Ragley Boat Stop

I will not be using this establishment again! Waited ages for food which was not warm, looked awful and tasted apalling. Staff not interested. Manager - an older and very rude woman - not bothered. This is not how this pub used to be, it really has gone down hill. Will definitely not be going again as far better places in the area.

**Worried now as have been told by a Ragley employee that the kitchen is filthy and old /out of date food is served to customers!**

Visited for a meal and wish we had never bothered! The food took ages to arrive and when it did it was cold and tasteless. We left most of it because it was so bad. Did ask for my steak to be cooked properly, medium as requested and they took it away. It was brought back and dumped on the table as if it was my fault! Manageress was about and she was quite rude, not bothered about customers. Heard her swearing profusely at staff - she is a bully. Place was not clean, lots of flies about. Avoid, plenty more local pubs offering good food at good prices.

gone down hill since we last went abeit a year or more ago. Not a Mad O,Rouke Pub thats for sure ... wont go again

I have visited the Ragley many times previously, my last visit will certainly be my never to return again. The meal was not as ordered and the quality was very poor with uncooked egg and gammon so fatty and tough it should not have been served. I emailed the Ragley over 10 days ago without any acknowledgement to date. Is it possible the customer service team is as poor as the meal I was served or is the management not interested with dissatisfied customers who eat out 4/5 times weekly?

Have used this place many times in the past, but gone down hill.  Asked for my money back last week after my lamb burger, which wasn't much bigger than three fifty pence pieces and swallowed up in a plain  bap, no dressing,  along with potato wedges that had seen the oven/fryer on more than one occasion.  Will not be returning until I hear they have gotten a new chef.

to be honest myself and my wife have been going there for years and i agree with what a lot of people are saying yes its a nightmare trying to find a table, BUT they do what they do at the price they do it at, and while they are always busy, rightly or wrongly they are not going to change there policy while the pub is full every fri sat evening are they?
My main point is for years, at lunchtime they have done a lunch menu of about a choice of 6 or 7 smaller portion meals, 5oz steak, scampi etc etc, think its now two meals for 7 quid, quick bite to eat at lunch, cant go wrong for the price can u really, BUT, you do have to get there at bang on midday, AND you csan sat at a table looking out onto the carpark watching the pensioners walk over like a swarm of locusts, its like watching zombieds walk slowly towards you, i think every pensioner in the derby and burton district comes here for lunch about twice a week, you know where that cold weather payment is getting spent at folks, but what annoys me is their attitudes, they dont have to say a word, the evil glare that says "how dare you sit at my favourite table, and your under 60 so you shouldnt be here at lunchtime"

Just been to this pub for a birthday meal . We had a wine voucher to use if the food cost over £25 . So when it came to ordering the meal i went up to the bar , ordered using the menu and handed over the payment and the wine voucher.
Oh -cant take that sir.
Why not?
You should have given it before ordering the food.
Really? It doesnt say that on the voucher -just says [ hand to your server when you order your food at the bar.]
No- it means before I take the payment.No wine....sir.

I asked for the manageress and waited while the food was cooked ,delivered and eaten. No manageress.
I went back to the bar.
The manageress started off by saying "Im not arguing"
Well good,I expect a person in charge to deal with a quiet family man in a reasonable manner.
She kept saying the server was correct - the timing of presenting the voucher is apparently timed to the microsecond-its in the terms and conditions seemingly.
She then very grudgingly decided that 'just this once' we could have the damned bottle of wine. Our food had turned to dust in out stomachs by now and we didnt feel like staying to drink in the pub.

Why? Isnt the staff trained to recognise that sometimes new customers dont know the secret ways of presenting vouchers? And that middle aged men out with their family are not the enemy.

Very poor service .

Plus the feedback form on the main site is irritatingly small.

Comment? Well having just come from there, can say the atmosphere is quite homely and in a lovely setting. Unfortunately, there is no direction on available space for eating..(grab a table)..no waiter service as such..more like cafe service..nope thats incorrect..usually you order from a waiter at a cafe...there you have to order after finding a table..then make your own way to the bar to order...

Ok guess I can deal with that...depending on whether you lose your table in the meantime...but out of the 4 meals that I paid and ordered..only one was up to standard...and that was because it was a rare steak...you dont have to cook that...

The two sets of ribs..were boiled dry with a sauce on top...and the 120z fillet..well what can I say...asked for medium...and can handle the fact it was overcooked...burnt ...nope don't do that...

Yep..someone did come half way though the meal..to ask if everything was alright...and offered to replace the steak.... of course said no...why...

Well, I was there for a pleasant eating experience...and didnt want to wait another 10 minutes..which by then my counter-parts would have finished the meal..

Anyway, why would I order another steak, when they dont know the difference between cooked, over done, or burnt...

Sigh...well got some sort of compensation in the way of money...but the outing was spoilt...

Wont go there again...

