We were staying only for one night in the beautiful village of Warkworth plus castle. We had just returned from seeing the light show at Alnwick Gardens earlier in the evening, so arrived at the Inn without booking. The eating area was full or had reserved tables, so we bought drinks and waited for a table. The restaurant was very helpful and a table became available before we had finished our first drink. I ordered the special fish pie and my wife the Bass fishcakes. The meal was fine, perhaps a tad overpriced at £10 each, but acceptable and adequate. The choice available was good with a blackboard full of 'specials'. The pub was quite busy and the atmosphere was good with a lot of locals plus a roaring wood fire. We enjoyed the experience and would go back again. A good fueling station without pretensions.

Visited the Hermitage for a Sunday lunch, taking my elderly Mum with us.

Okay, the place was busy but we HAD booked in advance and had requested a table away from the bar area. Despite this we were shown to a table where? - you guessed it - in the corner of the bar! Apparently all of the other tables had been taken and our 'reservation' had not been noted.

Apart from being pushed into the corner, the table was also en-route to the servery, so everyone pushed past us and, as the bar was very busy with lunch-time drinkers, the lunch-takers had to push against us to get past.

The drinkers also decided that 'our' corner was where they wanted to be and my husband had to request of several of them that they didn't stand over us, literally at our elbows whilst we ate. We were just so pleased that the no-smoking ban was in force!

When we visited the serving area of the carvery the woman (not a lady) in front of me picked up two different yorkshire puddings one by one, with her FINGERS, took a good look at each of them then decided to put them back onto the serving plate for someone else to 'enjoy'! Lovely!!! I told the staff member who was there but she didn't seem at all concerned and neglected to remove the said puddings.

Not feeling confident in the state of the rest of the puddings we decided to forgo that 'pleasure' and we also waited for fresh vegetables to arrive as the selection on display looked barely lukewarm.

Sorry folks - the food that we had tasted okay but this was an experience that we are not likely to repeat. This eatery definitely needs sorting out - and quickly!

We were staying in Warkworth over night and decided to eat in The Hermitage even though I had read a number of negative reviews. I was a little undecided on what meal to choose but whilst looking at the menu the waitress passed taking meals to a nearby table and the aroma of the chicken curry was irresistable. My other half plumbed for the rabbit pie. Our meals arrived piping hot and were delivered by a very friendly waitress. The chicken curry was served with both rice and home made chips and was very tasty too. My husband said the rabbit pie was good but would have preferred a short pastry crust (like his gran used to make) instead of the puff pastry lid. As the portions were very generous we didn't have room for a dessert. We did notice not only locals at the bar but dining also which says alot too. Music was playing in the background but to be honest the tracks playing would have been my choice at home and it was this that kept us there for a couple of hours! Friday evening The Hermitage has a live singer and it was also a pleasure to listen to the voice of Dixie and enjoy watching another visitor and the manager do a few jives on the dance floor. All in all an enjoyable evening with some good banter thrown in too.

I visited the Hermitage for the second time with my family a little while ago. On my first visit the food was lovely, the steak being one of the best I've ever tasted. On my second visit the food was once again very nice however the attitude of some of the staff leaves a lot to be desired. We visited late afternoon and were told there were no tables available to eat, yet when we left there were many still available. The barman is miserable and down right rude. However the waitress was lovely. This is a lovely pub serving lovely food but the attitude of some of the staff is enough to stop you from returning