The Castle

Someone from this business manages this listing.

658 reviews

#7 of 99 Restaurants in Farnham££ - £££, Bar, British, Pub

+44 1252 899970+ Add website

Hours

Sun

9:00 - 22:00

Mon

11:00 - 23:00

Tue

11:00 - 23:00

Wed

11:00 - 23:00

Thu

11:00 - 23:00

Fri

9:00 - 23:00

Sat

9:00 - 23:00

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What is Travellers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

658 reviews

#7 of 99 Restaurants in Farnham

Travellers' Choice 2023

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Food and ambience

Bar, British, Pub, Gastropub, Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options

“Excellent pub - we chose private dining for 16 people for a birthday celebrat...”

“The Venison pie and Honey Panacotta were TO DIE FOR!”

“On the whole the food was good but the duck was tough - we needed steak knives.”

Location and contact

5 Castle Street, Farnham GU9 7HR England

+44 1252 899970

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Does this restaurant allow dogs or considered pet friendly?

Yes

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Details

Manage this business?

About

Part of the New Dawn Pubs collection, The Castle is a gastropub set within a beautiful Grade II* listed Georgian townhouse on the buzzing, historic high street of Farnham, Surrey. Boasting a beautiful courtyard garden ideal for alfresco dining, it is a stunning oasis to refresh and re-fill, in the heart of the town. Open every day for lunch and dinner, and serving brunch Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Enjoy freshly prepared, quality, and seasonal dishes, including an exceptional gluten-free menu. For those celebrating a special occasion, the pub enjoys two stunning private dining rooms in addition to a relaxing bar, lounge area, and spacious dining. Join us for exceptional hospitality, as you settle in, relax, and enjoy the experience.

PRICE RANGE

£15.00 – £35.00

CUISINES

Bar, British, Pub, Gastropub

Special Diets

Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Brunch, Drinks

FEATURES

Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Private Dining, Seating, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Digital Payments, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Dog Friendly, Non-smoking restaurants, Gift Cards Available

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4.5

658 reviews

Excellent

472

Very good

Average

Poor

Terrible

Becky L

3 contributions

Great food, better service

Sept 2020 • couples

The food was lovely, great portion sizes and decent value for money- especially as you can get a £10 off voucher when you sign up for a loyalty card. The staff were great- friendly, helpful and knowledgable. The health and safely measures for coronavirus were really well executed and staff were courteous when explaining rules and guidelines. I really can’t fault the service at all. We’ll definitely be back!

Written 8 September 2020

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

517paulg

Hi Becky L, Thank you for taking the time to leave this feedback, after your visit. Our Red Card rewards scheme is very popular and we are glad that you have joined! See you soon, Many thanks Paul and Castle Team

Written 21 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

johanvladimir

Farnham53 contributions

Takeaway service with social distancing.

May 2020 • family

Takeaway service with social distancing. We ordered on the web site and paid over the phone. Collected at the agreed time and our meal for 5 was fantastic. All the staff were really careful to keep all the social distancing rules in place. The pub was well set out with a waiting area inside and the food was delivered to a table before I was invited to pick it up. They had all the hand sanitizers available if needed. We have used this service three times now and it has been 5* each time.

Written 30 May 2020

517paulg

Hi Johanvladimir, Thank you for leaving such a positive review and thank you for ordering with us so many times. We look forward to seeing you again soon! Kind regards Paul

Written 8 June 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jenny D

Phuong 813 contributions

Sunday Brunch

Jan 2020 • none

Our first visit for brunch and we'll definitely be back. So welcoming to 4 dog walkers and their dogs. Excellent service, delicious food from a really extensive breakfast/brunch menu and the free refills of filter coffee or breakfast tea, if you've having breakfast was a great touch. Thanks so much guys, see you soon.

Written 26 January 2020

NathanialTh

Hi Jenny, Thank you for taking the time to leave this review of brunch. We love Sunday mornings here at The Castle and I am so glad to read you had an enjoyable experience! Kind regards Nat

Written 13 February 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jim G

1 contribution

Underwhelming

Mar 2020 • none

Lovely interior, spoiled by the slightly grating music. Being a burger aficionado, £15 for a burger should result in a thing of quality. What arrived was small and unbalanced, and the patty itself was tough. The vegan burger lacked flavour and was fairly bland. Chips were tasty though, and the kids burger went down well. The service was friendly enough but off the pace. Had to re-ask for menus/kids drink/sauces, and we weren't aware of the specials until after eating.

