Toby Carvery Brockworth, Gloucester

A fairly uninspiring looking roadside pub, the car park was surprisingly busy on a recent mid-week lunch time visit although on entering the pub the bar area appeared fairly quiet. Presumably food is the main draw here, although I did not investigate the restaurant area. Going on the plates piled high with food that I saw some people waddling around with, I presume it consists of some sort of help yourself buffet type affair. The bar area of the pub consists of an L-shape room formed from the entrance hallway and wrapping around the front of the bar counter. This had quite a bland, corporate appearance with a mixture of red patterned carpet and wood strip on the floor as well as some cream tiling around the bar. Walls were a mixture of cream and maroon paintwork and were hung with a few old photographs of Gloucester town centre and the docks. What might loosely be described as a snug area was in one corner, and this had some wood panelling on the walls as well as a small brick fireplace and a fake wood burning stove. Overall, there was little to contribute any charm or atmosphere and I found the whole ambience rather depressing. Initially it appeared that only keg beer was available with no sign of any cask pumps, although I subsequently realised these were around the corner on the narrow end of the bar where nobody is likely to see them. Of the three pumps, one was dispensing Doom Bar, the second Doom Bar and the third……Doom Bar. Ciders meanwhile fared a little better with Thatcher’s Gold and Stowford Press. Unless you’re a fan of the “pile it high, sell it cheap” approach to food and don’t mind being surrounded by noisy toddlers running around, I really can’t think of any reason to visit here.

Official site of Toby Carvery Brockworth - www.tobycarvery.co.uk

Official site of Toby Carvery Brockworth - www.tobycarvery.co.uk