please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The thai food at the Check Inn is delicious!! It's always fresh and yummy. The bar staff are very friendly and the homemade puddings are great and change often. The pad thai is my favourite dish and my boyfriend likes the beer selection. You should try it if you haven't yet!!
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My wife and I have been going to the Check Inn in Wroughton for years.
The beers are always good. The food is superb. The staff are always courteous, helpful and friendly.
Nothing unusual there, but last night we had a meal in the place (as we regularly do) and it was outstanding, so imagine my dismay when I overheard plans to knock the place down and use the land, together with the field adjacent to the pub, for a proposed motorway service station!
It seems a shame that such a good, rural pub serving a local community so well should give way to a Travelodge and KFC complex.
I urge you to try the Check now before the opportunity has passed.
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Visited last night, first time for a couple of years. Guy behind the bar was grumpy and really couldn't be bothered to serve us - and served one of his mates in front of us. He then spent the evening fiddling with his laptop, and really resented being disturbed by customers. Choice of beers very limited, although there were in good condition. Prices are outrageous though!
Go to the Carters, great beers, reasonable prices and a warm welcome!
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well what can I say ,ALL BEERS �3 pound even 3.5 beers ,coke out of the pump �1.60 half a pint .STAR lager�3.50 .NO real ales unless its Fullers,the Carters is a lot more inviting and a lot cheaper ,with an excellent variety of real ales.Sad to say but I miss the old Dougie pub as I remember IT.!!!!!
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Would be acceptable in London as a bog standard Fullers house, beer ok, lots of chunky wooden furnature and sofas, half a dozen people in watching rugby on the TV. A sad shadow of its former self when Dougo ran it, and 10 ever changing real ales were available, the place was always packed. My first visit since Fullers took it over, and my last. Do your self a favour and go up the hill to the Carters Rest.
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Went to this pub for the 1st time yesterday. I confess to being a big fan of Fullers Ales, and the beer here is FANTASTIC!
The beer is exceptioanly well kept and there is an impressively good range available, I'd highly recommend this pub to any Real Ale drinkers.
The decor is very nice but there are too many tables in the bar area, and you literaly have to squeeze past them. We were lucky that it was only moderately busy, so we could weave our way back and forth to the bar - but if it had been a full house - it would have been a nightmare trying to move around.
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Well what a change since the landlord has taken over !!!!! the meals are cheaper ,back to " ordinary pub grub prices" there is also a discount for those who sign up to the "cheque mate card of 10% discount on meals). Not many new real ales its mainly FULLERS, which is ok.The prices have gone up for beer �2.80-�3.00 a pint , lager even more expensive, not cheap.A lively atmostphere and very friendly bar staff.
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I see from the Adver that this pub received zero stars for food hygiene in the Swindon Borough Council 'scores on the doors' survey, thats 'very poor' and in need of urgent remedial action to you and me. How the mighty have fallen, would never have happened under Dougo's tenure here.
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well ,went to the pub tonite and mo is moving on. very sad as she was allways very polite and liked to talk the customers (if she had time, she had to do the cooking as cook had left) she will be sadly missed.the pub has never been the same since Dougie left. it has never been the same,beer prices up(less real ales)the food jumped up to stupid prices �8.50 for a beef burger ,a steak �14 for a real ale pub??? there are very few people eating nowadays ( too expensive)
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Excellent pub and it has turned around no end since the younger, inexperienced �land lords� left. The new landlady had a lot to do to get its reputation back! Great beer, brilliant food (chilli night on a Tuesday, sausage and mash night on a Thursday) and welcoming landlady & staff.
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I noticed last week that the Swindon Advertiser had a full page advery for an open day at this pub looking for new tenants, all is obviously not well although I had heard that the guest beers had started to improve again.
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well what a change at the Check inn, a lot more friendlier,warmer ( heating has been fixed).food not bad (at least its a lot cheaper) Mo is doing her best to make every one wellcome ( not like previous landlady).I'm sure it will go back to how it was.
anonymous - 12 Dec 2008 21:37 |
New land lady Maureen,much better than the previous young couple (they never had a clue)beer went up 70 p, food went up to Gorden Ramsey pricies !!!
