The Retreat in Qasr al Farafirah

Nice to visit this recently refurbished pub. Big improvement on food

Service was good but food a bit meh and a tad overpriced.

Beautiful pub,beautiful selection of beers snd wine.

Staff very friendly and welcoming. The food was outstanding will definitely be going back again. Best calamari weve had. The steak and confit of duck was so great too. Highly recommend this place to everyone who appreciates fine dining. Thank you for a great evening Retreat team! 😍

Excellent roast beef, thinly cut and not overcooked.

Just had a fabulous meal here! The steak was amazing, all of it was, lovely, genuine service, we will be back!

Beautiful restaurant and wonderful steak meal.

Nice place to go foradronk a bar food. Great for winter days next to the fire.I had dinner in the restaurant and the service was freindly but very slow. Also they were out of a lot of options, so I had my 3rd choice main and 2nd choice desert. Food was good and about right for the price.

Have just enjoyed the seared seabass with ratatouille and perfectly creamy mash potato. The pesto puree was drizzled delicately and each bite was a flavour sensation. The seabass melted in my mouth, but, ended with a lush crunch. My partner thoroughly enjoyed the brioche burger which was exceptional. We will be back. It is so nice to have such amazing food round the corner. Thank you Citron and the Retreat.

I am not a regular pub goer or drinker, but I do like a good meal out. Me wife had a meal here recently that she very much enjoyed. Last weekend she was very ill and unable to leave the house but really craved the meal from the retreat she had recently had. Although they do not do takeaway they arranged to make it for me and the customer service I received was absolutely excellent. Thank you to the retreat staff.

Lovely pub but cash not allowed! Hopefully thats only temporary. Wont go back until thats changed.

Lovely decor, but its such a quiet pub, I was surprised how quiet it was for a Friday night.... And food stops at 9.....

Had lunch here yesterday...have to say the place was spotlessly clean. Ordered from the two couse meal menu.. Fantastic. Highly recommended.

Fabulous lunch and wonderful staff. Genuinely felt welcome.It was a baking hot Saturday lunchtime. Sadly for The Retreat very few of us customers had found them that day, which was strange as many hostelries on our way home were heaving. For us it was a delight, very quick, attentive service, without the crowds, but they need others to discover their amazing new, if a little limited, menu.French cuisine at pub lunch prices, certainly a refreshing change. The Garlic Bread was totally amazing.

Went there with 3 of my sisters tonight for dinner. The food was amazing. 2 of us had camembere fritters for starters, which was so gorgeous! Beautifully presented too. My main was salmon and it was beautifully cooked with a gorgeous sauce, on a bed of lovely creamy mashed potatoes. One sister had a lovely spinach soup. All of us were delighted with the quality of the food. Nice friendly and very well presented staff. We will definitely return!!!

Good portions and friendly service

Horrible food burnt potatoes,meat taste blood.The worst pizza ever burnt and hard I don’t want give any stars but is not that option waste of money.

Had a very nice meal here this afternoon. I would recommend the fishcakes. I cant wait to go back to try more of the new menu. Fantastic friendly service, we will definitely be returning. ( Good value for money)☺️

Great pub! Lovely food and now that the refurbishment is complete, it has a great atmosphere.

Love the food at The Retreat. Great french inspired menu with a British nod. I had the Toulouse Sausages (with mash and peppers), highly recommend. Service was great too!

Love this place. The pub has long been due an overhaul and the new owners Citron have revamped the menu and given the pub the boost it needs. We really enjoyed our (French inspired, but reassuringly British!food, prices were good and service was efficient and friendly. Cant wait to go back.

Excellent food and service. Loved the decor and music vibe created. Really a chic little gem

Lovely staff and delicious food. Will definitely be back soon

I will type the next line in capitals just to warn all…..THE WORST SUNDAY ROAST I’VE HAD IN MY LIFE ANYWHERE!!!I shall address the above first.Within 2 minutes of ordering lunch the food arrived. Therein bells start to ring.It was cold. Not even tepid. The horseradish was nothing more than a tasteless paste with no body. And the gravy, well, absolutely no seasoning or flavour.The beef is the worst ever encountered. And I travel with work country/worldwide & have never experienced such poor, poor beef.I couldn’t even cut it with a knife. There was fat running through it. Tried “ripping” it apart, which eventually worked, with a lot of effort. But to chew it was impossible… literally swallowing “chunks” of fatty meat.The sauces on offer were a couple of sachets of Heinz’s Dijon mustard. When asked of the waitress did they have English mustard or any other fresh sauces available, she just shrugged her shoulders & said that’s it.When mentioned to the owner/manager, “It was the poorest roast ever served, he went to walk away with nothing more. All was said, “I shall mention it to the chef”. Didn’t want to interact, just wanted walk away as quickly as possible. Had to say, “No,…….” And explained the above..STAFF POORLY TRAINED…Young lad admitted he’d never poured a pint of Guinness, beer before!!As I drove by, all the staff were outside for a “photo shoot”.Maybe the management should train them properly or, employ experienced staff before a poster shoot for advertising.Locals spoken to said that over the years, this establishment has never succeeded and, they were completely surprised that the next stage in its newest transformation to succeed, is now a french gastro pub. Which they found surprising.Well clearly, maybe the owners should reconsider another chapter to succeed.Have never written a review about any eatery, but I feel this place is worthy of a full & honest review.Kindest regards all.

Wow the food is amazing we went the 1st week it reopened 2 months ago and were blown away we have returned now almost every week the staff are attentive friendly and welcoming would highly recommend

Not much of an atmosphere in this place. Also refused to accept cash for drinks. Card only. Not exactly customer friendly

Tried the restaurant Citron for the first time, I didnt have high expectations but pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of food. The changes are clear to see. Will be going back. One complaint, please put the Gluten free Peroni back in the bar.

