Marston Arms, Yeovil

Facebook page of Marston Arms - www.facebook.com

Official site of Marston Arms - www.themarstoninn.co.uk

Facebook page of Marston Arms - www.facebook.com

Official site of Marston Arms - www.themarstoninn.co.uk

A roadside pub which reopened last year after a period of uncertainty. You enter via a large car park off the side road and through a very untidy yard at the back which serves as a seating area and general rubbish dump. The car park occasionally has coaches in it, which has put me off coming in in the past. The main bar has been opened out to form two main areas, one a locals’ bar and one a more formal dining area; both feel a bit grubby. The locals were difficult, hogging the bar counter even though the bar was otherwise emtpty, and giving us dirty looks when we tried to peer around them to read the pump clips. The landlord was also not the friendliest, and there was a vague hint of unwelcome in the atmoshpere. There was a table skittles board, several TVs and various gaming machines which were switched off. Home-made curries were on offer, but the landlord was both evasive and uncertain about where his meat cam from, or indeed what kind of meat it was, so we abstained. Two ales from Cerne Abbas were on offer, IPA and Best Bitter, neither particularly well-kept. This isn’t the friendliest of pubs and given the uncertainty over the food and the poorly kept beer, I doubt I’ll be back anytime soon.

Reasonable village pub / restaurant with limited aspirations it would appear. Beers on were Doom Bar and Butcombe with a third handpull a cask cider. There are multiple eating areas and a courtyard through which you walk through from the car park. Nothing to really fault it, but I left feeling that they "could do better".

This used to be a good, friendly village pub with decent, well-kept beer and sitting in the sun in the patio garden with a good pint - ideal! There are new people in now and, sadly, the place thinks it's a restaurant - which it clearly isn't judging by the pedestrian menu - with little interest paid to those who merely wish to quaff a pint or two. Well below average.