Caldecotte Arms, Milton Keynesback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Agree with previous comments. Great location, right on the lake and next to a particularly decent playground and the model railway.
Good place for a family meal with a decent kids’ menu. Food quality okay, service pleasant if very slow.
As for the beer, wouldn’t rush back just for that. Only two lagers and GK West Coast IPA on keg - and had I realised the latter was an eye-watering £4.70 a pint I would have had a soft drink. Few bottles of craft beer in the fridge.
Would I go back? Definitely for a cheap family meal, but definitely not just for a beer.
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A unusual and good sized “Fayre & Square” pub built around a windmill and attached to a Premier Inn on the banks of Caldecotte Lake. There is an extensive grass area between the pub and the lake and there are plenty of picnic benches here to make the most of the pleasant views, as well as a small terrace area at the back of the pub.
The building itself appears to be a mixture of old and modern, with many of the original features of the windmill apparently retained, such as old oak beams and an brick tower with a high archway that looks as though it may have been part of the old mill. All this had me fooled anyway – on chatting to someone who has lived in the area for many years, I discovered that previously there was nothing here at all and it was built in the 1970’s along with the rest of Milton Keynes. Besides the faux old stuff, the remainder of the décor is the usual mix of bland corporate colours and furniture that one always finds in such establishments.
Besides the aforementioned “old” brick mill, there is also a conical brick tower just inside the entrance and this leads to a galleried landing which looks to be a pleasant spot. The pub is clearly built to make the most of the lake views, with several large windows all along the back wall. There were a number of generic pictures on the walls and a “grab” machine such as you often get at fair grounds – one filled with the usual selection of cuddly toys and the other with miniature bars of chocolate. At 40p a go, this seemed expensive; I wouldn’t have thought a miniature bar of chocolate would cost that much to buy and at least then you know you’re going to end up with one.
The food offering looked to be very much the cheap and cheerful, mass produced variety and offered an extensive choice of dishes divided in to sections such as pub favourites, burgers, chicken, seafood, grills, etc. Most of the mains were around the £6 - £8 mark, although many of them were also available as part of a “2 for £10” deal. Other deals were also available such as Wednesday curry nights.
Beers on tap were Greene King IPA and Hobgoblin. The solitary cider was Strongbow, unfortunately. This is not really my sort of pub, but they have made an effort to build an interesting building, even if it is all fake, and the views over the lake are very good.
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Popped in here after giving up on the Talbot at Loughton. Hadn't been for years and I think it's improved. Still Greene King IPA unfortunately but they also had Hobgoblin on draught which wasn't bad.
Very much a foody pub but a great location and good fun with it themed around a windmill - the kids will love it! Obviously very family orientated. It was so busy on the Saturday night that we went that we had to sit outside by the lake - lovely views but a bit chilly!
Service was pretty efficient and quite friendly. Food, looked pretty much standard stuff at a reasonable price and there were a lot of families eating it so they must be doing something right.
Might go back...
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Anyone who is surprised on entering this place and coming across what they find should get out more. It's on a nice lake and is built around a windmill but it's part of a Premier Inn and it's in Milton Keynes, so it's not going to be a rural idyll is it? Hence, taken on its own terms - the location, the availability of a pretty good pint of Hobgoblin and pictures on the wall that evoke the area's history (Bletchley Park, the Grand Union Canal) as well as a pretty respectable pasta bolognese and you have an OK place to take the kids on a Sunday afternoon. Soulless, yes; utterly terrible, no.
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This is not a pub. Well at least it should not be allowed to call itself a pub. It is a children�s eatery that services a few lagers to adults don�t know better.
If you don�t have children there is no reason to go here, ever!
It was really sad to see the odd childless couple who actually come here out of choice. Some people have really low standards.
In fairness, the location next to the lake is pleasant enough, but the whole venue feels very fake, a bit like the rest of Milton Keynes.
The choice of beer is poor, the quality of service is lower than the average age of those in the place, and the food, well the less said about that the better.
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Service - poor, Clientele - poor (those barred from the town), Decor - poor, food - poor. Environment - lovely.
if you can put up with all it's bad points the lake is lovely all year round, then you can go in the caldecotte arms and be dispointed, but at least you know what you have signed up for
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I agree with the previous review - this place looks nice, but the service is dire. My partner waited half an hour to get served and then we waited a further hour for what turned out to be an appalling meal! Many places are offering deals like '2 for �10' and I don't expect amazing quality, but this meal was inedible. My meat was so dry I could barely swallow it and because they were so slow, I couldn't be bothered to complain! Terrible place - AVOID!!!
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This pub is set in an idyllic setting, with views across a lake and beside a windmill. The inside has old beams with brickwork a major feature, what could be better? Well, the food and drink for a start.
Two meals for �10 looked a bargain - unfortunately I visited on a bank holiday - so paid full price.
I chose the rump steak. Bad move. My steak-knife was very sharp - but nowhere near sharp enough to cut through this lump of gristle. Bits I did manage to free where impossible to chew. Actually, chew and chew was all you could do.
Needless to say I returned it to the bar staff, who asked if I would like another one? No, thank you.
As for real ale..........there isn't any. Speckled Hen is bad enough in cask form - but as keg - good grief. I did try a pint out of dying thirst, but I can honestly say that the water out of the lake would have tasted better!
Having settled the bill (and not charged for the "steak") I noticed the receipt was headed; "Punch Pub Company", I wish I had known that before we went in.
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