The decor was lovely. The food not so good. Grilled chicken was very dry and the burger was too salty. I accompanied a gentleman in his 80s there for lunch, I am his carer, and he did not appreciate being addressed by the staff as "you guys" but as I said, the decor was lovely.

The tomato salad starter was the best meal I’ve had out in a long time. The steak main was also very good! Service a bit patchy but it is everywhere nowadays - luckily the food won out here

Excellent food and service! Lovely environment and warm customer service

New Menu, New Look.Still really good food although I do miss the Carvery Option for Sunday Lunch. Although I had a very nice Roast Beef Dinner.

Fantastic Sunday lunch. Gorgeous food, beautiful bright & inviting dining room and the loveliest and most helpful staff ever. Cant wait to return. Would highly recommend ❤️

Great pub with nice food, and very stylish too.It also has a decent car park, which is very convenient.And also found the staff friendly.Maybe a slightly more expensive than a regular pub, but given the environment, found it ok.The biggest thing to point is that the food can take some time to come, which for a lunch during the week can be a downer for some people like me.

Lovely French inspired pub. Good quality meals and friendly service staff. Limited alcohol free options. Dog friendly.

Really happy with the changes. Citron restaurant is a great addition. Opening day and I think it can only improve. Live 5 min walk away and have always wanted it to be better than it was. We had a nice meal, not wow but above average. The staff definitely want it to succeed. Small improvements will be beer served in correct glass or neutral glass. But was told they are waiting for new one. Plates maybe could have been warmed more (not that the food was cold). Overall really looking forward to continuing to improve.More likely to pop in for a beer as they atmosphere is now more chilled and friendly.

We approached this restaurant last Sunday to try to have a bite to eat, but the place it wasnt very appealing 😑😒 but We were adventurous and decided to popped in for a late lunch, and what a surprise it was when we went in 😊😊 an awesome place to have a Sunday roast 🥩🍗🥔🥕🥦🧄 great and friendly staff, shamazing food and the best of it all not that expensive 😁😁✅️✅️✅️✅️✅️We didnt wait at all for our food it worked really well for us, but not so well for other costumers that had to cancel their desserts when the restaurant started to get busy, the staff lost the rhythm and people were turned away because of shortage of staff 👎🏾😔 God knows how long they had to wait for their food 🤨🤔 thats the only downside for me. After all it didnt happen to us so for me still ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ keep it up the good work 💪🏾

Nice big pub with food and parking outside. Food was reasonably priced and staff were OK. Went in a weekday lunchtime so very quiet.

Lovely comfortable pub playing fantastic (80smusic and very friendly staff. Great evening out catching up with a dear friend, we will return. Thank you.

I like the food honestly but its bit expensive and service is bit sluggish. Ambience is good and staffs even better but just the service that doesnt work for me.

Not a bad place, food was ok, starters had Fishermans basket. Deep fried and breaded, cooked ok. Pizza was nice good base. Burger was average odd taste to tomato chutney, tasted more like mango chutney. But ok. Very nice staff ,good service

We often visit for the Sunday roast and it never disappoints. Staff are always friendly and the pub welcomes families of all ages. Would recommend 🙂

Food was good but waited ages at the bar for a drink and it was not busy at all. My partner got over charges so I went to the bar and they apologised so they then charged him the right price and we have now to wait 3-5 days for the refund 3 day before Christmas. Thank you very much.

The food was delicious. Great service. Its a good place to have dinner with friends and family. They allowed your dogs inside. Very clean tables...and chairs.(I am someone that looks at that because its so gross to see food or stains on the chair/ tables before you seat down. )I would definitely recommend this place to my friends and family if they were looking for a good place to eat and/or to catch up.

Visited for drinks and food early Sunday evening,5 people. Staff were friendly and helpful. The food was below average and disappointing. Wont be coming back. Only some items on the plate from advertised, burnt buns, the Thai curry had undercooked veg and no flavour. Maybe a bad day in the kitchen?!!

Good quite place for lunch. Staff polite and attentive, food was delivered promptly. Taste was average, not much flavours (I have had better burgers 🍔). Menu was limited but reasonably price. Has parking spaces available which is a plus. I’m between 3-4 stars for this place.

Lovely place. Clean. Friendly staff. Food was fabulous.Phillipe our waiter was great, had an amazing sense of humour. Some menu items were unavailable due to the recent food shortages as to be expected really but our meal was FAB, we had nachos to share to start and all had a pizza for main which was sooo tasty! Cooked in a proper pizza oven! I really couldn’t fault this place. Very reasonably priced too!100% worth a visit if in the area, we had just been to Thorpe park for the day .

Went for Sunday lunch today and had the carvery, which is amazing value for £11.95. Big portions and the roast beef was incredible. Nice atmosphere and good service. Will definitely be going back for another Sunday lunch

Not a bad pub. Went here for lunch. They do a good lunch deal. Inside there’s a nice atmosphere in the bar area and the restaurant. Outside there is seating and a car park for maybe 20 cars. The food was tasty but the portions quite small - looks at the pic of the fish and chips from the lunch deal. The fish looks more like a fish finger!

Great value for money for the food served. Tomato soup and the fish and chips were fresh!!!

The refurb has completely changed this place. It was nice before but its very nice now! Excellent drinks selection. Menu is great, and the food was lovely. We went quite late in the evening so didnt get a chance to see the beer garden. It looked lovely though, fairy lights dotted around the walls and looked like there was plenty of seating. The car park was full so we had to park on the road opposite but lucky its not permit so parking wasnt an issue.