Wheelwrights Arms, Monkton Combeback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Well, I made my first visit of the year on Sunday and the pub seemed unchanged. The decor is minimalist - no knick knacks, tho' the odd bit of art. Small beer selection but what I had was fine. The beer garden is gravelled and adjacent to the car park, but the furniture was in good condition. We got there at 2.30, after the lunchtime rush, tho' there were plenty of customers - a good mix of diners and walkers. For a change I had lunch. The prices all seemed to be around the �12 mark - just about ok for a Roast but a bit pricey for fish and chips. The food was fine but I wouldn't make a special trip there for the food. Well worth a stop for a drink tho' especially if you're on a bike/ramble (it's about a mile from the Dundas Aquaduct).
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Visited this pub for the first time last Wednesday, pleased to see it was open all day as I arrived there after a long cycle ride mid afternoon. As expected at that time of day the pub was virtually empty so service was of course good! The Butcombe on offer was very good and not as expensive as I thought it could have been considering this is a gastro pub rather than a village local. The food choice was good but looked a bit pricey, hopefully the tastes will justify the cost. It is a shame to lose a good village pub where you could chat about the meaning of life etc but to survive these days as any sort of pub it has to diversify and they've obviously decided an upmarket pub will do well in this location, it's either that or go the way of many other pubs (e.g. The Viaduct Inn) and close altogether?
Hopefully they'll acknowledge that it is still in the heart of the village and a community asset as well as a business so maybe they could rethink their business model just a bit to create a small drinking snug etc for locals who do not want to dine there every day?
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First time I've been back to the Wheelwrights in a few years and I can do nothing more than echo the comments below. This is no longer a pub. There were NO seats available for anyone wanting just a drink. In fact, every table was reserved for diners. We were, of course, quite welcome to sit in the garden on a January lunchtime. Garden? There used to be a nice garden but now there's a patch of gravel and an enlarged car park where the wah-wah nim-nims can park their Rolls Royce whilst partaking of the expensive food. Yes, there WAS one there.
Beer choice was limited to Butcombe and a Christmas special, but seeing as the chap behing the bar was more interested in serving the waitress with the diners' orders than any actual customers...
Won't be going back. Another good pub ruined.
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No longer a community village pub where the locals met to talk over the day or ask after people etc. No longer can you just sit over a pint or stand at the bar and talk about the cricket. Tables for eating mainly posh food only at a price. Having said that the food IS good and as long as one views it as a restaurant rather than a wonderful local village pub with village atmosphere then it is a great place to go to get out of the city. I have to give it a good rating as for people who dont remember it as a lovely village pub/restaurant it will appear very good. Large garden with table/chairs outside though I feel sorry for the immediate neighbouring houses that have to put up with the outside noise.
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I use this pub a few times a year while out cycling.
It has changed from a trad local to the ubiquitous gasto pub, which in many ways is a shame. Progress?
However, the beer is good. There is a nice garden.
They are open all day, unlike so many country pubs (a real godsend after a hot day in the saddle). Whenever I've been it's been quietish - don't know if they'd discriminate against drinkers at tables if there were people wanting to eat.
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Formerly a traditional village local, my family drank in there for generations, used to have open fire, well kept real ales, breweriana, good home cooked food, lots of local faces. NOW NONE OF THE ABOVE. bit-refit now a gastro pub, the type that when you sit at a table they ask "are you eating?" overpriced fancy food with a 10% service charge included on the bill, the (revamped) serving area now looks like the servery you would get in a restaurant, no seating or standing at the bar, if this is the future i give up.
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