The Rock Inn, Taunton

An attractive Tudor style pub, it apparently takes it’s name from the cliff that forms part of the pub’s northern wall. There’s a small amount of outside seating at the front and side of the pub, and this was quite a pleasant spot to sit. Unfortunately, that’s really the only positives that the pub has. On entering, we were unsure if it was even open. There was nobody in there, and all the pumps except one were completely covered with white cloths. It all looked very odd. Eventually the landlord did appear and confirmed that he only had the one beer on. I did enquire why there was nothing else, but other than saying something about “coming tomorrow”, he didn’t really make much sense. Décor wise it’s fairly traditional, with rough cream plasterwork on the walls, a couple of chunky black beams on the ceiling and some areas of exposed stone walling. Flooring was some sort of wood strip with a tartan carpet covering much of it, whilst an old stone fireplace with a wood burning stove was off to one side. To the right, another room had a more contemporary feel with all the ceiling and beams having been whitewashed, some pale green wood panelling on the walls and some colourful wildlife artwork on the walls. The solitary beer on tap was Exmoor Gold, although whether there were any other pumps I couldn’t tell with everything being covered up. Overall, quite disappointing, no drinks and no atmosphere.