Pelican Inn, Froxfieldback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I live and grew up in the area and this was my first visit to the Pelican although a relative has visited once before to eat and another played a gig here. Now, we only headed out to the Pelican because the John O'Gaunt was doing a fish and chip night (on a tuesday!?) and we couldn't get their excellent goat curry. On arrival the Pelican it looks lovely outside and the inside has been styled in burgundy with leather and wood, pretty much what you see in every rural pub that's had a modern refit.There was only one bitter on draught (the other was off) which for a local country pub is shocking and disgraceful so I settled for the one that was on and it was like toilet water. At this point you know everything from then on will be a disappointment. Everything here is all mouth and no trousers. The food is served on big white fancy plates and looked the part but the cooking was really poor and lazy. The specialities which are typically there to allow the chef to show off a bit were nothing more than dishes using up leftovers. The lamb tagine was a pot (microwaved) with tomatoey gloop and some pitiful lumps of diced lamb which I imagine came from Sunday Lunch's leftovers. All the dishes were completely underwhelming and all could have been cooked at home five times better and at a fraction of the cost. We finished our meal and nobody said anything about it, usually you get some comments but, no, nothing. A real disappointed. If you are going past the pub and are tempted, please don't bother, just keep driving on the A4 and go to the Halfway instead and see how a real local rural pub works and does restaurant cooking. With 50 odd pubs closing a week The Pelican needs to up it's game because I for one will not be returning.
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Couldn't agree more with the previous reviewer. I visited this pub/restaurant for the first (and last) time in Nov 09 after driving past it for many months and wondered whether it was as good as it looked from the outside. IT WASN'T.
When we walked in, the 'landlord' was lounged across a couple of sofas watched Deal or No Deal and was clearly annoyed that we had distubed him. Walking across to the bar, his gaze rarely left the TV apart from to serve us his over-expensive beer, soft drink and packet of crisps. I attempted to make pub small-talk - it was our first visit, how long had he been here, etc - only to be responded to in a series of grunts and one word answers. We sat in a cold corner eating our crisps (it was too early to eat) and drinking our drinks whilst the landlord went back to watching the TV.
Whilst we were sat there, some poor soul came in who was obviously staying at the pub (it has rooms as well). He must have stood at the bar for what seemed like a fortnight whilst the landlord, who had acknowledged his presence, disappeared into a back room doing God knows what (prob adjusting his TV aerial!).
I couldn't get out of there fast enough and will never darken it's door again. Pity as it looks very welcoming from the outside passing by. If you feel tempted to pop in, I would recommend that you carry on by especially if your visit coincides with Deal or No Deal!
gg500 - 17 Jan 2010 19:52 |
Went there last week (late July 2009). the food was average and expensive. The service was poor and extremely slow (1.5 hours for 2 courses), meaning we had to leave after waiting a further 25 minutes for dessert and more drinks (which weren't served in time). No genuine apology was offered for such slow service.
I certainly wouldn't recommend this pretentious and expensive restaurant (it is by no means a pub).
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No atmosphere??!! Very true but probably down to the rude, un-welcoming, pretentious land lord!! I had heard good things about the place, but thankfully we chose to spend our money in a more welcoming, pleasant pub in Hungerford where the landlord spoke to us like you would expext!
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Bit precious inside but the service was good and food excellent, nice stop for a driving break.
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Nice place, Quality of food is excellent, pricey but good value for money because everything is freshly prepared and not cheap frozen products like it used to be. If you have not been there lately give at a try.
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Nice looking roadhouse from the outside, this pub underwent a facelift inside that has helped transform the bar area into the completed article - a hotel lobby! Cannot comment on the food but the beer itself was reasonable.
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No atmosphere. Even the locals don't go there! Food is good, bit expensive. More of a restuarant in the wrong place than a pub.
anonymous - 17 Mar 2006 17:03 |
Just been re-vamped - good food & beer, although somewhat expensive. Bit of a roadhouse - no atmosphere (especially for drinking) - good for lunch in the summer, large garden with lots of ducks.
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