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The Kings Arms, Cardington - pub details

Kings Arms
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Address: The Green, Cardington, Bedford, Bedfordshire, MK44 3SP [map] [gmap]

Tel: 0871 951 1000 (ref 24771) - calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras

Nearest train stations Bedford St. Johns (2.7 miles), Bedford (3.2 miles), Kempston Hardwick (4.5 miles)

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> Current user rating: 5.5/10 (rated by 11 users)
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other pubs nearby:

Gate Inn, Harrowden (1.0 miles), Five Bells, Cople (1.1 miles), Turnpike, Bedford (1.1 miles), Anchor, Bedford (1.4 miles), Bell, Cotton End (1.5 miles) - see more nearby pubs

user reviews of the Kings Arms, Cardington

please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.

5 most recent reviews of 11 shown - see all reviews

Forget this pub, particularly in the winter!
Six of us had booked last night for our work night out, so we had pre-ordered food. Arriving there, it was so cold in the bar, and the resturant was even worse! We had to keep our coats and scarves on, just to stay cold, rather than suffering from hypothermia. We waited for service at our table... and waited...and waited... When we eventually managed to attract attention, we asked if there was anything that could be done about the heating, and were told that the heating was on. We asked to see the manager, who told us a load of rubbish about how they couldn't make the restuarant warmer, but did nothing to move us to another (warmer) table, did not offer us a hot drink, or even a blanket! We should have voted with out feet at this point. When our food evenutally came, it was luke-warm, poor quality, and not all of us got what we ordered. When we asked about this, the waiting staff told us we must have ordered wrongly! We came armed with a list of what we had ordered, so we were offered then the food we actually wanted, but told it would take a while. Famished and freezing, we just ate the food in front of us. The burgers were dry, the food cold, the pastry overcooked and rock-hard, the veg was cold. We were moved to another table in the bar, by the only staff member who seemed to appreciate that being frozen was not what we were paying for.However, it was still not a comfortable temperature to remove our coats and relax into the evening. When the puddings arrived ( yet more waiting), again, mediocre at best - the choux pastry was stale , the custard cool, and the one cup of coffee we ordered was cold ( the sugar was not melted in it at all), and bitter - as if it had either been reheated, or standing about for a while. We complained about this, were offered another cup, but we'd had enough. We asked for the bill, and left as soon as we could hurry out the door. We were given a �10 money off token for our 'next' visit by the one good member of staff, which was a nice gesture - however, NEVER AGAIN! The staff and the manager do not care about their customers comfort and satisfaction at all.
coldveggie - 18 Dec 2010 09:55
Surprised to see no other comments posted since April 2009. I agree strongly with this review. Four of us recently had a very bad experience here. Lukewarm food that was dried out and had been hanging around drying out for ages. Completely uneatable. When filling in their feedback page there was nowhere to write to personally. Gave feedback on two occasions but sadly had no response not even to confirm receipt of our comments. Will never go there again and as there was no returned comment from them, despite giving my details and home phone number, I will be advising all my friends and colleagues to give it a miss.
mrsnothappy - 7 Aug 2010 12:51
Stop for a drink, don't stay for the food.

A large pub matching in exterior beauty its picturesque setting, this pub shows signs of having received a healthy dose of investment in its modern pub interior. Its website boasts "real ale, freshly cooked food and friendly service". On the evidence of tonight's visit, only one of those claims is true. The beer was passable.

The lacklustre but efficient service for our drinks was adequate. Deciding to stop for a bite to eat (tempted by the website's claims of locally sourced good food) we were advised to find a table and a member of waiting staff would be over to take our order. So we sat, selected our choices and waited. And waited. Eventually we saw another of the dozen customers in this large pub go to the bar to order, and overheard the staff member saying that there was no table service in the bar area. Not something that had been communicated to us when I had asked. I followed the other customer's lead and ordered at the bar, so as not to overly disturb what was clearly an important private chat between the otherwise unoccupied waiting staff.

After ordering, we noticed that the freshly cooked food was coming out rather quickly, and with little delay we were served our mains. My wife's steak, whilst cooked properly, was tasteless save for the overpowering charcoal bitterness from an inadequately cleaned (if at all) grill. My "homemade" pie was slightly better, but still suffered from being fatty and rather short of meat underneath its puff pastry lid, whilst the side vegetables were dry and undercooked. Clearly the product of a microwave, which "chef" seemed as unable to operate as he was incapable of cleaning his grill.

According to previous reviewers, this used to be a Brewers Fayre pub. It seems to have faired no better since The Man chalked this one up to experience and left it to go it alone. I'd have understood this poor dining experience had it remained a chain pub, but assuming someone has put their hard earned money into this as an investment they would do well either to retrain the staff to learn how to look after customers (especially when customer/staff ratios are as low as they were tonight) or look to substitute the incumbents from the growing ranks of those looking for work in this day and age. The chef needs to go to catering college, or at least learn where the kitchen's bucket and scrubbing brush are and the pub's website should be reported to trading standards.

A real wasted opportunity.
Phantom_Power - 21 Apr 2009 20:45
This place used to be a dreadful Brewer's Fayre but is now much more pleasant and up-market. Good food and beer at reasonable prices in very pleasant surroundings. Staff can, sometimes, leave a little to be desired but not too bad.
goodoldboy - 3 Nov 2008 12:12
Refurbished to a very high standard, the pub has a luxriant feel and a reel open fire which is excellent in winter. Food is pricey and disappointing in quality for what they charge, but the ambience is good and the pub is sumptuously appointed. Well worth a visit, and I imagine this must be a very good pub in summertime thanks to the good location and excellent outdoor seating area.
thebunster - 26 Jan 2008 22:31

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