Table Table Holes Bay Review
Holes Bay
Reviewed by Sophie Rix
The Holes Bay pub restaurant is located within the grounds of a newly refurbished and extended Premier Inn, on one of the waterside roads through the main Poole town. It is in direct access from the main road with ample parking facilities.
The Holes Bay pub restaurant has been insitu for a number of years however it has recently undertaken new management, refurbishment and décor throughout. It is located on the edge of a busy dual carriageway overlooking a part of the highly commended tourist attraction of Poole Harbour.
It is a modern twist on a traditional pub with the presentation of wood décor, electric fires, open spaces, ambient lighting and friendly, welcoming staff.
It caters for all – whether you are a single traveller fancying a quiet nightcap before returning to your slumber or a local family looking for an affordable sit down meal.
The menu has a large variety of dishes, again both modern and traditional with many dishes being common pub meals and others more restaurant style, however they are all very fairly priced. There is also a specific children’s’ menu with options of popular children’s favourites or small portions of popular adult main meals. You can also take advantage of a meal deal offer with the children’s choices and there are numerous deals for adults and families during different peak and off-peak times throughout the week.
There are various dining areas spread around the bar area, some are more of a bar feel so less formal and others are next to the fires with views over the main road which overlooks the harbour. Note: Your view of the harbour is limited. All areas have spotlight lighting to create mood and ambience and there is adequate spacing around each table so you don’t feel invaded by other restaurateurs.
The staff were formally dressed in shirts/blouses with black trousers/skirts and crisp, white aprons, name badges with “The Holes Bay” name embroidered in places.
Firstly, do not let the fact that this pub restaurant is located next to a dual carriageway put you off, admittedly I believe it is a large negative for the venue as the normal concerns are raised regarding road noise etc and it does bring the general surrounding of the restaurant down a level. That said however, we did not hear a single traffic sound and the venue inside more than makes up for its immediate surroundings!
We were very pleasantly surprised with this newly refurbished venue, having visited it some years earlier and not having such a positive experience. Its refurbishment (and new management/owners) has definitely changed this venue for the better. As described it is a modern pub restaurant, with a pub come restaurant feel harbouring pub prices but restaurant quality food. It is not as formal as a standard restaurant but more upmarket than a standard pub, so ideal for us – a young family.
We were offered a choice of tables despite many of them being reserved due to the festive period. We were shown to our choice of table and offered a choice of drink. We chose standard soft drinks for us adults and requested a small drink each for the children (toddlers). Unfortunately, despite being a family venue, there was no appropriate drinks container for a child’s drink as it seemed it was expected/assumed they would be having the commonly supplied (across many food venues) “Robinsons Fruit juice” drink – something our children have never had and we do not wish to introduce. After a short discussion we were provided standard glasses for the children’s drinks which we were advised to split an adult drink between, pouring ourselves. Obviously this meant very close supervision and assistance was required with the children’s drinks for safety reasons, our choice to do this rather than opt for the fruit drink. After we were given all of our drinks we were left to browse the menus.
After an adequate amount of time, the waiter returned and we all chose a variant on meals, involving a starter, a main and dessert. We opted for a sharing platter of dough balls and dips as the starter (to be shared between the children also) and I chose the pate dish, followed by mains of a vegetarian burger meal and grilled lamb, potatoes and vegetables and the children having chicken goujons, chips and beans (as a special treat). We were also offered a choice of sauces when the meals were presented to us.
Only the children and I chose desserts with my partner having a coffee – “Costa” branded. As expected from this well-known chain, the coffee was beautiful and presented in a large white cup emblazoned with the ‘Costa’ logo. The desserts we chose were all chocolate based, with a speciality (for the festive season) chocolate mint pudding and the children having ice cream with sweets, chocolate sauce, marshmallows and chocolate brownies.
These starter and main dishes were absolutely lovely, all presented in restaurant style precision, well portioned and hot and we thoroughly enjoyed them. The only complaint I have is that the children’s meals are HUGE and the portion size was more than enough for them to have shared one dish, however the children’s menu caters for a wide age range so an older child (I imagine above 8 years old) may find this an adequate (but filling) sized portion. The waiters and waitressed were all very attentive, checking everything was to our satisfaction but not to annoyance which left us feeling like we mattered but not to the point of being harassed.
The desserts were again all beautifully presented, warm (where required) and tasted as good as they looked. As before, the children’s were overly large portions for their appetites but I have no doubt in a few years from now they will be able to manage a dessert of this quantity, particularly at this high quality.
We were very comfortable in the pleasant surroundings, the temperature was appropriate and the only real negative is that the lighting was inadequate. As the darkness drew in from outside, it closed in on us inside as the spotlights aimed to set the mood left us in semi-lit shadows. It did mean I was squinting to read the dessert menu and felt increasingly tired as time passed… I think the children felt the same! We also overheard a fellow restaurateur changing their choice of table due to the dim lighting (it was more effective in different areas dependent on if you were seated near a spotlight).
Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our whole experience; it was more than fairly priced at just over £50 for a three course meal and drink for a family of four and the only let down was the lighting. We will absolutely be going again and highly recommend it!
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 but only lost marks due to the lighting.
Great!!
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