Written 13 March 2020

517paulg

Hi Jim, Thank you for taking the time to leave this review. Whilst the situation in pubs in mid March was very difficult for staff working in the pub, we take your comments on board. We hope to welcome you again in the future when we reopen. Kind regards Paul

Written 8 June 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Diane M

Fleet6 contributions

Disappointed!

Sept 2021 • none

I've eaten here may times and always been very impressed with the food and service, however this is the first time I have experienced Sunday Lunch and found it extremely disappointing. Lunch was served before drinks having to ask again for our drinks order. We ordered a couple of side dishes of sautéed cavolo nero and hispi cabbage, this clearly had very little if any cavolo nero in the ingredient served and was returned. We ordered Roast sirloin of British beef (cooked pink), this was almost blue and incredibly tough and not edible. The atmosphere was busy and noisy, seated very close to a family with young, distressed children. To be honest I couldn't wait to leave. Staff did ask if there was a problem with the beef as most had been left on the plate but not very interested in rectifying the problem. Sadly, we won't be retuning any time soon.

Written 27 September 2021

Ben Fisher

Hi Diane, I’m very disappointed that your visit wasn’t up to our usual high standards on this occasion, as you can see from other reviews our roast dinners are usually spot on. Can you pop me an email, ben.fisher@redmistleisure.co.uk, with further details so that I can look into your experience further? Ben

Written 14 October 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Samantha P

2 contributions

Service lacking

Sept 2021 • couples

Went for lunch on a Friday with my partner. Beautiful sunny day so took a table in the garden/patio which is lovely. Unfortunately our waitress seemed to have her mind elsewhere - my partner was brought lager shandy instead of lager and it took several attempts to communicate this fact to her before she finally took it away and replaced. We both ordered sandwiches but when I went to order chips she said it wasn’t necessary as the sandwiches came with chips. When the sandwiches arrived there were no chips so she then took our order but the chips took so long that we had finished the rest of our food by the time they arrived. My partner had a steak ciabatta but was not consulted as to how he would like his steak cooked and it was much more rare than he would’ve liked. I had the “gourmet” fish finger sandwich and asked for a side of tartar sauce which never materialised. Both the fish and the chips lacked flavour although I find this tends to be the case in most pubs sadly. On the whole we wouldn’t rush to return based on this experience.

Written 25 September 2021

Ben Fisher

Hi Sam, I’m sorry that our service levels were not up to our usual high standards on this occasion, I have spoken to the team and reminded them of the importance of being the best we can be for each, and every table and we will endeavour to continue our improvement moving forwards Ben

Written 14 October 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Spongecakejam

3 contributions

Breakfast at CastleInn April 24th

Apr 2021 • family

Breakfast at CastleInn; service good, food prepared very quickly. Full English was ok but I had pancakes - don’t bother- flat not puffy , tiny slices of fruit and meagre maple syrup ( asked for more) . Coffee turned cold quickly before food arrived - asked for hot water to top up. Would I come back? Not for breakfast!

Written 26 April 2021

Barry T

Hi adrienneowen35, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review about your recent visit with us on the 24th. Thanks to your feedback along with some others we have received on the days since reopening with our brunch offering, we have changed the way we are doing our pancakes. We have also recently purchased a new coffee machine enhancing our coffee offer too. I have sent you an email and hopefully we can change your views with a return visit in the future and turn this into a more positive 5 star review. Best Regards Barry and The Castle Crew

Written 3 May 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Travellerclass

Farnham1184 contributions

Quite expensive lunch.

