Waterford Arms

What a 'Rare Find' -

We passed by this pub a few weeks back, it is seldom that you find truly great pub these days.

We hit the jackpot with this place.

My wife and I and our two children, one of which is 3 the other is only a month old, called into the Waterford Arms during a trip up the coast.

Met by warm and friendly staff, we were shown to a seating area in the Restaurant, very nice indeed. The management obviously take pride in supporting local artists and craftsmen, decorated with drift wood carvings and photography and artwork.

Worth noting that this was a Sunday and in future we would book in advance, I think we were very lucky to get a table.

Good service and the food really was, in the high end of 'Pub' food still with fair pub prices. We have Sunday dinners, my little girl had cod bites and chips, fesh fish, you can tell as she did not leave a thing.

The meat was juicy and tender and the Gravy was out of this world, believe me, I am a expert in the mystique of Gravy. Served with a huge portion of fresh veg and we even had Leek and Potato soup to start with.

Who ever has this place has done very well getting the balance of a 'Family Pub' environment absolutely spot on.

Great location, warm welcome, food was amazing and great value for money. Would highly recommend it.

Excellent fish and chips. Very good service and pleasant staff. Spacious area and no pressure to rush your meal. Good value

The pub is in the process of being renovated and what has been decorated is very nice.

Have eaten lunch and dinner in the resturant and the food & service were excellent

We recently arranged a family function at the venue. The Manager Mark and his staff bent over backwards to accomodate us. Nothing was too much effort. The buffet food they provided was top notch and the price was very reasonable. Would recommend.

I travel up to Newcastle from Hatfield in Hertfordshire for days out with friends and we always have lunch at the Waterford Arms.

In all the years I have been going there I have never had reason to complain.

I always recommend it to others and warn them to have a good appetite and to be careful on what size fish they order and I never personally have a starter because it ruins the main course and my friends do agree.

The same sad decor, mismatched colour scheme and out of date portion sizes from 20 years ago!

On the positive side - the fish and chips were good - BUT the portion size was ridiculous! (enough for 2 - thankfully)

However the seafood "combo" was dreadful in the extreme. It was another huge combination of pieces of deep fried frozen rubbish, all sat on a massive bed of salad!

This meant that the salad became slightly cooked and slimy and the fried food became soggy.

The disgusting crabcakes tasted exactly how I would expect Whiskas to taste! The whitebait was tasteless and the scampi was another soggy mess.

When I asked that the bill should be adjusted the waitress / manager was rude and told me I was wrong as she had eaten the crabcakes for her meal and thought they were fine and that as so many of her customers ordered the combo, I was wrong about that as well.

(She didn't mention if they ever ordered them twice!) She did eventually take £3.50 off the bill - WOW, what a gesture!!

My recommendation - go for the fish and chips. Buy a single portion and two plates OR just don't go at all

Went for dinner and left without finishing the starters. Service started off as indifferent quickly deteriorating to downright rude.

My starter of 'house pate' turned out to be a thin slice of shop bought pate on chopped lettuce with the plate swimming in water, and a bread roll raw in the middle.

We should have known what to expect when the waitress asked her colleague "where shall I stick them". It was an absolute disgrace. They lost our custom on the night and forever more. Appalling.

nice friendly pub with good grub