The Giffard Park, Milton Keynes

Routine Sizzling pubco outlet near the Grand Union Canal but unlikely to be a destination for many boaters since it is more of an estate pub. Quite a large bar with a dining room off to one side and a patio beer garden on each side of the entrance path. Just Doom Bar (£4.05) from the bank of three handpumps.

The Giffard Park page on the Sizzling Pubs website - www.sizzlingpubs.co.uk

A very large pub situated in one of Milton Keynes’s many “local centres” it sits alongside the Grand Union canal, but unfortunately loses out to some of the other canal side pubs in as much that the garden is at a lower level than the canal and largely screened from it by vegetation, so other than perhaps seeing the top of a passing boat you wouldn’t really know it was there. The pub is split across three levels, although they all flow in to one another in an L-shape configuration. Décor wise it all feels rather generic and corporate with various pastel shades of cream, yellow and green on the walls and predominantly carpet on the floors although with some tiling around the bar. The central level houses the bar counter and besides conventional tables and chairs there are a few circular pods with brown leather seating. This leads to the upper level which is more the drinking end of the pub and here there are a number of plasma screens showing sports channels as well as a darts board, and up a couple more steps, a pool table. Paintwork here was more of a mustard hue and there was also some exposed brickwork as well as a brick fire-place, although I suspect the fire itself was decorative rather than functional. The lower level at the other end of the pub is more geared up for dining and was a little noisy on my visit with a number of kids running around. There is also a fairground style grab machine full of soft toys which I always think looks out of place in a pub. The menu offered an extensive selection of dishes and there should be something to suit all tastes, unless perhaps, you have an aversion to microwaved meals. It is divided in to sections such as pub favourites, burgers and sizzling skillets. Deals of one sort or another are available on most days with chicken clubs, grill clubs, fish clubs, etc. Clearly they haven’t heard of healthy portion sizes here with options such as a skyscraper burger, triple decker deluxe burger, pork bonanza and a mega meat feast (20oz rump steak, two sausages and a rack of ribs!) all vying for your attention. In fact if you went for one of their “ultimate” meals you even got a free dessert thrown in. Prices were mostly in the £5 - £7 range, although obviously some of the larger options were more. My Mexican meltdown consisted of Grilled chicken breast smothered with salsa, tortilla chips, melted Monterey Jack cheese, guacamole, sour cream and jalapeños served on a sizzling skillet of peppers and onions with pilau rice which I thought sounded quite appealing but when it arrived it was a rather sorry looking dish with a rubbery slice of un-melted cheese draped over the top, and the skillet was distinctly un-sizzling. The “smothering” of tortilla chips totalled three, all rather stale. It was I suppose, just about passable. Beer choice was fairly limited with just Greene King IPA and Bombardier being available. At least they seemed to have recognised that these aren’t up to much and they were priced accordingly with the Bombardier being a very reasonable £2.70 and the IPA just £2.25. The solitary cider was Strongbow, unfortunately. All in all I daresay this serves the local populace well enough, but otherwise I can see little point in bothering to come here.

The Giffard Park page on the Sizzling Pubs website - www.sizzlingpubs.co.uk

Part of the Sizzler chain the food was cheaply priced but the portion sizes were also small ,so not real value for money.At least there was some real ale available and Young ordinary was OK.Quite a few young lads swilling lager but not in sufficient number to cause an aggressive atmosphere.Dull establishment.