Aug 2021 • none

We had lunch here with friends on 16th August with a table for four booked outside at 13:00. The staff made us feel very welcome and were very attentive and I really couldn't fault that. Both couples decided to have the Sharing Platter, a Whole Baked Camembert and a Summer Board. When the sharing platters arrived the toasted focaccia bread consisted of just four miserly fingers of toasted bread about 7 inches long and about 3/4" thick!!! We were quite shocked at the portion of focaccia and with just two pieces each we made short work of the bread. We asked Amy could we have more bread and she went to sort that out. The bread took ages to come and that was a real shame as by now the Camembert was cold and gloopy. Amy was very good and apologised for the delay. The price for those four miserly fingers of toasted focaccia bread are £2:50 and would not equate to even one slice of bread so quite expensive. Anyway our mains were good and we did enjoy those. The staff we found were excellent and very accommodating and professional. The price for lunch was £165 and we gave a £10 tip to Amy. We did however feel that overall the value of the food we had wasn't the best for the price we paid, but that's our opinion and others may not find the price's steep. I would certainly look at better portions of Focaccia bread with the sharing platters!!!

Written 22 August 2021

Castle Inn

Hi Travellerclass, Thank you for taking the time to leave us a review following your recent visit with us. After reading your review, it is disappointing to read about the sizes and amounts of focaccia you received on your camembert and also when you requested more focaccia that the amounts requested was insufficient and also the time it had taken to get it to you, I apologise for this. I have had a discussion with our kitchen team today to discuss the issues and with your feedback, we have agreed to increase the amount of focaccia quite considerably, on our sharing boards, to ensure that we prevent any more issues like you have raised in your review. Our aim is to provide the best service to our guests while using the best and freshest ingredients we can get, hence our price point, but we still want to deliver value for money. Sometimes we get it wrong, and we learn massively from this and on this occasion we messed up, which prevented us from getting that high 5 star review that we love to receive here at The Castle. I would like for you to please get in touch with at The Castle on 01252 899970 for us to discuss in more detail about your visit and to put things right for you. Look forward to speaking with you soon. Best Regards Barry and The Castle Crew

Written 23 August 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

MJG

1 contribution

Sunday dinner

Nov 2021 • family

Starters were lovely. Main course took a while to come, and some of the roasts were smaller portions than expected - especially given the price. The staff who waited on us were lovely! Would just say that although we called and asked if we could bring our dog (to which the person on the phone said yes to) be aware that although it’s a dog friendly pub in the small bit at the front they don’t let dogs be there whilst you have dinner at the main tables. The staff found us a table at the front so our furry friend could be close by :) but just something to bare in mind if you’re looking for a nice dinner after a long dog walk :)

Written 29 November 2021

Ben Fisher

Thanks for leaving us such a kind review, we are really pleased that you had a lovely roast dinner with us, and that our staff were lovely. Although we only allow dogs in the front of the pub we serve the exactly the same menu in this area, and its closer to the dog treats at the bar! Look forward to welcoming you, and your furry friend, back again soon Ben

Written 29 January 2022

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Rudyupton

Paris41 contributions

Dire - Waited 20 mins for

Oct 2020 • none

Dire - Waited 20 mins for a drink then the food was embarrassing, calamari like old fashioned ringo crisps and a gristly bought in pie. Had to ask for everything including cutlery. No atmosphere. Red Mist, what on earth has happened to you? Very disappointing evening

Written 31 October 2020

517paulg

Hi Rudyupton, Thank you for taking the time to leave this review. I am truly sorry about the wait for your drinks. Unfortunately we have to leave cutlery off the tables due to our covid protocol and not mixing items between separate tables, or leave things out for extended periods of time. The staff should have explained better and made sure everything arrived quicker. We are a fresh food operation but are proud of our gluten free offer. We found a pie maker that has developed a pastry that is gluten free and we really love. With this not being something we are able to recreate in our kitchen, we have designed a recipe and get these made bespoke for us, to compliment the rest of our fresh food offer. We have a very large customer base that specifically chooses to dine with us because of our Gluten free offer. Atmosphere is a hard one for us to quantify. We did have the news yesterday evening about our business being forced to close again. I know the staff are doing everything they can to keep positive and ensure that our customers have a wonderful experience, hopefully when we reopen we will be able to recreate the atmosphere that we are known so well for. Many thanks Paul and Castle Inn Team

Written 1 November 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

TheFindlays54

1 contribution

Takeaway burger during lockdown

Jun 2020 • couples

This is our second take out from The Castle Inn - the first was so good we had to come back again! We paid for delivery which was bang on time and totally contactless. Food was once again piping hot, burgers juicy, chips plentiful and crispy, and the takeaway packaging is recyclable. Highly recommend :)

Written 12 June 2020

517paulg

Thank you for the recommendation, We very much hope to see you soon! Kind regards Paul

Written 15 June 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

RollerCoaster999

Portsmouth369 contributions

Sadly lacking in quality and customer service skills.

