The Woodsman

The Woodsman reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Review summary

1. AE

   AdamE

   Hampshire7 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Great Sunday lunch, with the lamb special being a real treat. The veg to go with it was excellent. Venison starter, again was lovely. Make sure you go when hungry.
   

   The WoodsmanResponded 2 days ago

   Dear AdamE, thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit at The Woodsman. We are so glad you enjoyed your Sunday Lunch with us, we hope to welcome you again soon. Kind regards, Abbigail
   

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2. T

   Tim

   Warwickshire3 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The Woodsman remains the best place to eat in Stratford by a country mile. We went for a celebratory Sunday lunch and had an asparagus mousse starter that was to die for followed by the shoulder of lamb for two to share. The lamb was perfect - melt-in-the-mouth texture, full of flavour with a smokey tang that comes from the open fire cooking. It was a huge portion, so much so that we took what was left home and had no room for pudding. There was lots of good, well-cooked veg too, though my wife tells me I cook a better roast potato! We had a delicious Alentejo red wine to accompany the meal, and this went perfectly with the lamb. Service is attentive and cheerful and the final bill was less than I was expecting, so definitely good value for that quality of cooking. Definitely worth a detour, as Michelin would have it.
   

   The WoodsmanResponded 2 days ago

   Dear Tim, thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit at The Woodman. What a lovely review, thank you! We are so glad you enjoyed your visit and can't wait to welcome you again. Kind regards, Abbigail
   

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3. B

   Bradley

   Belgium2 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on April 20, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Very good food and drinks. Highly recommend to anyone.
   

   The WoodsmanResponded on April 23, 2025

   Dear Bradley, thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit at The Woodsman. We are glad you enjoyed your visit and look forward to welcoming you again soon. Kind regards, Abbigail
   

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4. S

   Steve

   London1 review

   1.0

   Dined on April 18, 2025

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 4

   Sadly our experience was considerably disappointing. It’s clear that The Woodsman has all that is required to be an exceptional restaurant however, complacency was its Achilles heel during our visit. From the moment we arrived there was no attention to customer service, we stood for 10 mins waiting to be attended to but staff ambled around and we were left to fend for ourselves. We then went the bar for a drink, service was slow but ok. We then eventually got to speak to a member of staff but they could not accommodate our request for a slightly earlier slot, that was no issue as the resultant busy and we were grateful we had a booking, but it did take 30 mins to establish this. We then sat down and selected the tasting menu and wine pairing options. It was from this point the experience was very poor, service was very slow and we were not offered a drink, even water, for over an hour, no staff checked on us and only the waiter who served the bread and the canapés came to our table in 1hr. We eventually walked out 75 mins after we sat down (2hrs after we arrived) and still had not got past the 1st taster plate and had been offered zero drinks nor had the 1st drink from the pairing. Not the experience you expect for £140 a head! The food that others got looked great and the ambiance and setting fabulous, but the Woodman needs to acknowledge that to be considered a truly class act they can’t take reputation, customers and a full booking schedule for granted! I am sure the place is great and hope our experience was a 1 off. But we truly felt complacency was evident as they are too comfortable sat back on their reputation and full booking schedule.
   

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5. D

   Dawn

   Bath1 review

   5.0

   Dined on April 18, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Wonderful food and fantastic service. Would certainly recommend.
   

   The WoodsmanResponded on April 23, 2025

   Dear Dawn, thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit at The Woodsman. We re glad to hear you enjoyed your visit and look forward to welcoming you again soon. Kind regards, Abbigail
   

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6. M

   Meggy VIP

   Tasmania6 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on April 17, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We had the tasting menu. The meal started off well, the first half of the dishes were very good and a lot of attention went into explaining the dishes. The chicken and main we didn’t like. The Chicken Liver Parfait was good, but not the rest. My pescatarian alternative ravioli, I didn’t like at all. Nor did my partner like his lamb. Service was in general really slow…. although staff were nice and pleasant. Overall cost was quite high for what we had.
   

   The WoodsmanResponded on April 23, 2025

   Dear Meggy, thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit at The Woodsman. We're glad you enjoyed the start of your tasting menu and appreciated the dishes. We're sorry to hear that some of the later courses and the pacing of service did not meet expectations. Your comments regarding the mains and overall value have been noted and will be shared with our team for review. We truly value your input and hope to welcome you back for a more seamless experience in the future. Kind regards, Abbigail
   

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7. V

   Vera Lucia

   Warwickshire1 review

   4.0

   Dined on April 13, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   It’s on of my favourite places to eat, but it’s a little pricey for me,we just going there for very special occasions, birthdays, anniversary, of course I can go more if I can 😊, the atmosphere is amazing, everyone if very friendly, definitely is a place to recommend 🤩
   

   The WoodsmanResponded on April 17, 2025

   Dear Vera, thank you so much for taking the time to review your recent visit at The Woodsman. It's wonderful to hear you choose to dine with us for special occasions! We hope to see you again soon! Kind regards, Abbigail
   

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8. J

   Jenny

   Worcestershire20 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on April 13, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Fantastic service. Best Sunday roast in town, by a mile.
   

   The WoodsmanResponded on April 17, 2025

   Dear Jenny, thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit at The Woodsman. We are so happy hear your enjoyed our Sunday roast, we look forward to welcoming you again soon. Kind regards, Abbigail
   

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9. R

   Rachel

   New York City7 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on April 12, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   We had a lovely evening, greeted by a very bubbly friendly lady who took us to our table. She explained the set up, menus & meat options in detail. The starters were of good size and very tasty (we had snails and sweetbread). We chose to share a rib eye steak unfortunately they didn’t have anything bigger than 550g. This was accompanied by mushrooms, hipsi cabbage and chips (the chips were slightly undercooked for me) and we added Cauli cheese. Overall service and experience was good. Starters, main, glass of wine and double g&t £204.
   

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   The WoodsmanResponded on April 17, 2025

   Dear Rachel, thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit at The Woodsman. We're delighted you enjoyed the evening, especially the service and starters. We’re glad the overall experience was positive and hope to welcome you again soon. Kind regards, Abbigail
   

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10. m

    mark

    Oxford2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on April 10, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    Outstanding food and great service. One of the more premium places to eat in Stratford.
    

    The WoodsmanResponded on April 11, 2025

    Dear Mark, thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit at The Woodsman. We are so glad you enjoyed your visit and hope to welcome you again soon. Kind regards, Abbigail
    

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