The Star Inn - Basingstoke and Deane

What a horrendous experience. I really don’t know where to start, we work hard all year and finished work on Friday 22nd so booked to go to the star on Saturday to start our family Christmas celebrations. Were had a dreadful year and were looking forward to a nice meal out. Firstly when we arrived the waitress came within minutes to take our order. I asked if we could order drinks and just give us a few minutes to look at the food menu. My son ordered a regular Coke, I ordered the Christmas cosmo cocktail and my husband the zero alcohol peroni. My god this was hard work , firstly I was told they might not be able to do the cocktail, my son was brought a pint of Coke and my husband a pint of peroni? He queried if it was correct as shed checked at least 3 times before what he wanted and was assured it was. However a few minutes later the waitress rushed over to advise it was in fact alcohol!! She then didn’t come back to take our food order for over 30 mins (I’d point out at this point the restaurant was more than half empty) When taking the food order we ordered the cheesy garlic bread , chorizo bites and olives to share as a starter. We were advised they didn’t have any cheese , so the bread would just be garlic bread. We agreed that would be fine. My husband ordered the duo of lamb, sorry no lamb was the response ! Eventually after another long wait our starters came out and omg ! The garlic bread was burnt to a crisp ! Black ! My husband took this back to the waitress and told her to take it back and take off our bill. How on earth any self respecting chef let that leave the kitchen , or a waitress bring that to a customer’s table is insulting. When the mains came we were at the point of giving up. Both my husbands main and my main were cold !! Stone cold. We decided to just eat what we could and get out of there. So we asked for the bill. We waited and waited and waited. All the time all three members of staff were huddled around the til. Obviously having an issue. But instead of coming over and apologising for the wait we were left sitting there. Eventually after calling IT they resolved the issue. On the way out my husband did express how bad the experience was. The manager offered to deduct something off the bill. But that would make no difference to our ruined lunch out. The food is below par, the prices were an absolute rip off!! Nearly £30 for a burger with a pig in blanket screwed to the top. I will not be returning here. It was a shame because 13 months ago we’d had a lovely meal , but this experience was horrendous. Never again

Christmas dinner and dessert wasn’t nice at all starters was nice.. when told the manger he didn’t like the complaint and was rude and didn’t seem to care about our opinions! The roast potatoes wasn’t roast potatoes.. 2 other family’s that was there also complained but he told us we was the only ones. My two children didn’t touch there dinner as they didn’t like it over £300 spent and offered us £25 back told him to keep it and we would be taken it further as for the money it wasn’t worth the money nearly 90 a head and kids £40. Day light robbery.. for the food that was cooked. Absolutely shocking as a family it was disappointing and a waste of money

We booked a Christmas day lunch at this restaurant in Kingsclere since it is local to us. We have dined here before and found the food and staff to be very good. However, on this occasion, we were disappointed with the food despite the friendly and courteous staff. The scallop starter was bland, and when we mentioned this to our server, there was no offer of an alternative or compensation. The turkey, parsnips, and carrots were enjoyable, but the roasties were not crispy as described on the menu and the Brussels sprouts seemed to be frozen. We expected more effort from the trained chefs to create a memorable experience, especially considering the cost of the meal. Overall, it was an underwhelming Christmas day lunch and has left us unsure about returning in the future.

Like Craig Revel Horwood I am not easily pleased. Infact I probably spend far too much time looking for fault or expecting the worst. I visited the Star Inn a while back and had a horrific experience not expecting to return. However I forgot my last visit there and rebooked a family lunch . I am glad to report that this visit was the opposite experience. Amazing tentative and pleasant staff service, good seating and fast service. My starter scallops and prawns was so good I wanted to lick the bowl after, my main meal pork with bubble n squeak was to die for and the crème brûlée desert was just sublime. Leanne was cheeky and polite and made sure everything was just right. I have given many reviews and most not good but It gives me great pleasure to give my first ever in 58 years 10/10 !!!!!!!!!

Pre-booked 3 course Christmas Lunch. Table was squashed for 11 people, one sat on the windowsill at the end of the table for space. Not many drinks were bought, due to the problem getting in and out from the table. The table was set for one course, per person. After the starter, a waitress brought a handful of cutlery over and put them in a pile on the table for us to help ourselves. We had to ask for cranberry sauce etc. If a table is pre-booked surely cutlery etc. should be in place on the table. This was not a drop in pub lunch. We were not offered water and we were squeezed on to a table. Not impressed. The turkey was dry, the potatoes were over cooked, the parsnips were undercooked. The bill was for 12 people rather than 11. It seemed, although I may be wrong, that there was not enough staff and whoever was in charge was not experienced enough to know how to prepare for guests.