NOW CALL ME BIASED, but I AM the oner of King Henry's Taverns, so you can't expect me to rubbish my own pub can you?
However, I am concerned that some of you have found it uncomfortable at busy times, and in particular with finding a table.
We always price our meals so they are great value for money. I genuinly believe you won't find the same quality for less - anywhere. Let me know if you can.
I hear what you say about a waiting list, but with so many entrances to the pub, and so many rooms, I don't know how we could fairly police it. People would grab a table before we had a chance to see it had been vacated and that would cause more problems than we have already.
If we wanted to make it quieter, so it was easier to get a table, we could put the prices up. That would put some people off and make it easier to get a table, but somehow I don't think that's what the majority of our customers want.
If we booked tables, we wouldn't be able to do the turnover we do now, so prices would have to go up, which again, most of our customers don't want.
Contrary to what one person on here put, we aren't making a fortune. We are making a small profit on a lot of meals. I've been doing it for 25 years and unlike some operators, we've NEVER been greedy.
In these credit crunch times, I'm pleased we have the problem we do have, which is too many customers ! So many pubs are failing. A report this morning (14/11/2011) said 68% of pubs nationally are suffering major financial difficulties.
So when you find it a bit busy, please bear with us, and also remember the price we're charging. If you're happy paying more per head (as I'm sure you did in your Indian restaurant) then we really don't mind if you go there and we'll hopefully see you on one of our quieter nights.
All we want to do is provide you with 'Good Food at Sensible Prices'
I think you can all agree, we are doing that
Phil Weaver

Arrived at 7.20 on Saturday night, there were 200 plus cars on the car park. As we approached the door other people were trying to get in before us.
The restaurant was crowded with people wandering around looking for a table, as we entered the different dining rooms other potential customers were coming out shaking there heads saying 'nothing' or 'you've got no chance'. We were aware of the 'grab a table' policy but we had no idea that there was very little chance of getting a table within an hour or so. We asked the barman his advice he said keep your eye on the tables. If I was early enough to get a table I wouldn't want people continuoslly filing past judging how long it will take me to to finish what was on my plate,
We walked straight out drove to our favourite Indian restaurant in Loughborough and had a great evening with our friends without any pressure to vacate the table.
They are obviously making so much money that they have no regard for customers.
A simple waiting list would give customers an idea of where they stand and would probably allow them to sell more drinks.
I had a wallet full of cash but they didn't get a penny out of me and probably never will.

On phoning to book for a party of 8 for Saturday night, I was told they do not take bookings but we should turn up in good time to get a table. Fair enough, some do not book but you go on a waiting list when you arrive & decide if you are prepared to wait the estimated time for a table.
But not here!!! On arrival, at 6:45 (not too late is it?), we were told that there were no tables available & would have to wait. OK, so I asked how long the wait was & would they let us know when a table was available. Apparantly they have no interest in helping potential customers. We were told that they do not have a waiting list & that it was up to us to spot a table when it became free & grab it. We could wait hours & then a walk-in could grab the table if they saw it first!!!
If we wanted to eat there, we would need to patrol the tables in order to secure one.
I have never been so apalled by such an abysmal attitude to customers.
We phoned a nearby restaurant who said they would fit us in within a half hour and did. We had an excellent evening with very good food and service which was excellent value for money.
We will never set foot in Ragley Boat Stop again.

i used to go here often with my husband when i were younger, it is a loverly pub.

Good atmosphere pub, reasonably priced. Good wholesome food with proper sized portions! Only down side is that my partner found the meat slightly dry, and being a vegetarian, i found that although they had a decent selection, few seemed appealing. However for a simple pub lunch, well worth a go

Now this is amazing quality for the price dont miss

Quality…. i go here quite often and just about talways get a decent size meal at a decent price. Plus you never normally wait to long either. Also a good place to get a meal on a nice day as it has seating outside in the big garden with loads of space for the kids to run off some energy. Also probably the best place i have been for a good steak. Ranging in different sizes from 6oz to a whopping 48oz steak. mmmmmmmm!

Visited this place with my wife and daughter. It is a lovely large rambling pub with plenty of space and seating upstairs and down. Being a real ale drinker I had one of the lower gravity draughts and it was spot on. Someone there knows how to look after the cellar.

There is a wide choice of food available and we each order some lunch. This was when the pleasant experience began to turn soar. I was dissatisfied with my meal; very! It must have been the worst I have had for as long as I can remember and I complained to one of the staff. Instead of receiving an apology, I was challenged by, what must have been the manageress, advising me that they had many other meals to be cooked, which were all the same and nobody else had complained that day.

It seemed to be a confrontation to intimidate me into silence for fear of causing a scene. In fact it probably ended up as unpleasant for the other clientele as it did for me.

I hadn’t complained with a view of getting my money back but the reaction made me so angry that I insisted on being refunded.

There is another pub of similar size not more than a few miles away at Ingleby, which is an absolute delight, with friendly and extremely helpful staff. The difference is that pub is a family business as opposed to this one that is part of a chain providing little motivation for the staff. I know where I will be going next time.

Visit this venue on a regular basis with friends and family and I have never had a bad meal. Menu is very meat orientated, with steaks a speciality. Does have a good fish and vegetarian section though. Portions are huge and reasonably priced. Has a separate children’s menu with plenty of high chairs. Has been refurbished recently, so decor is lovely. Toilets are clean and well stocked. Has a patio area upstairs and a large beer garden which backs onto the canal. Great pub which serves great, no frills food.

The Ragley likes to be known as a pub that serves food - it’s not a restaurant, but the food is definitely a few steps above your traditional pub grub.

The menu is extensive and varied - they serve steaks, mixed grills, fish, vegetarian meals and dishes from around the world, and there is a children’s menu too, so there is something for everyone. The food is always delicious and the portion sizes are generous too!

The only downside is that you can’t book a table in advance, so you have to turn up and hope for the best. But check out their website first for special offers - we printed off vouchers for free bottles of wine the last time we went.