I_ate_all_the_pies, nice clean pub in a pleasant location. The pond is safely fenced off with nice seating outside. The Hooky was good and the Chicken wrap with chips and nice salad was just over �6. Staff friendly too, can only speak as you find!
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Nice clean pub with a good choice of ales. One of the best pints of Hooky you will find. Food on the expensive side but good quality. Nice location with garden and pond. They play aunt sally on a thurday night in the summer.
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Went there yesterday as visiting relatives nearby. I come from London so am used to high prices but this was a shock - to pay �12 for vegetable fajitas is a joke. With egg-cup sized portions of dips, small size tortillas, and a plate of fried peppers and onions this would have cost �2.50 tops. The other meals were obviously re-heats and not freshly cooked. �75 for 4 people for a one-course lunch and one round of drinks is appalling.
The building is nice and quaint but is on a main road so our window seat had HGVs going past every minute. The "pond" is something you would see in a back garden. Oh and they have the noisiest sweet trolley you could ever hope to have to shout over the din.
I can only imagine that my father has not yet tried many places in the area if he thinks this is worth taking people to.
One good point - the Old Speckled Hen was on form.
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We use this pub occasionally because the bar food is imaginative and the beer is usually in pretty good condition. The obverse is that although the landlord presumably recognises us each time he makes little effort to be charming or hospitable. Or to anybody else as far as we can see.
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