"hand cut chips""salt marsh welsh lamb""aberdeen angus beef burgers""line caught fish"ETC , nothing was just fish and chips they used 10 words to discribe, line caught cod with hand cut cut chips with pricies to match . �8.50 for a burger!!!!!!!! Steaks were �13.95. A curry night was �22.00 We only wanted ordinary pub food.After all it is realy only a real ale pub,they drove custom away.
anonymous - 8 Nov 2008 22:47 |
The '09 GBG led me to discover this place recently, and in response to the comments below, I should set the record straight and say that guest ales seem to be very much back on the pumps!
Despite Fuller's being a little more flexible than say Greene King or Young's in offering other brewers' beers, they usually only stretch to 1 or 2 alongside their own fairly extensive range. Yet, maybe in response to boycotting by the likes of Hodge1 et al, they appear to have reneged on this policy and are allowing a whopping SEVEN non-Fuller's ales on at the Check Inn! Yes, 8 out of 10 pumps were on, and only 1 Fuller's beer featured on my visit and that was Pride, for the unadventurous drinker. The most prosaic of the guests was Shepherd Neame Late Red; the rest were more interesting and some quite rare for these parts - to find out what I mean get yourself there and find out for yourselves.
The food was limited to sandwiches (odd for a Saturday lunch) but I must say there was a wide choice of fillings, panini or triple-decker options, and they weren't bad. Very jolly barmaid too which helped smooth things along. Mixed clientele. Could easily have whiled away the whole afternoon here but alas, there were other pubs to get to!
My only criticism? As with so many Fuller's places outside of urban areas, the pub was perhaps a little too "townie" for somewhere like North Wroughton. But I suppose it's an alternative to the traditional oak beams and thatched cottage kind of country pub.
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Been back once since 'Dougo' sold it, not impressed, expensive beers and predicably the removal of most of the guest ales also removed the punters. What on earth did Fullers think would happen? Personally I would continue through Wroughton to the Carters at the top of the hill.
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10 handpulls,mostly from the Fullers new "empire" of breweries(Gales etc). Had Hidden and Sharps on as guests though. (The Sharps could have been cooler.)Ale was mostly around the �2.80 mark,but the ESB was �3.10(ouch!) Ginger barman from Dougs time here is still on the payroll so it mustn't that bad. Don't like the new layout bar. Nobody in the restaurant but a decent few punters in the bar. No recognisable faces from old. Probably would have had more in at the equivalent time of the week in the previous landlord's time. Not much that could be really complained about(gents could do with a bit more TLC),but no longer the attraction it was.
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not as good since it was taken over by fullers, beer has gone up nearly 30%. food also too expensive,bring back the old favourites at sensible prices see the customers flock back.The decor is now more modern but the radiaters are allways turned off freezing!!!!!!
anonymous - 20 Feb 2008 21:49 |
I visited this pub the other lunchtime and had a lovely lunch and was very impressed with the range of beers.in fact im aranging a comeback for a friday or saturday to enjoy these beers with some colleagues. so if you love real ale and good food, good service this little gem out of the way is a must visit forget what the pub used to be like from what I saw the new kids on the block are doing a grand job so give it a visit
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We travel up from Hampshire on a regular basis and found this pub extremely comfortable and cosy. Landlords very pleasant indeed. Have had several meals there which have been excellent and much improved since the new chef took over before christmas. The service is always very good and it's a nice pub to relax in with an excellent range of real ales.
All in all a very pleasant pub to visit. Worth it.
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I'm afraid I have to agree with SW6. Post renovation, the Check Inn has lost a lot of its charm. There is a real fire which is welcome, but the one large bar concept with low tables and sofas does not work in this pub in my (and many other's opinion)
The new owners are trying hard, but the beer quality has reduced (while prices have increased) and the pub is not in the 2008 GBG after many years of being included. As for the food, the chef has changed recently, but is still overpriced for a pub. I heard many comments about food quality not matching the prices charged previously, in particular about the food being served cold. The previous chef left before Christmas so SW6's comments do not bode well.
Finally there are many more children roaming around the pub these days which does seem to annoy some customers!
I will persevere with the Check Inn and see if things improve, but I've noticed many of their old regulars seem to prefer the Carters these days!
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Not long made another visit, and the changes are more obvious now. I now understand what "Fullerised" means.
In my opinion the pub has lost a lot of it's charm. There were 9 real ales on 5 of which were Fullers, this still seems like a good selection to me, but I didn't see any real ciders on, which there used to be. We had to wait longer for service than we ever have before (not an unbearable time but definitely longer, and the prices have gone up. The layout of the bar has changed and, in my opinion, not for the better.
