Crook and Shears Public house in Test Valley

I was extremely disappointed by the food and service. The roast lamb with the dinner was a roll of fat and stuffing, very little meat. The veg was two potatoes, half a carrot and a handful of peas, broccoli, curly kale and cauliflower cheese which came out half an hour before our last meal came out. When the meals came out they were cold and even though they were sent back they were still not very warm. We prebooked the menu and discovered the puddings we had chosen were out of stock, they had 4 and 2 substitutes which were disgusting. It looks as though they cannot cope with a party of people but they shouldn't have taken the booking.I was so hungry after leaving there, I had to eat when I got home. Not good value for money at all.

AVOID. AVOID AVOID. Attended for a special family birthday, group of 20 so booked here specifically because it had a skittle alley we could be situated in so sounded all great. Preorder required which is understandable considering size. Booked for 12 o clock.. at 12:03 with all but 2 guests yet to arrive, we were being told that we needed to sit down so starters could start coming out, we explained we were waiting on a couple more and they said they needed to get the starters out now due to other tables.. 3 minutes after we were booked to sit down.. ropey start. I’d like to say that they managed to at least do a good job of the drinks order, but even then I would be lying, someone ordered a coke and a coffee, to which the response was ‘pfft that might take a bit longer’ bamboozled but accepted a longer wait.. well turns out we’re still waiting on that coffee because it never did turn up. Starters arrived and come to think of it, I don’t think this course actually did come with any problems, so top marks there. But, with this rise in form came the ultimate decline. An hour and a half after receiving our starters which we rushed to sit down for due to other tables needing serving.. we finally started seeing mains filter in. Bare in mind it’s a Sunday, and everyone was having a roast and not an array of dishes, this was quite possibly the most shambollic attempt at a main course I will ever encounter. Between the first plate coming out, and the last plate coming out, there was at least 30 minutes between, meaning everyone was eating at completely different times unless you wanted to tuck into a stone cold dinner after staring at it for 30 minutes. This is also ironic, because 5 plates out of the 20 had to go back straight away due to them being handed out cold so god knows how long they had been sat in the kitchen for before hand. Just a complete shambles, and clearly the kitchen couldn’t cope with that many meals, even if it was 20 roasts that featured the same food bar meat so you would assume it’s easier to prepare in bulk. Quality of the roast was far from good either, lamb was more fat than meat.. one long carrot and parsnip per plate and 2 roasties.. great value for £18. Onto desert.. and it doesn’t get any better. Chocolate brownie was listed on the menu, so it was rather surprising when chocolate sponge came out on 4 plates, and then (you won’t believe this) they ran out of the brownies that weren’t brownies (even though we pre ordered) and 2 people recieved chocolate melt in the middle puddings that you can buy in Tesco, that were significantly smaller then what everyone else got, couldn’t quite believe it ourselves and rightfully so they weren’t paid for when it came to paying the bill. So not only did we not have what we ordered on any plate, but we also paid £9 a ‘brownie’ for the privellege. We then had more trouble when trying to sort the bill as they were initially refusing to split the 20 PERSON bill!! They wanted someone to pay the full wack. Comical. To top off the whole experience we’ve just had, this place charges what most would consider premium prices for pub grub.. £9 for starters and deserts, £18 for roasts, for that money you expect high quality food and experience and as you can read above, that’s not what we received. This place is 100% not suitable for catering for as many as 20 people, so if you are considering it for a function then please please please save yourself the money and disappointment that we recieved. 60th birthday meal officially ruined.

Lovely little pub old world great beer lovely staff and although we did not eat alot of people did and the food looked and smelt delicious

Small pub with good food, had a little beer garden as well.

Simple terms, the Crook & Shears is a traditional, non pretentious friendly local pub. The food is good, home cooked traditional fayre, and the service is genuine and friendly. Lovely and cosy in winter with the fires going or summer out in the garden or under the gazebo.We recently had a family gathering in the traditional Skittle alley with food and it was brilliant. Great fun and we were well looked after. Great to hire for a work or family event.Great pub, great team.

Beautiful dinner in a charming local pub, all home cooked and great selection.

Wonderful old thatched building housing a very old pub.It appears that very little has ever changed with toilets accessed out the back 😄Interesting local photos and trivia on the walls and they are obviously popular with local people.However, I prefer to eat where places have had something of an updating makeover.

A great place for a medium size get together. The skittle alley is excellent as are the bar staff in the pub. We all had an excellent evening

Great pub with lots of character and super food.

Such a lovely pub! Historic, clean, lovingly decorated...Refreshingly diverse menu... killer fish and chips! Killer chilli! Lovely outdoor area... some of the cleanest and most welcoming bathrooms I've ever experienced. The staff are generous and charming. Recommended!!