I really can't see what the previous reviewers see in this place. All dishes were executed with the minimum of affection or care, and seemed to be working off a template rather than any sort of passion. The menu is a large single printed sheet, with no specials added, so any attempt at seasonality or daily offerings are instantly out - it's the same old, day in, day out. The bread was foamy, semi-stale and obviously out of a packet, perhaps from the local Tesco, My starter of courgette soup was cup-a-soup blended with some courgette, and some undercooked chunks of said vegetable thrown in just in case you forgot what you were eating. My pancetta wrapped monkfish came stuffed with an unannounced filling of something spicy and heavily seasoned with black pepper, taking away from the fish. The crab 'soufflé' on the side was lost in a mess of mediocre diced peppers. The included sides of vegetables were thrown on a side plate and left to roll around. Everything was careless, tired and over seasoned; the sauces were obviously from packets. Everything seemed to be simply assembled in the kitchen using pre-made or pre-prepared ingredients. The wine list is risibly small and pathetic, and I had to refuse two different white wines because they were too old, and the 'sommelier' couldn't honestly tell me which wine on the list was the most recent vintage. Desserts were OK but I thought the waitress serving us was going to hit us with the ice cream scoop, given her scowling demeanour. Apparently this place is a local favourite which has been open for decades - it's time for it to allow something of quality to take its place.

We had a wonderful mid-week meal in the Barn recently. We were made to feel welcome the second we walked in - seated in a booth in the lounge, given menus and offered a drink from the bar. The menu is a little odd, more like a trendy than classic restaurant in its layout, but the dishes all sound fantastic. I selected the crab spring roll starter and duckling. My companion had pate and sirloin steak (they were out of T-bones!). We were seated promptly in the back of the restaurant, in a large, airy room and to our relief there were other diners, as we thought it would be very quiet. The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable and not at all stuffy or stiff. The food and service were excellent, my only complaint being that an extra 5-10 minutes between courses would have been welcome. The desert trolley was comprehensive with about half a dozen traditional type deserts - profiteroles, ice-cream, apple-pie, cheesecakes, pavlovas - of which you could select a few tastes! Overall I thought the cost was extremely reasonable for such good service and high quality food.

Was yesterday with my husband for our anniversary.The food taste is excellent,service is very friendly and good value for money.Definetely will come back again!!!! P.S. The dessert was heavenly tasty...