But the real falling point was the food. The 3 waitresses were inexperienced to say the least and when the food came it wasn't very good. The roasties had clearly been reheated several times, we were warned that the beef and lamb would be served pink but they weren't, the pigeon breast starter was overcooked for my taste, the service was slow, and to cap it all the bill was wrong.
All in all not the same pleasant experience it used to be, for me at least hence the lower rating.
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Being new to the area, I never appreciated this pub in its previous incarnation, but have to say that this is an enjoyable place to drop in. The complete Fullers range is complimented by a selection of changing guests. Normally this would be a reasonable motivation to visit, but there is a greater temptation; the food. The steak and kidney & game pies have to be seen to be believed. Suet crust, high quality meat & piping hot. And go hungry!
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We've been using this pub for about 5 years and it has changed since Fullers took it over (new signs went up this week) in some ways for the better and in some ways not so.
No longer do you have to queue for ages to get a drink. In part this is due to the lower volume of customers as many have deserted for the Carters, but in the main the present bar staff are more efficient.
The beer choice has reduced in quality and quantity, however they still have up to 4 guest ales available in good condition. The food is much the same, good but a little pricey.
The pub is closing for the first 2 weeks in Oct 07 for renovation, just hope the character is maintained.
At the moment I'd still give the Check Inn 8/10
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Thanks for that. It's not really my local but I have to say I haven't noticed much difference. I didn't know the previous landlord so there were no ties there, the barstaff seem to be much the same standard as last time I went in, sevice was good and cheerful. The only real difference was that it was a bit quieter early on than I remember.
Oh one more thing!
a-e-m 10th April Mike and Becky have left the Gluepot so even in there it's a bit "watch this space".
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"Fullerised" generally means that a place has been refurbished and has consequently lost a certain amount of its previous charm and individuality. It will be run by a brewery - employed manager as opposed to a tenant. Pubs that have succumbed to this fad have a certain samey chainy feel to them and are instantly recognisable. I hope that your local hasn't been affected this way
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Went out for Sunday lunch recently. Don't know what "Fullerised" means, but for me the pub was still pretty good. Higher than average selection of real ales and while they are not as inexpensive as they were they are still not expensive. Didn't spot any real ciders which is a shame.
The Sunday lunch was excellent and good value at about �8:50, I've certainly paid more for worse.
All in all still a very pleasant experience.
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Service realy poor on Sunday evenings, have walked out twice now after barstaff did not seem bothered to look after customers. Will drink elsewhere, shame because range of beers is good, be nice to taste them!
anonymous - 18 Apr 2007 20:02 |
Rumours were correct. Doug has sold out to Fullers and retired away to Barnstaple. Very "FULLERSISED" already by all accounts.........
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Rumours are about that FULLERS have bought this place for �1.5 million. See ye all in the GLUEPOT when your cheap ale is gone......
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Superb pub despite it's modern feel interior. Excellent range of well kept ales at realistic prices, also a great range of true continental lagers which are hard to come by. Staff are great & very welcoming too which is nice.
Food is excellent but sad to say well OTT price wise after a recent price increase. Their Brixham jumbo cod is awesome but at �10.50 they really are having a laugh. Such a shame considering their beer pricing policy that the food pricing policy goes totally the other way so I now only ever buy drink here and spend my �7 - 8 that I consider a reasonable ammount for a good pub meal elswhere.
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Popped out on Friday to visit the beer festival. Good range of ales on top of the normal selction, great to see so many real ciders represented. Atmosphere was okay, it's probably better later on. Bar staff were very pleasant but under too much pressure with the added custom due to the festival, and so there were some longer than expected waits to get served. We started off sat outside but the roar from the M4 drove us fairly quickly back inside.
The motorway only being yards away would put me off going back during the summer, but judging by the way the place was filling up I am in the minority.
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This pub is a ten minute bus ride from Central Swindon. Despite the roar of traffic from the M4, it is pleasantly located, with spacious, comfortable accommodation outdoors and in.
There was a very good beer range when we visited, including several from the Sharps range, and a couple of more local brews. The food service was very efficient, and meals of good quality. Recommended.
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Gets voted PUB OF THE YEAR by CAMRA, don't know if that's a good or bad thing for the rest of us. Well kept good range of beers good food OK atmosphere.
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Usually 8 excellent real ales, beautifully kept and at under �2.00 a pint.
Decent food.
Plenty of no smoking areas.
Garden and petanque.
Larts - 9 Apr 2005 20:19 |
