Toby Carvery

Oh dear Toby you’ve disappointed me!
We came here after a hard days shopping in prep for Amsterdam in a couple of days.
Wanting some yummy roast food we headed here and were sadly quite disappointed and ended up with a raging tummy ache.
The décor is really old fashioned in this place, which is no problem I don’t mind that at all, when its done well! There’s random pictures of chefs all around the walls like Jamie Oliver, Heston etc– are they even aware they’re being used as wall decorations?! So strange to put famous chefs on your walls when your own chefs can’t really cook…
We had a really efficient waitress who clearly knew what she was doing… but sadly we did not! She didn’t explain the system of how you get your plate, get up when you want, order your meat and can have as many veg as poss.
She just sort of left us, and didn’t even ask if we’d been there before! Just sort of hounded us until we made a drinks decision…
The food itself was not great, the best thing about it was the crackling so yes 1 star for that– 0 for the rest I’m afraid!
The beef was dry, and so was the chicken. The veg was mostly over cooked, roasties were hard, mash potato– average, cabbage– cooked within an inch of its life, stuffing –sloppy :(All in all it just made me really sad! We had huge plates of just naff food.
Now I absolutely love roasties, stuffing etc and you absolutely murdered them! How can you make stuffing sloppy? I just don’t get it!
Even when we soaked our beef in gravy its didn’t get any juicer.
Such a shame as we’re not snobs, we’ve been to all you can eats before that are really nice, including carvery ones!
You’ve let us down Toby!

I was going here as a regular, they must see so many people, though its the same wording and no recognition of your face. Last visit I wasn’t impressed with the quality, though its a decent enough carvery.

We’ve lived just down the road from this Toby Carvery for last year and decided we’d finally give it a go.
We were seated in a rather dingy bit of the pub towards the back of carvery in a benched booth, would have been nice to have has some windows nearby. The place looked a bit tatty around the edges but had a warm local pub feel to it, the odd part was that there were lots of random pictures of chefs plastered around the place… didn’t seem to fit in with the décor.
We were served by an older lady who was extremely efficient at her job but I felt lacked a warmth that can make a place special. Maybe she was just extremely busy but a ‘have you been here before’ and or an explanation of how things worked would have been nice rather than having to ask what happens next.
You basically take a plate and are served a choice of hot meats, (turkey, Pork, Beef) and then you can have as much veg as you’d like then you have a selection of fresh gravies to drown your food in.
The Turkey and Pork was okay but the beef was pretty disgusting, it had gone past the point of being dry and I was tempted to take some home as dehumidifier for the bathroom.
The veg wasn’t great either, I left the place feeling pretty greasy with a lingering feeling that it would of all been much better if i’d done it myself.
I guess whether you’ll like this place is based on your expectation before going, it definitely has its place but don’t expect miracles from an all you can eat Sunday roast.
I’m not against all-you-can-eat’s, I’m as gluttonous as the next and a big fan of them when it’s done right but unfortunately this place fell short. I feel to get the most of this place you’d have to be hawking the counter waiting for the produce to arrive fresh out of the kitchen otherwise you end up stuck with the dregs at the bottom.
I’ll give this place a go in another destination to see whether it’s a chain or individual experience.

Friendly staff & decent Carvery which came in regular or king-​size.
I had the regular, which was big anyway and my other half had the king-​size (which was massive)
4 meat options were available and were offered with both size meals — turkey, gammon, pork and beef. There was also a really nice selection of veg: peas, red cabbage, mash, roasts, carrots, and my personal favourite, cauliflower cheese. The Yorkshire puds were huge and there was a choice of 3 different types of gravy.
Chose to go there on the cuff, so was pleased to be able to walk in and get seated straight away, despite it being quite busy.
The staff seemed genuinely friendly and I would definitely go back for the carvery again.
All in all a pleasant place to eat if your after a down to earth, Sunday lunch.

Toby Carvery’s roast potatoes are to die for! Out of the chains of Carveries this is one with better quality and choice of (yet slightly more expensive) of vegetables. There are 3 gravies to choose from, one is the traditional toby gravy, one is a vegetarian gravy and one is a horseradish gravy. If you buy a soft drink it is unlimited with free help yourself refills! It is a query when you leave a tip, asking yourself what actually is it you are tipping!

