The Fox Inn - Forest of Dean

Much too salty. Salty bread, salty beans, salty crust on chicken pie. Hake on a sea of red mush unappealing. Pie a bit too dry. No sign of a Manager. Not impressed and will not return. At least the prices were not outrageous but standard of cooking below par. Good beer.

Our second visit to this restaurant left us extremely disappointed with both the quality of the food and the service. We arrived at 1:15 PM and waited for an exceptionally long time for our food, which turned out to be underwhelming. When our dishes finally arrived at 3:00 PM, they were cold and served at different times. The staff seemed dismissive when we inquired about the status of our order and couldn't provide an estimated arrival time. The fish was overcooked, the meat was cold, the cauliflower cheese was burnt, and the chips were dry. Additionally, the broccoli was undercooked. Overall, the staff were unwelcoming and the food was far from satisfying. The experience felt overpriced and a waste of time. I do not recommend this restaurant.

We came to the Fox last May for Sunday lunch as a family of four and on that occasion we raved about it. The service was friendly and the food was excellent. We have just been back and cannot believe the contrast. We booked for 1.15 pm and the food did not arrive until 2.45 that is for three of our party. Our son’s food did not arrive until 3pm. No apology, the staff appeared irritated when we asked after an hour how long the food might be. The response was that they were very busy we appreciate that but our table was booked in advance and that no estimate of when our food might arrive could be given. The food was awful. Chicken and beef was cold, cauliflower cheese was burnt and cold. Our son’s fish was so overcooked it was inedible. Overall really appalling. The first time I have ever been minded to place a review. Appreciate it is hard to run a hospitality business but if you have such a blatant disregard for your customers I’d suggest you do not bother.

Since reading a very positive review of The Fox in The Times I have been for dinner on three separate occasions. My first visit I was solo and I found the food (scotch egg, followed by fish and chips plus dessert) excellent, and the service superb. On my second (again solo) visit I had toad in the hole which was disappointing the pudding mix was burnt and it was a stodgy meal to be fair it could have been more about my choice after all, toad in the hole is quite stodgy! On my most recent visit in November I bought along three family member’s. We all felt somewhat disappointed by starters and main courses. Service was slow and appeared to be under resourced. I know it’s difficult in the hospitality industry to recruit and retain staff and at the same time maintain consistently high standards of food. The Fox Inn is a lovely pub, however, my experience of the quality of the food has been inconsistent. Notwithstanding my experiences so far, I will go to The Fox Inn again.

We really enjoyed our Sunday roast. The service was excellent, the food was delicious and well cooked and it was a cosy atmosphere.