The Full Moon - Newark and Sherwood

This charming restaurant is located in the beautiful Nottinghamshire countryside. The food and service are fantastic, and the menu includes both classic pub favorites and more unique options. The dishes are consistently cooked to a high standard. I visited the Full Moon two nights in a row while on a business trip in the area because the atmosphere was great and the food was excellent quality and perfectly cooked. Plus, they are dog-friendly!

The food at this restaurant was disappointing, to say the least. It was so cold inside that I had to eat with a scarf wrapped around me, and it took a long time to warm up after we left. The waiter informed us that the owner had decided not to turn on the heating until November, which could have been dangerous for diners. The crayfish and prawn starter was decent, and the pork and Bakewell tart were passable. However, the salmon was full of bones and buried under a thick layer of old, greasy batter. The steak pie was okay but not great. The bread and butter pudding was especially terrible, tasting like a slab of lard. Overall, this was a meal I do not wish to repeat, and it was the worst dining experience I have ever had.

We have visited this restaurant on occasion in the past, and last night we went for a birthday celebration with our family of four, including a five-year-old. It is a charming establishment in a picturesque village. We arrived at 5:30pm and took advantage of the early bird menu available before 6:30, which offered a 2 or 3 course fixed price menu. The selection was somewhat limited, but all the options were appealing and we were able to find something we liked. The service was friendly and efficient. For starters, we enjoyed a fancy prawn cocktail and one of us had pate. Our main courses included sea bass, pork for two of us, and liver for one. The dishes exceeded our expectations, being cooked and presented perfectly. We were thoroughly pleased with every aspect of the evening.

I would like to start this with the fact that I know some family members have had great meals here! We called to check if there was a gluten free menu as two members of the party (including myself) require gluten free options We were told they could accommodate this I checked again when ordering drinks and was told by the waitress that not to worry most things could be adapted as gluten free. When ordering I checked if the things I had ordered could be adapted to be gluten free and was told again no problem (burger with no bun and a starter) The waiter then came out of the kitchen and was told none of my order could be adapted… this continued twice with different order options and I just gave up and ordered something that I knew could be gluten free from the get go. There were multiple other problems The other gluten free member of the parties food didn’t come out until everyone else had almost finished eating and whilst we were waiting for it the waitresses stood in full sight laughing and looking over. Not once were we checked on or apologised too, they were less than attentive. After everyone has finished and it was time to pay the bill another waitress came over to apologise There are no allergen makers on the menu full stop. None for gluten/nuts/egg/dairy Which I’m sure by law they now have to have on the menu What is more dangerous is that the staff seem to care very little and have very little knowledge about allergens… this is something that if got wrong could severely hurt or even kill a person. Either you need to train your staff in allergens or mark the menu when allergens are present for the safety of your customers! Called the landlady of the pub to discuss afterwards and she was less than interested and didn’t seem like she wanted to discuss the issue we had with the allergens not being visible on the menu/lack of knowledge with staff around allergens It would have not been an issue if when we called prior that we were told they couldn’t accommodate us.. we would have chosen to eat elsewhere but they were more than happy prior to the booking to accept us with our GF issues. So avoid if you have any allergic reactions or allergies with food. Will not be returning

From the lovely welcome to the beautifully presented food a thoroughly enjoyable early evening dinner, and very good value for money