Oct 2021 • friends

Very disappointing meal and experience . This restaurant has sadly gone downhill which explains why it was not full on a Friday . We were a large group and although the service was attentive complaints were just dismissed. Probably the worst prawn cocktail ever. Indescribably bad. A wedge of lettuce presumably little gem and a handful of soggy defrosted prawns soaked in their own juice and literally thrown on the plate . Main course Belly of Pork at almost £20 lacking in any variety of vegetables and devoid of imagination . Coffees then came lukewarm and sent back . No reduction on the bull or gesture which goes a long way and a total bill In excess of £400. We all agreed it would be a long time before we returned

Written 1 October 2021

Ben Fisher

Hi RollerCoaster999 Please accept my apologies for the issues experienced on your visit Friday night, I have passed your feedback onto our team who will endeavour to improve moving forwards. Our Prawn cocktail and pork belly dishes have both been very popular since being added to our menu, but our kitchen team are always looking at ways they make improvements. Hopefully you can give us another visit to prove that this was a one off Ben

Written 14 October 2021

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Katie

4 contributions

Great find for breakfast/brunch

Feb 2020 • couples

Came across The Castle Inn when looking for somewhere to have a Sunday brunch. We actually only went in because Bills next door was busy but we’re really glad we did, what a find! I’m vegan and there were a few options for breakfast, I went with the vegan full English which was delicious! Nice sausages and lovely home made houmous (well it tasted home made!). Also on the menu were vegan pancakes and avocado on toast (which my wife had and said it was delicious) along with coffee with coconut milk (think they had soy as well). Apart from the food being delicious the service was amazing too! All the staff wanted to make sure we were happy with our food and we had everything we needed. Adrianna in particular was excellent, she chatted to us about the menu before we ordered and was really friendly and helpful. We would definitely go back again, in fact we signed up for a loyalty card!

Written 9 February 2020

NathanialTh

Hi Katie, Thank you so much for leaving this detailed account of your brunch with us. I have to say we were so thrilled to read your comments about our vegan choices, which we have recently extended. I will pass these comments back to the team and chef. Kind regards Nat

Written 13 February 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

McColl_Family

United Kingdom180 contributions

Lovely evening meal. I had

Jan 2020 • friends

Lovely evening meal. I had the sirloin steak. It was cooked exactly as I requested with a really nice mushroom and garlic and butter dressing. Great service and friendly staff. Only small negative was the espresso which came from a machine and was watery and not great. They need to invest in a proper coffee machine not an automatic one!

Written 27 January 2020

NathanialTh

Hi McColl_Family, Thank you for taking the time to leave this positive and constructive review. I will speak to the team about preparing the perfect espresso. Whilst we do have an automated machine, it does use Hampshire roasted coffee beans from Mozzo and staff still have to prepare coffees correctly. We hope you come back and visit us again soon, Kind regards Paul

Written 13 February 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

sarareeks

Aldershot10 contributions

Amazing gluten free menu

Aug 2020 • family

We have visited here twice in one week because of their amazing gluten free menu. Our 7 year old son is coeliac and is very sensitive to any cross contamination. On both occasions the staff have assured us that everything is prepared and cooked separately and should be served on a green plate. The gluten free menu is almost identical to the normal menu. Normally, eating out is a challenge and choice is usually very limited, so to find this gem of a place is an absolute game changer. On our second visit, we visited with other members of our family, one of which is also coeliac and she was equally impressed. Will definitely be visiting again soon!

Written 31 August 2020

517paulg

Hi Sarareeks, Thank you for writing this review. We were so pleased to read that we were able to offer you a good experience. I can only imagine how difficult it must be dining out when members of your family have such dietary requirements and am so pleased that you had a great time. Please do visit us again soon, Many thanks Paul and Castle Team

Written 1 September 2020

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

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