A BEAUTIFUL LOCATION, A STRONG MENU, AND A SERVICE THAT COULDN’T QUITE DELIVER
There’s no denying the impact of arriving at The Boothwood Inn. Set in the village of Rishworth and surrounded by open moorland, it manages to feel both tucked away and easily accessible, with excellent motorway links that make it a genuinely appealing destination. The approach feels purposeful, and once there, the setting does a lot of the heavy lifting.
As dusk settles, fairy lights wrapped around the exterior lend the building a quiet elegance, the kind that suggests warmth, comfort, and a sense of occasion. Parking is plentiful and stress-free, which immediately puts you in the right frame of mind for a relaxed meal. On arrival alone, this feels like somewhere that should be getting Sunday lunch very right.
First Impressions Inside, Warm, Traditional, and Lively
Step inside and much of that early promise continues. The bar area is traditional in style, with stone floors, a welcoming layout, and a strong selection of hand-pulled beers, several of which proudly come from Yorkshire breweries. It’s a good-sized space, busy without feeling chaotic, and there’s a genuine buzz that gives the place life.
The décor leans classic rather than contemporary, but it’s warm, friendly, and well suited to the setting. This is a pub that knows what it wants to be, and visually at least, it succeeds. Staff are chatty and personable, engaging naturally rather than mechanically, an important detail that makes a difference to how welcome you feel.
A Menu That Invites Confidence
On paper, the menu reads very well. There’s a breadth of choice that makes it difficult not to find something appealing, and I’d challenge anyone to scan it without feeling drawn to at least a few dishes. That sense of temptation is important it creates anticipation.
I found myself torn between several options before settling on the roast beef dinner. In hindsight, that decision proved to be the wrong one, though not for lack of promise.
Where Execution Begins to Falter
The issues with the food were not dramatic or catastrophic, and that’s precisely why they’re frustrating. They were issues of fundamentals.
Seasoning was the most consistent problem across the plate. The beef, a lean salmon cut, lacked any real depth of flavour. Lean cuts rely heavily on seasoning to bring them to life, and without it, the meat felt flat and underwhelming. It wasn’t poorly cooked, but it needed far more support than it received.
The Yorkshire pudding, while impressively sized, arrived cold. Size alone can’t compensate for temperature, particularly on a dish that plays such a central role in a Sunday lunch. Cauliflower cheese arrived without any discernible cheese presence, stripping the dish of the very thing that makes it comforting.
Vegetables were plainly boiled and similarly under-seasoned. A little butter, a finish in stock, or even basic seasoning would have transformed them, but instead they felt like an afterthought rather than an integrated part of the plate.
And then there was the gravy. A good Sunday lunch gravy should coat the back of a spoon; it should carry body, richness, and depth. This one didn’t. It lacked development and presence, and without it, the dish struggled to come together as a cohesive whole.
Atmosphere Interrupted
One of the more unexpected issues was environmental. The table appeared to have been cleaned moments before we were seated, and the strong smell of bleach lingered throughout the visit. Cleanliness is obviously non-negotiable, but timing matters and in this case, it disrupted the comfort of the experience more than it reassured.
Service That Tried to Put Things Right
Service was undeniably slow, but importantly, it was also self-aware. Drinks were removed from the bill without us asking, a gesture that acknowledged the delay and showed a willingness to take responsibility. Staff recognised that things weren’t quite as they should be, and that awareness matters.
At the end of the meal, the owner approached to discuss feedback. The conversation began defensively, but to his credit, his attitude shifted and he did listen. Some of the responses raised further questions rather than resolving them, but the fact that engagement happened at all is worth noting. It suggests a business that hasn’t closed itself off to criticism, even if it hasn’t fully worked through it yet.
Would I Return?
This is the most difficult question, and the most honest answer is a cautious one.
Based purely on the location, the setting, and the promise of the menu, it feels like the Boothwood Inn deserves another chance. There is too much going for it to dismiss outright. But I wouldn’t rush back, and I would want to feel confident that the basics, seasoning, temperature, depth of flavour, and attention to detail, had been properly addressed.
There is potential here. Whether it’s realised consistently remains to be seen.