Fairly standard carvery where you get a very average portion of meat and then you help yourself to as much vegetables, stuffing and gravy that the small-​ish plate can hold.
Plenty of car parking. Nice clean venue. Friendly service. They will take your drinks order at the table and bring it to you.
They don’t set any standards but it’s a good option for a decent filling square meal that doesn’t break the bank. Perfect on a cold winter evening!

Although I favour a Toby Carvery over other brands, they are stingy considering they are not the cheapest on the market.

Friendly service that is real and personal, not the forced smiles that comes from some training programs. Evening staff are great, breakfast staff efficient and okay, but not the amazing friendliness of the evening staff.
An old fashioned cosy working person’s atmosphere, could do with new carpet in places but is nice.
Bar is good, carvery skimps a little too much on the meat but is fine.
Breakfasts nice, but plates are so old they have black scrapes everywhere that almost make them feel dirty.
Rooms that are traditional and nicely appointed, the good décor makes it not matter how small they are.
Samsung tv with Freeview is great and rooms very clean. Shower a bit weak and lack of heating controls in rooms mean can be a bit cold specially as duvet not incredibly thick.
A good working persons bar restaurant and hotel, would stay there again.

This place used to be a family favourite, but due to new chefs & staff its gone downhill & we’ve never returned. the food had no taste, waiting in line for 30mins for food, to find a hair in it was not good

All Toby carvey’s are good value for money in my opinion. I usually frequent this branch or the Bolton branch. The Bolton branch tend to be a little speedier when extremely busy but at average or quiet times there is nothing between each branch. The food is always decent and the time you dine determines the price but you can usually have a carvery, desert and drink for £10 which you can’t sniff at too much.
My only criticism about Toby as a chain having used four branches now, one in Washington Near Newcastle U-​T, Stoke On Trent, Bolton and Stockport is that considering this place is a carvery, it seems no one can actually do it’s name sake — CARVE. Without sounding too discriminating, most of the time the carvers who have served me are all teenage, 20 at the most who do not seem to have any experience or training in slicing meat. The amount you get is no more or less than a place with an expert carver, it’s just here you tend to get scrappy pieces instead of expertly sliced meat by someone who has been trained not to butcher what you are paying for. However I do take this view in light of the low prices so if the bargain payment means sloppy carving, I can accept that.

Fab food, always freshly cooked and well served. The staff are very friendly and helpful, nothing is too much trouble. Loos are spotlessly clean. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ Highly recommended

Looking for a cheap no frills family meal out with no pretentions then its worth giving the Toby Carvery a go. First time round it does feel a bit like being back at school as you queue up with your plate tell the cook which meats or vegetarian dishes you’d like and then add your own stuffing balls and vegetables before heading over to the sauce counter. Everythings kept warm under a heated counter with overhead heat bars so things tend to dry out very quickly. The cabbage is almost always boiled to the point of see through. Parsnips and roast potatoes tend to be very greasy but if you’re eating early then at £4.95 a head you’ll put up with most things. On a good day when they’ve just started serving everythings lovely but at the end of the evening its pretty dire. Theres no restriction on the number of return visits you can make for vegetables so you won’t leave there hungry.
You can’t reserve a table as they don’t take bookings so you may well end up waiting around for a table to become free.

With a large family and lagging energy come Sunday but still wanting to feed the brood a proper meal, this place is perfect. The carvery offers a selection of meats freshly cooked (due to its popularity the turn over is quick) and generously piled on your plate. They offer a selection of turkey, gammon (highly recommend), beef and also vegetarian alternatives. The chief will load your plate with the meat or meats (try a bit of each) and offer you a large Yorkshire pudding, and then you move down (careful the plates are hot) to help yourself to stuffing balls, roast and new potatoes, carrots, cabbage, parsnips, cauliflower cheese I know I’ve forgotten something
Then on the way back to your table there’s a gravy station with steaming bowls of various gravies and condiments to finish off your meal.
The children’s portions are still a good size and it’s a great plac to get them to eat and try lots of veg.
The carvery its self is extremely good value for money, drinks are a little expensive and you don’t always get what you ordered. Dessert menu (if you’ve room) is lovely too, the hot puddings such as treacle sponge come with bottomless jugs of custard which is great if you love custard like I do. The chocolate fudge cake being favourites of my kids.
Service isn’t always with a smile, it’s no excuse but it does get really busy and if you dont get there early you could be waiting a while for a table.
Great food, well priced and comfortable atmosphere. A good family destination for a meal out.