Megans by the Castle Restaurant (Guildford) - (Near Hampshire, South East)

2 /5 Nick P: Writing this review is tough, because I was truly looking forward to eating at Megans by the castle. I dont mind a pretentious restaurant—its part of the experience. But when the food and service dont live up to the high standards they set, it feels twice as bad. We arrived just before the lunch rush without a reservation but were seated at one of two remaining tables in the back. The decor was striking and the restaurant had a vibrant feel. We sat near a skylight, which provided a lovely natural light and improved the ambience. We were also seated at a wobbly table with a sticky, varnished top, one of my pet peeves. As we ordered, the restaurant quickly filled up. The food arrived fast, which I was happy about, considering how busy it had become. But even with the quick arrival, our meals were cold, a problem that became more apparent as we ate. I ordered the open chicken kebab with halloumi, and my daughter got the open posh lamb doner. The chicken kebab was just okay, and I wish it had been warmer. The halloumi was lukewarm and lacked the expected grilled texture and slight golden crust that comes from being properly heated. The flavor was missing across the entire meal, which was surprising given the colorful ingredients and sauces, like the harissa hummus. The chicken was underwhelming—effectively an overcomplicated kebab that lacked flavor and definition. The only saving grace was the two accompanying sauces. My daughters meal was similar, but with slow-cooked pulled lamb that was dry, mushy, and cold—not a great combination. We had requested the feta and pistachio on the side, so the meal wasnt fully what the chef intended, but the fundamentals still failed. The mushy, tasteless lamb paired with a soggy bread and soft hummus made for a poor experience. The feta and pistachio helped slightly but only distracted from the main ingredients. Sadly, my daughter couldnt eat her meal. It was frustrating because the staff never checked on us, and getting their attention was nearly impossible. We were in a forgotten corner of a packed restaurant. I finally got a waiters attention, and they kindly offered to remove my daughters meal from the bill. If you want a better experience with a more traditional kebab and zero pretentious expectations, I recommend walking down the road to either Meat the Greek for a gyros or Nuros for a proper Turkish kebab. Both are also cheaper. Im sorry for being so blunt, but Ive been to many restaurants, both good and bad, and somehow I left feeling more let down by Megans than others, and my daughter too. Maybe its the Greek in me....

4 /5 Ali: Really good place with a great atmosphere. The service provided by Julia was fantastic, and the food we ordered was very good. The only downside to our experience was being asked to leave despite there being plenty of empty seats available. We had also ordered additional items on the menu, which made this a little disappointing. Overall, a lovely place, but this aspect slightly affected the experience.

4 /5 Gareth Taylor: My wife and I decided to give this place a try last weekend, it looks very inviting and appealing from the outside with the name not necessarily matching the decor and overall feeling of the brand, kind of mysteriously miss-matched, but in a good way! It was mid-afternoon on a Saturday, surprisingly not particularly busy even after the core midday rush so conversation was easily held. The food was very tasty with the quality of the bread particularly notable. However I do feel like our dish could had a bit more chicken, for the price paid. The decor is different and excellent at the same time, the trip down to the toilets shows no shortcuts even when out of direct site. All very clean, too.