The Mayfly, Chilbolton

The first impression we had of this pub and its setting was "Wow!". Stunning setting, dog friendly and a seperate area for smokers. My husband went in to fetch menus whilst I sat and admired the river views, turns out the menu was on a chalk board by the ordering counter so the first challenge was to be able to see past the heads of the queueing folk to read what was on that day. Not a huge choice but then thats not always a bad thing. We both chose the venison burger with cheese, sauted potatoes and salad for �10.95, pricey for posh burger and chips but hey! Food arrived fairly quickly, the lady who brought it out not overly friendly, no "enjoy your meal". The ciabbatta roll the burger was in was untoasted and flabby, no sign of mayo or any other condiment, the salad was undressed, the burger so thick that coupled with the bread it was difficult to swallow despite the cheese. On the plus side the potatoes had a lovely flavour but a third of them were not browned so well. I went into the pub to get some condiments and asked the barman where I should get them from, turns out they are in bowls infront of the ordering area so I had to get past a long queue of people to get to them, the mayo had no spoon in the dish and as I had already pushed in and the serving staff were so busy I didnt like to ask. All in all not great, seems like the pub is trading solely on the beautiful location. Stick to a coffee or a pint to take in the view then get off to Stockbridge for food.

15 May 2011 21:58