Pen & Parchment, Stratford Central, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Quite an interesting-looking Greene King pub between the Avon and the canal, but remodelled to leave a variety of seating / dining areas in an overall 'L' shape. Refurbished inside in quite a bland way, with light decor and semi-modern furniture. Substantial front patio beer garden. IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Silhill Silver Star (£3.79) as a guest from three of four handpumps.

An imposing brick built pub on the edge of the town centre and overlooking the canal, it’s a good size internally and was full to capacity on a recent Friday evening visit with many tables reserved for diners. In fact food seems to be very much the focus here, with limited room available for those just wanting a pint. Internally it’s somewhat more contemporary than might be expected, and has clearly had extensive refurbishments at some point leaving little of any character other than some very old supporting timberwork and beams. Flooring was a mixture of wood strip and carpet, whilst the paintwork was a very dark green on the lower part of the walls and cream plasterwork above. Some exposed brickwork was at the rear of the pub as well as an old brick chimney breast. A partitioned off and slightly raised section was at the front of the pub with a list of all the previous landlords written on the wall at the end. A fruit machine was opposite the bar as well as a TV screen, although the volume was off so this was not too intrusive. Service at the bar seemed particularly slow, although to be fair they were at least fairly switched on – going off to find some cucumber to serve with Hendrick’s gin, for example. Food wise, the menu offered a good selection of “pub grub” such as sausage & mash, beef & ale pie, burger, lamb shank, curry and so on. Most of these were priced around a tenner, and our sweet chilli salmon and fish & chips were both decent and tasty dishes and quite good value we thought, especially considering the touristy nature of the area. Beers on tap were Greene King IPA and Abbot Ale along with Silhill Pure Star which seemed very pleasant, although I’m not a beer expert by any means. A fourth pump appeared to have run out, whilst the cider choice was a little disappointing with just Aspall’s Suffolk. Overall, this was a decent enough pub with good food, but the slow service, lack of many original features and slow service at the bar mean that I would be unlikely to call in again unless it was for another meal.

A splendid looking GK pub, with a comfortable modern interior. There was a large outside seating area out front, which was busy on our visit. A couple of usual GK suspects on the bar, with Poet's Ink being their special. Food specials were two meals for a tenner.