The Market Inn, Bracknell

Pub SignMan left this review about The Market Inn

This is a very bland, generic Greene King pub that trades off of its favourable location opposite the train and bus stations. The interior comprises a large bare boarded space broken by a few structural support walls, but is essentially just one big, open plan seating area with a bar on the back wall. To the left is a slightly raised space with a floral print banquette and basic chairs overlooking the station approach. Further back, you'll find another raised space with similar seating, whilst high tables and stools fill much of the space between, continuing through the centre of the pub as you move from left to right. Meanwhile, banquette booths have been arranged along the front wall, under windows that look out to the bus station. The walls have low tongue and groove panelling and gastro grey uppers and are decorated with a job lot of pictures, promotional posters and TV screens showing muted football, whilst an R&B soundtrack does its thing in the background. The bar has a no nonsense counter with old school front panels, whilst the bar back incorporates a couple of mirrors bearing the pub's name as well as a white glazed brick section and some digital screens. There's a pool table at the far right-hand end of the room and a few tables can be found outside if you want to do some bus spotting.
There are plenty of handpulls on the bar, but Taylors Landlord was the only cask ale available, as no less than four Lillie's ciders occupied the remaining pumps. The service was fine, but not the most welcoming - at least the barman topped up my half of Landlord (£2.00) without needing any prompting. The place clearly has a transient customer base and only the youngsters playing pool looked like they bothered with this place on a regular basis.
This is about as functional a pub as you can get - there are no frills here, just the basics, all done to an acceptable standard but with nothing particularly standing out to make you want to come back again. In some regards, this makes it an ideal station side pub - pop in for a quick half before moving on again - but if I ever have the misfortune to find myself back in this town again, I'd probably try seeking out somewhere else rather than relying on this safe choice.

Date of visit - 10th August 2024

On 16^th December 2024 - rating: 5
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