All you see at the end of Wood Street is this lovely plant covered building, as you get closer you realize it is a pub! The decor inside is quite lovely and I liked the ambiance; modern, elegant decor, but a busy and familiar feeling, although not overly loud. This is certainly a local watering hole, but also seems to attract the business people that flock into Swindon during the week.
As you look for a table don't worry, if you are worried about missing sport or news, they have t.v.s just about everywhere. The menu looks quite nice and there are your average pub dishes, but also some not-so-pub-like items, like a section of dishes under 500 calories. They also have a 2 meal for £10.45 deal, although it is limited to the 6 dishes. And... if you love dessert, they have 2-for-1 desserts Monday through Friday :).
After ordering at the bar, our starter, Pulled Pork Wedges appeared quite quickly. The wedges were nice and they do come with some sour cream for dipping. Our mains came out quite quickly as well... not a lot of waiting time and the staff do well at keeping things moving: clearing tables, delivering dishes quickly, etc. The food looked ok, although I probably should have taken a hint that the Smoked Haddock Cakes might not be the best as one had fallen apart and instead of flaky fish falling out, the filling was oozing out. Mr. Snarky had the Chicken Milanese and it wasn't quite what he was expecting, in fact I think a couple of components listed were missing, like the ham. I didn't taste Smoked Haddock and the inside had the consistency was a runny mashed potato. I didn't finish them as I could hear my stomach starting to make noises.
Since I was still a bit hungry and since the desserts were 2-for-1, Mr. Snarky and I decided to have dessert. I had trouble deciding because all the desserts sounded nice, but with my stomach making noises, I decided I should probably stay away from sundaes, etc. I went with the Bramley Apple Crumble and to be honest, I'm not sure what Mr. Snarky had... perhaps the Five-Layered Chocolate Cake because I was determined to make it through dinner without my stomach getting out of control. I am a bit sad that I didn't get to have some of the custard with my apple crumble, but Mr. Snarky had a taste of the crumble with the custard and liked it. I actually think that my apple crumble was the best part of the meal although the portion was quite large for my liking.
While I am happy to come back and try other dishes because our starter and desserts were good, I don't know that I will ever order the fish cakes again and would recommend giving them a miss. It is very affordable and if you were looking to spend under £10 for a meal, you certainly could. There is parking at the back (small driveway next to the pub), although we ended up parking at a car park about 5 minutes walk away (at night you don't have to pay, but spaces are limited). read more
