Bowyer Arms - Abingdon

Rob G.

We visit The Bowyers about 8 times a year and have always had good service and lovely food.
However,we visited today 23/11/24 and the experience was not good .
50 minute wait from order to our food coming out (were told 25mins),one meal was wrong and was taken back to the kitchen to fix and the other was not as per menu and when delivered was cold..
Gravy was also full of blobs and lumps !
No knives or forks or napkins given to us as you’d expect ,we had to track down some cutlery ourselves.
No check if food was ok and as we had already waited so long could not wait another 50mins for replaced meal for my wife (even if they did offer).
It was not busy and so don’t feel there was and reason for the waiting and the cold meal ,another observed a lady also asking at the bar where her order had got to as she had also been waiting 45 minutes.
We were offered a refund on the cold meal when we told the bar staff but as my wife was hungry and had eaten it anyway felt unfair to accept a refund.
Really disappointed especially as previous visits had always been very good.

Leeroy K.

What can I say not anything good if I’m honest, my daughter said can we leave and go to McDonald’s.
No steak No beef burgers No hunters chicken No garlic bread No gammon looking at the above you would thing the place was busy , but no one other table of 4 eating and this was at 1845 hours , drinks Coke had no flavour was almost like clear water .
Now for the food my daughter pizza was not edible, the award winning steak pie was very disappointing more gravy than meat have eaten a better steak pie out of Tesco the fries over cooked more like crisps than fries, chicken wings deep fried to an inch of their life . The food service it super slow to cook a small amount almost one hour of waiting.
No wonder the restaurant was empty in a Saturday evening the poor quality of the food must be known by the locals not to eat here .

Alex G.

We came for a family birthday meal, expecting a nice afternoon together. Instead, we waited nearly two hours for food that was nowhere near worth it.

We ordered in two parts — the first took over an hour to arrive, and the second followed about 30 minutes later. No updates, no apologies, just a lot of waiting.

When the food finally came, it was hugely disappointing. My daughter’s fish fingers were almost burnt, and the peas were rock hard. The jacket potatoes, which are supposed to come with salad, came with chips instead — again, no mention or apology. They were also so hot they were clearly microwaved. My mixed grill had chicken that was somehow rarer than the steak — completely unacceptable.

Other diners were waiting nearly an hour for a simple salad. What’s going on in that kitchen?

To make matters worse, we overheard staff blaming our table of six for the delays. That was the final straw.

This visit felt like a complete waste of our time. We won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend this place unless you’re ready for a very long wait and very little accountability

PuurfectPaws

Rude staff. Disgusting food. Please avoid. It’s a real shame because first time we’ve been here the food was great, staff was lovely and we really enjoyed our time, we returned today to have some food and quiet drink and when the food arrived, we was served over done steak that was beyond cooked and medium rare was asked for this was tough as old boots more than well done, the sauce was split and was curdled consistency with excess oil, no onion rings as described. They didn’t apologise, went to just get a new steak without discussing; my partner then popped his head into kitchen to just to politely ask them not to cook another steak as we would prefer a refund. He was fronted with a angry women who was rude to my partner and persisted to come out and be rude again to both my partner, but also myself, when showing the food she agreed it wasn’t right, but continued to have ago about us approaching kitchen to not waste another steak, implying that we should of asked the bar staff but all staff were in the kitchen and not manning the bar so we just wanted to not waste their produce and time by informing them, but they weren’t happy and told us to should of waited for bar staff to be available . When I explained this to the women who come out kitchen, we was fronted with more rudeness, I explained I wanted a full refund, she demanded we “asked nicely” even though I had already asked nicely to another member of staff who came out the Kitchen to address the issue; I explained to the other staff who I spoke to originally about it that I would be up to get refund at the bar after I had finished my drink and my partner had finished his meal. I went up to the bar to get my refund; and was only given what I thought was the refund for the horrible meal to only leave and see the refund hasn’t gone through and that the refund was short of what they owed me.
The way we were treated was honestly the worst service I have ever encountered. When I said I would complain, a man then came from somewhere behind the bar and said “complain to who; we’re not part of the green king so good luck with that”. Complete disregard to us, no consideration to the fact we had a poor meal and only wanted a full refund on the meal which we wasn’t granted. Please avoid at all costs! Shame because we had great impressions the first time that we raved about it loads and came back a few times for drinks and games of pool. Maybe under new management or team because none of the staff working today were ones we saw previously. Such a shame.
I would also like to add the intimidation to a pregnant young women was awful. My partner had left to go to the toilet, while one women continued to have ago at me for him entering the kitchen which i explained the situation and when I finally went up to the bar to get the refund, I was surrounded by three women and one male who worked there, as a pregnant vulnerable women I felt this was unacceptable.. my partner even came back in to explain refund hadn’t gone through and was incorrect amount, as I was too upset and worried about returning, he was shoved the receipt and told “its gone through” no consideration to the fact that even the receipt in question was short by the additions I paid for. Honestly shocked and disgusted. And considering they’re their own management they clearly do not feel they need to deal with complaints properly, and do not care for their reputation. I’m shocked and disgusted.

