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Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Jonathan Wilde
Submitted on Sunday, 23rd April 2017
With picture contributions to 4611 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (5 more images)
Detail Pages
The Duck, Bridgwater
Burtle
Postal town: Bridgwater
TA7 8NU
Served areas
Reviews of The Duck (Average Rating: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The Duck
Very well described in Blackthorn’s comprehensive review, below. We were warmly greeted by the staff and made to feel at home by locals. Ales on were Butcombe’s Original, Tribute and a house beer, The Duck Golden Ale. Also on handpump was Wilkins Farmhouse cider. It’s a bit out of the way but worth finding.
On 21st February 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3516 recommendations about 3480 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Duck
A very contemporary pub in a slightly out of the way location, it has clearly undergone some extensive refurbishment recently and is, I suspect, largely unrecognisable from it’s previous incarnations. It was for many years known as The Railway, followed by a spell as the Tom Mogg, named after the last station master before the railway’s closure. It was then shut for a few years before being bought by a millionaire and developed in to what it is today.
As you enter from the front, there is a large function room off to the right with the bar and lounge to the left. Much of the walling is exposed stonework, although this had an unusual, very pale grey colour. Whether this is natural or has been treated in some way I’m not sure, but it wasn’t painted. The overall effect was quite pleasant, although there was perhaps a little too much of it. Besides the walls, stone archways have been built to provide access between adjacent rooms. The flooring in the main bar was carpet, with a large (pale grey!) stone fireplace at one end, surrounded by a collection of wine bottles. The ceiling had a few beams on which had been painted grey, and although I’m not usually a fan of painted beams, it seemed to work well enough with the style of the rest of the pub. Seating was mostly leather sofas and arm chairs, although the few locals that were in seemed to congregate at the bar. Off to the left was a dining room, and this had a similarly contemporary style, although with wood strip on the floor and a feature wall at one end painted in a very dark grey and having a large duck etched mirror. Large patio doors looked out to the garden. At the rear was a smaller room which was perhaps a little more traditional, with rough wooden boards on the wall. An unusual feature here was some old beer engines fixed to the wall, as well as a few keg taps.
The menu offered an extensive selection of dishes, and although this included a few pub classics such as burger, fish & chips or a steak, they were on the whole a little more unusual. Prices were a step up from your usual pub grub, with most of the main courses being somewhere around £12 - £15. I opted for the pork belly with apple mash, braised red cabbage and cider gravy and this was a decent and tasty dish and a generous portion. My only criticism would be the crackling, which was quite chewy and not at all crisp.
Beers on tap were Butcombe Original, Tribute and their own Duck Golden Pale Ale. Ciders meanwhile were Thatcher’s Gold, Thatcher’s Haze and Wilkins Farmhouse. All in all I quite liked this, and it’s great to see an old pub being rescued and given a new lease of life, although it’s contemporary styling may not suit everyone.
On 29th September 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2060 recommendations about 1962 pubs]
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- Official site of The Duck - theduckatburtle.co.uk
- Facebook - The Duck At Burtle
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Duck - whatpub.com
Bridgwater, 8.57 miles, 2 hr 45 min walk (show)
Weston Milton, 15.07 miles, 4 hr 50 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 29 January 2019 by E TA
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 29 January 2019 by E TA
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 24 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Car Park : Yes last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Darts : No last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Function Room : Yes last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Jukebox : No last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Karaoke : No last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Live Music : Yes last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Micropub : No last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Pinball : No last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Pool Table : No last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 04 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 29 September 2017 by Blackthorn _
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 23 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
- WiFi : Yes last updated 23 April 2017 by Jonathan Wilde
