Pen & Parchment, Stratford Central, Stratford-Upon-Avon

Official site of Pen & Parchment - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

Official site of Pen & Parchment - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

The Pen & Parchment has a large tarmac area out front full of picnic tables and around to the right side of the pub is a separate building that houses all or some of the ten advertised en suite bedrooms. The interior of the pub is horseshoe shaped with seating down the left hand side and a raised seating area in the front right and more seating at the right rear. The central bar supports premium keg alongside Carling and two mainstream ciders, Aspalls and Stowford Press. There are also four handpumps that were drawing GK IPA and Abbot Ale. A TV to the side of the bar was showing muted The Chase whilst some low background music played. Up on the wall in the raised seating area is a list of the previous pub landlords going back to 1792. The service was polite and the pub was comfortable, but there is no getting away from the fact that this is a Greene King pub.

Quite an interesting-looking Greene King pub between the Avon and the canal, but remodelled to leave a variety of seating / dining areas in an overall 'L' shape. Refurbished inside in quite a bland way, with light decor and semi-modern furniture. Substantial front patio beer garden. IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Silhill Silver Star (£3.79) as a guest from three of four handpumps.

An imposing brick built pub on the edge of the town centre and overlooking the canal, it’s a good size internally and was full to capacity on a recent Friday evening visit with many tables reserved for diners. In fact food seems to be very much the focus here, with limited room available for those just wanting a pint. Internally it’s somewhat more contemporary than might be expected, and has clearly had extensive refurbishments at some point leaving little of any character other than some very old supporting timberwork and beams. Flooring was a mixture of wood strip and carpet, whilst the paintwork was a very dark green on the lower part of the walls and cream plasterwork above. Some exposed brickwork was at the rear of the pub as well as an old brick chimney breast. A partitioned off and slightly raised section was at the front of the pub with a list of all the previous landlords written on the wall at the end. A fruit machine was opposite the bar as well as a TV screen, although the volume was off so this was not too intrusive. Service at the bar seemed particularly slow, although to be fair they were at least fairly switched on – going off to find some cucumber to serve with Hendrick’s gin, for example. Food wise, the menu offered a good selection of “pub grub” such as sausage & mash, beef & ale pie, burger, lamb shank, curry and so on. Most of these were priced around a tenner, and our sweet chilli salmon and fish & chips were both decent and tasty dishes and quite good value we thought, especially considering the touristy nature of the area. Beers on tap were Greene King IPA and Abbot Ale along with Silhill Pure Star which seemed very pleasant, although I’m not a beer expert by any means. A fourth pump appeared to have run out, whilst the cider choice was a little disappointing with just Aspall’s Suffolk. Overall, this was a decent enough pub with good food, but the slow service, lack of many original features and slow service at the bar mean that I would be unlikely to call in again unless it was for another meal.