Harvester The Old Castle, Salisbury

This pub should be renamed The Queue. Four people behind the bar, two fiddling with the till, one chopping lemons and one serving. A most uninspiring beer range - no real ale - all served chilled. Canteen quality food and our order got mislaid, and we waited at the table for an hour before it arrived - after much prompting. Friendly staff though, I guess it's not their fault the place is so badly managed. A lovely location, what a shame it's such a shambles.

I took the opportunity of joining PuG to re-visit this pub to give it a second chance after I gave it a poor review elsewhere, and I'm afraid to say my disappointment continues. Its proximity to Old Sarum Castle, after which it is named, gives it a great deal of potential, but for whatever reason it is something of an embarassment. Part of the Harvester chain, it serves tasteless ready-meal type food and megekeg beer at near-freezing temperatures. There is no atmosphere, the decor is irksome and staff remain unhelpful. It is a sad reflection on British commerce that this will be the first pub many overseas tourists visit when there are so many superb pubs in Salisbury to provide a role-model.