Toby Carvery The Friary in Swindon

Absolutely taken back by how poor the food quality has become here, I won't be returning, We gave Toby Carvery Swindon a benefit of a doubt after our last meal here being awful hoping they may have sorted it out, but to my disappointment it was even worse than the last time, not only is the food quality rubbish and not cooked to even a basic standard, the veg selection is unbelievably bad!It's not all bad tho the staff working the floor are very pleasant, but the staff working the bar need to understand if someone is at the bar it's probably because they want to order a drink and not just to stare at them!Please don't waste your money here!!

We were taking advantage of 50% off main meals voucher. It was busy. We booked though, were seated promptly. Drinks served immediately and queue for the carvery was only about 10 people. Meal was lovely. Can't fault service, staff or organisation of the whole team. Thank you

Usually a good place. Waiting staff always friendly and helpful. However on this visit. We booked a table for two. Shown to our seats, and within a few minutes realised we were right under a music speakers. The music was so loud we couldn't hear our own conversation. We asked politely if we could move away from the speaker. And were treated as if we were a complete nuisance. Taken to a table in a more crowded area. Even though there were empty tables where we were that would have been more suitable. That was bad enough, but a few minutes after being moved. The person actually turned the music right down. In spite of her irritated & rude actions we had a nice meal & and good waitress service. After the Irritated women had gone of shift.

Greeted by a polite friendly man who showed us to our table, and took our order. A large lady brought our drinks over. I mentioned that I had asked for ‘no ice’, and she responded in an unprofessional manner that it wasn’t written on the ticket. Ice was taken out and drink plonked on the table… an old saying…‘full of the joys of spring’ came to mind. The people on the next table commented on this lady’s manner too. Then we all heard her talking in an unprofessional manner to a child who just wanted a glass of tap water. Thankfully, a different lady who was cheerful and polite, checked in with us about how our meal was, and gave us our bill when we had finished.I ordered the vegetarian toad in the hole which was huge so couldn’t eat everything. The Yorkshire pud was a bit soggy/greasy but mash and peas with vegetarian gravy were delicious. My friends enjoyed their carvery meals.

Our waitress was absolutely lovely. She was very polite, welcoming and checked every thing was okay with our meals and drinks. As for the improvement regarding the meal is the meat(s), you only get 1-2 small slices of meat(s) where as before you got more, the chefs can be very brupt at times and the food doesn't come out quick enough so you are waiting around.

2 weeks later and I’m still asking myself what possessed me to go here in the first place. Chaos greeted me when I walked in and only got worse the busier they got.A new member of bar staff was being trained - which is great they’re recruiting and obvs that comes with the need to deliver training. Not on a Friday eve though guys, come on. The bar queue was horrendous. The new staff member was amazing and spoke to/acknowledged everyone waiting to be served. The girl training her though didn’t bat an eyelid.Lots of people walked out as a result of waiting so long.The carvery - looks amazing, but wasn’t. The utensils were, as warned by well placed signs, hotter than the sun. The food they were being used to serve though was lukewarm and needed hot gravy to warm it all up.I took my plate back up to the bar and then restaurant to make it known my entire dish was pretty cold. I was seen to be in the queue with my uneaten food by the chef. To which he walks back into the kitchen when I got to the front of the carvery.I put my plate down and left.The positives - very clean and tidy. I noticed tables being cleared and cleaned immediately after people left.Delivery drivers from online apps seemed to have a system as to where to wait etc rather than just hanging around the bar area. That looked like it worked well for the staff and drivers alike which is good.3 stars sadly though, as overall a disappointing experience for me personally.

Amazing food as usual. Service could have been teeny bit better as it wasn't all that busy and we still had to wait for cutlery etc, but will definitely be returning and would recommend Toby Carvery if you are looking for somewhere that is good value for money, a quick dinner and good food! Keep it up!

Food was really good and great value for money. However why they don't sit couples and families with young kids in separate areas I just do not understand, it's not a difficult thing to understand or to do.Comment on the response from the owner:We were given a table in a quiet corner which was initially fine and we had no reason to decline the table we were given. However we did not expect that two families with young kids would later be seated right next to us. It showed a complete lack of thought by the staff. Given that we were a couple we should have been offered a table in a quiet area if that was an option.

We eat here roughly twice a month and never have any problems. Good service and the carvery meat is cooked well. Rarely does the servery run too low of food.It can get busy when the offers are running in the app, but the carvery queue soon goes down.The breakfast is also good and cooked well. It is a must for us to stop here en route to a road trip.

Decent place to take the kids, cheap and quick to get some scran.Not a posh place or a date night location. Even though plenty of couples knocking about giving daggers to all the kids everywhere. Definitely a family location.Food is amazing, drinks served on time.No complaints, staff were friendly and there to help. Ice cream is a winner with the Kids.