Sharon E.

I booked a table 3 weeks ago and paid a deposit of £30. It was for a special occasion, Mothers Day. Upon arriving I said to the girl behind the bar we had booked a table and she said sit anywhere. Our party was for 6 adults and a child. We found two tables and physically put them together. The menu was very limited. Roast dinner or meat pie. It took ages to be served at the bar. When the food arrived the roast was cold. The gravy just about covered the meat. The mashed potato was grey in colour, the roast spuds anaemic pale barely seen the oven. We came to ordered the pudding and the only thing on the menu was Eaton Mess. All the others either recalled or not on there. We ordered the dessert st 14:40 and we’re still waiting for it at 15:30. My son had to leave to get to London so we cancelled one of the desserts. The waitress then proceeded to get cross with us for cancelling it and was very rude. They said it was mixed berry but when it came it was cherry pie filling 🤢. I can assure you we will never be going back here. Thanks for ruining Mothers Day!

Diane F.

We have been several times before and had good food and service, however today was poor. After waiting an hour for food the lasagne arrived without garlic bread( but onion rings which my husband would not eat). Normal bread was refused. My pork belly dish was tiny for £15. I was offered a complimentary dessert as I was still hungry. Desserts were on the table before I paid and were not our correct order and the waitress argued they were ours. Don’t think we will be going again.

Sandy H.

I had booked a table and just gone straight to it upon arrival, then received a voicemail notifying me I was late for my booking and asking if I could call and let them know if I was going or not. I appreciate the call and the fact I, or one of the people in my booking, should have gone to the bar immediately on arrival, although a quick look at the table before the call was made would have answered the question and saved a phone call. The alternative would have been they did not know we were the booking for the reserved table, although the caller did not ask if we were or let us know we could not sit there if we were not.

I ordered beef and was originally brought out the duo, which had Turkey with it. The Turkey is not in slices, which I found slightly strange, although if it tastes good it may not matter. Anyway, I was not sure what it was at first and when I asked, it was taken away and the beef roast I ordered was brought out. The peas were cold, however, I cannot say whether that is due to the time it took me to eat them or the temperature when they arrived.

The crumble pie is worth every penny, in my opinion.

Lovely atmosphere and spacious pub with plenty of room to manoeuvre in a wheelchair.

Jae

Just outside of Abingdon, in Radley, stands a great pub, I have visited on many occasions over the years. The Bowyer Arms is a fantastic place to go, for a drink or some lovely food. Every time I go here, I find the staff so inviting and the atmosphere really bubbly. More recently I went for a music night and what a great feeling. I can highly recommend going along if you're a fan of live music. I also did a quiz there (my team won), which was a lot of fun and a great laugh. It's easy to find and has plenty of parking. Don't take my word for it. Pop down and see for yourself. It's in a beautiful part of the countryside and we'll worth the visit. Enjoy!😀