ReviewA decent old pub in a pleasant location with a garden stretching down to the river, which must be a great spot on a summer’s day even if your are immediately next to a main road. Inside, the original part of the pub is essentially two adjoining rooms, although with plenty of wood partitioning it somehow feels like several different areas. The floor is reclaimed boards and there is wood cladding on the lower half of the walls, whilst there are plenty of old pictures dotted around elsewhere. In one area the ceiling seemed to need a bit of attention with plasterboards just tacked up that weren’t even skimmed, never mind painted. Possibly work in progress, although they didn’t look particularly new. Other than that, it’s got a pleasant olde worlde charm to it, although it’s a shame that the “fire” was for visual effect only and gave out no heat. Several punters commented on this and seemed disappointed.
A conservatory extension was added a few years back, which has pretty much doubled the size of the pub. This is in contrast to the rest of the pub, being of a very modern, frameless design. Being pretty much 100% glass, this can get unpleasantly hot in the summer, and conversely, is not exactly cosy on a snowy December evening. It’s a pleasant enough spot though, and looked suitably festive decked out for Christmas. There is also some outside decking overlooking the garden for warmer weather.
There’s a decent looking pub grub menu, with your usual dishes such as lasagne, ham, egg & chips, pies, etc., plus a few slightly more adventurous choices. Most of the mains seemed start around the £8 mark which seemed reasonable value, but having sampled a couple of dishes we felt they were perhaps slightly overpriced for what we got. The battered fish and chips was more batter than fish, and the accompanying mushy peas were served in a tiny little ramekin the same size as the tartar sauce. Similarly, the chilli was a little light on the chilli and a little heavy on the rice. Not bad, but a tad expensive we felt. The Aussie landlady seemed pleasant and helpful.
Being a Young’s pub, their beers dominated the bar with their Bitter, Special and Winter Warmer. There was also Bath’s Gem. Ciders were Thatcher’s Gold, Addlestones and Strongbow.
