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

The Pen and Parchment is a delighful pub that always has a great atmosphere helped by its friendly staff. I often frequent this pub when visiting Stratford, and have found the food to be excellent (I usually have the beef and ale pie or the Sunday carvery, which I highly recommend!) and the staff most helpful with our two young ones. They have a good selection of drinks; when I have been in there are usually two guest ales out of the choice of four, with the other two being from the Greene King family. In my experience the level of service and quality of food has been significantly greater in The Pen and Parchment than in the near-by Cox's Yard, and would most definately choose to eat there over most pubs in the town. Highly recommended! Ben Timms

This pub has been ripped out and “improved” like most pubs in Stratford. It’s only small but still manages to be soulless, it probably used to be a nice little local. It’s aimed at the tourist trade with the whole place being full of dining tables and chairs. It’s got exactly the same menu as The Garrick and The Dirty Duck so they’re probably all owned by the same people. Four handpumps on the bar all serving beer from the Greene King stable. GK IPA, Abbot and XX Mild (a bit of a surprise that one) plus Morlands Old Original. I had a pint of the mild which was pretty good. Now for the bad news. We asked at the bar where Cox’s Yard was as we knew it was nearby, but couldn’t spot it in the dark. We were pointed in the right direction but were told “You don’t want to go there, they don’t sell real ale (they do) and the foods crap (it isn’t)”. They then gleefully pointed out a large framed poster on the wall of a newspaper article criticising the other pub. Sorry guys this really isn’t on, you don’t slag off your nearest neighbour by having negative reviews about it on your walls. Grow up.