Carpenters Arms, Stanton Wickback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Poor Sunday lunch at a significant cost. Chewy meat, re-heated small pots and strage selection of veg.
Waiting staff were indifferent and I lefy feeling less than full up. At only 5 foot, I suspect most men would be cheesed off!
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An attractive country pub converted from a row of small minor�s cottages. It�s a little out the way, you�re not likely to stumble across it by accident, but it�s only a two minute drive from the main A37, so it�s easy enough to get to. There�s a small courtyard garden at the side, and a covered smoking area at the front.
It�s a good sized pub with attractive exposed stonework walls and an unusual tartan carpet throughout. It�s an interesting layout with a long bar in front of you as soon as you walk in, several different areas including a large restaurant area off to the right. There�s a small snug to the left of the bar, although the cosiness of this was somewhat ruined by the large plasma showing a TV talent show. The young team of bar staff and waitresses were friendly and efficient, although one of them clearly didn�t know her ciders too well � I heard her describing Stowford Press to one punter as �the local one�. Errr, no, it�s from Hereford. The bar area was fairly quiet on a recent Saturday evening, with the majority of punters being there to eat � the restaurant was quite busy even from 7:00.
The food offering was definitely more restaurant like than pub like, both in the choice of dishes offered and the price � most of the mains were around the �14 mark. That said though, you get what you pay for and we both thoroughly enjoyed what we had.
Beers on this occasion were Otter Ale, Doom Bar and Butcombe. Ciders were the (local) Blackthorn and Stowford Press.
The only letdown was the gent�s loos which absolutely stank. That may of just been due to whoever was in there previously of course, I�m not sure if it�s always the case. But it was very unpleasant. There were some interesting picture�s on the wall though which was some small compensation. Other than that, this is a cosy country pub and well worth checking out.
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My fav! Great pub, nice atmosphere and good food. Staff can sometimes be a little crap, but the managers/owners make up for it!
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Don't order the steak at this pub! We ordered a sirloin steak which was very chewy and a rib eye steak which was undercooked and was not rib eye! The manager said that it was rib eye and they just took it away and cooked it a bit more. I eat rib eye all the time, and this steak definitely wasn't rib eye - it was much denser and actually not very nice, so I don't know what it was.
When I asked where the 'eye' of fat was that you get in rib eye, the waitress said it had melted!
Other than that the surroundings were OK, and the service was OK, but the 'steak factor' totally ruined what should have been a special evening for us.
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I visited today with herself driving, so I was able to have a go at the beers. When I was last here (198?) I wasn't impressed, but on this occasion the Otter was in good nick (herself had a coffee, which she pronounced excellent), and I asked for a sandwich for the driver, but was amazed when I saw the price, but hey, she's worth it, so ordered it despite my misgivings.
No problem! An amazing "sandwich", complete with a very nice salad (she said), crisps, etc., but mainly the sandwich itself was far too much for her, so I had to help out. This has to be one of the best butties I've ever had!
I can't wait to try a steak, but I hope they do doggie-bags!
Oh, and the Butcombe was in fine fettle too.
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Excellent "olde worlde" country pub. Three well kept real ales and excellent food and accommodation. Certainly recommended for either dropping in for just a couple of pints; stopping for a proper meal or staying for a weekend break.
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PROPER COUNTRY PUB ALERT!! open all day unlike many in the area, roaring log fire, good looking food menu,and just an all round nice feel to the place. Only let down was �3.05 for a pint of 6X!. 7/10
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