The Carpenters Arms

Had lunch here yesterday..the food was fine but I am writing this review because I think it needs a mention….flies in the dining room…they were just house flies but because they were so irritating I counted the ones near me…8… they kept landing on my shoulder or my hair and if shooed away they just sat on the moveable wall that was opposite. Not very hygienic

I was lured off the main road by a sign promising the "best pub in North Yorkshire" and a "warm welcome". After a significant drive into the hinterland, I found a large empty pub with a large empty car park. I dined & lunched at several pubs in North Yorkshire during my stay & by a huge margin this was the least warm welcome & since every single other one was better, they certainly cannot claim to be the best in the county. The truculent member of staff I had to deal with was positively hostile to serving me: firstly claiming that they were "fully booked" (there were no customers) and then when that didn't hold water that she "couldn't serve me as they didn't start serving until 12". It was literally 11.59....... you really couldn't make it up. Had I had any alternatives, I might have gone with the "not welcome here" message but I rose to the challenge. Poor quality, overpriced & unfriendly, this place exhibited all the worst aspects of places aspiring to be gastro pubs. I'm sure there must be far superior places near by. Don't be lured by the signage.

We went a year ago and found the service a little slow and we had to chase up drinks multiple times and had to ask for desert menus and ask for our order to be taken, all of these things make meals less enjoyable. We tried it again today, we had to ask for menus when we arrived. Also, there was a table there, I’m not sure if they knew the management, but they were served after us and their main meals arrived before my little boys starter. Nobody came to ask us how are food was. However, the food was delicious and food arrived quickly. The environment is lovely too, just service which is lacking.

I love, love, love this place! Every detail has been considered in the rooms. Touch just want to move in! Great breakfast, pub has a lovely atmosphere and wonderful views. I cant say enough about this place. Excellent value for money.

Excellent all round pub. Has almost everything you might want from a village pub. We have stayed 3-4 times and always had one if their garden rooms. These are modern, spacious and have absolutely everything you might need. The food is very good and imaginative and very reasonably priced. Two “Achilles heels” . The real ales is sometimes past its best before date as the young staff are clearly not beer drinkers. The service at breakfast is very poor with waits of 30 minutes for fruit salad or yoghurt but food quality is good. Staff are mainly young and very pleasant and helpful.

We stayed in a garden view room for New Years Eve. The weather was atrocious and the journey took ages but when we were shown our room, we forgot about that. It was beautiful with everything you could need. A gorgeous comfy bed, huge bathroom with Temple Spa toiletries and large towels. Coffee pod machine, a fridge with tiny bottles of milk and biscuits. There’s a safe, remote control blinds for the windows and very good lighting. The room was modern, clean and cosy warm. The Yorkshire breakfast the next morning was superb. We would definitely stay here again and there’s some lovely local walks to explore. Thirsk is only 3 miles away so the location is very good with stunning views. Our only very small complaint would be the slowness of the service in the restaurant and the long waits between courses. It was New Years Eve but perhaps more staff were required? The food when it arrived was well presented and nicely cooked although certain things had gone a bit cold due to wait times. This did not detract from us having a great evening and we would stay here again.