Swindon
The Cross Keys

The Cross Keys

5 Burycroft,SN4 0AP, United Kingdom, Swindon

Steak • Pizza • Cakes • British


"I have visited The Cross Keys many times in the past and so was really happy that it was open again, but sadly do not where to start with our experience last night. Service was slow, staff didn’t seem to have a clue what was going on. When I asked about the Specials Board I was told that the specials were sold out, despite the board being almost the first thing we saw when we entered the pub. We were then told there was no lasagne but when we ordered it turned out there were no pies either or soprano burgers. I ordered a chicken burger on a normal burger bun and not a brioche as advertised and the food quite frankly looked like it had been dropped onto the plate from a great height. The staff got our drinks confused and then when we asked for the dessert menu, took so long coming back to us that we just got up, paid the bill and left. I’ve read other reviews on here and noted Management comments and I would just like to say that there wasn’t any sign of management on a Saturday night and the floor appeared to be being run by very nice, but slightly disinterested teenagers. I have been in hospitality for over 20 years (maybe this makes me slightly more critical) and actually did a management stint at The Cross Keys a long time ago so would just like to say to the (new) owners that some staff training would be a great idea and clean glasses would be even better! It was very disappointing all round."

The Check Inn

The Check Inn

79 Woodland View, SN4 9AA, Swindon, United Kingdom

Pub • Wine • British • Ice Cream


"So let me explain my header as it is slightly confusing.For all of my followers they will know i am firm but fair and certainly not a gourmet food critic. We had booked a restaurant nearby for a meaty chicken and chorizo dish for valentines...night and were looking forward to the meal we chose on the set menu UNTIL our local priest reminded us at church on Sunday that meat was a no no. Not a hint of abstinence on this one we checked the menu and to our horror found no fish. My Polska Princess and i googled Food near our home and saw the Check Inn looked traditional and friendly, the menu was to our satisfaction and the price for the set menu very reasonable. So we booked, blind, never seeing the place or tried the food. We booked a table for and arrived on time. The pub has a quaint village feeling and set in a quite location from the road but near the However on a chilly February night this was not an issue. We entered the restaurant through the rear door and were promptly seated at a table near the warm fire in a cosy little restaurant and it was all of our wish list rolled into one. Cosy restaurant, clean, friendly staff, an attentive Landlord and steeped in the traditions of what a real country local should be. The Prosseco was the best that my Polska had tasted in a long long time and me being a not too romantic had couple of pints of an awesome beer from somewhere in Eastern Europe that apparently cannot be purchased any nearer than Reading. However i digress as my readers know i always do so i will now get to the point good and could be better but any criticism really should be taken as constructive because we will be definitely be going back and do not want to get barred after our first visit. The starters we had was Baked Camembert and a mix of fresh bread, it was perfectly cooked and was to die for, absolutely spot on, the Princess had Fish under instruction from the previous Sunday with Lemon Potatoes, alas the first thing she did was put a chunk of Lemon in her mouth thinking it was potato which somewhat tainted the meal for a while, however she enjoyed the fish and no complaint there. Me being a rebel had a carnivore sirloin steak which i found very chewy and gristley which is no fault of the kitchen but maybe a word with your butcher might not go amiss. My only criticism was the red wine jus was at first forgotten then came out cold. I did not use it. The desserts we had was Chocolate brownie with ice cream for the missus and cheese and biscuits for me. Both were well received and finished the night off to perfection. Surprised at the price of a glass of red wine to accompany my cheese but in fairness i did ask for a good one. I would seriously recommend this Inn/Restaurant as it is home from home and the icing on the cake for future use is the bar area is dog friendly and you are seconds away from those long walks into the countryside with a hearty meal waiting when you get back. I have suggested this Inn to my dear friends Hannah and Priya and maybe when they break their ties with busy town living they will venture out and give the Check Inn a visit."

The Five Alls

The Five Alls

Filkins, Swindon, United Kingdom, GL7 3JQ

Cafés • Steak • Cheese • Salads


"We had a very pleasant stay at the Five Alls while working nearby. The staff were very pleasant and it seemed to work efficiently. The evening meals were good quality. I had the large sized chicken caesar salad £18. I should have had the smaller size. Couldn 't finish it. I should also have asked for no anchovies. It was pleasant, but not a great deal of parmesan. The beer selection on offer was very small for a rural country pub. Only two on offer, and no bottled options. The two beers on offer were ok, but not great. Several lagers available, but not beer. I fully appreciate the difficulty in keeping cask ales, but there are plenty of bottled options available now which keep well. The furniture and surroundings were very comfortable, with lots of old sofas. The furniture in the restaurant was an eclectic, bordering on eccentric mixture but it seemed to work. There is the work of a local artist on the walls which are for sale and are mostly rural in theme including lots of hares. The staff dogs are present in the bar or certainly were when we arrived and the pub is dog friendly. That was fine with us. We both like dogs. We stayed overnight in the accommodation which was very nice. Large roomy space, well furnished, with a large bathroom. Plenty of parking available. We asked for an early breakfast to next day, bearing in mind we were there on business and needed to leave by 7 am. We fully accept that we were not the Five Alls target demographic, and that we had been made fully aware that breakfast didn 't start until 8. The staff and the chef managed to arrange some breakfast for us to take back to our rooms as the restaurant would be shut at the time we needed to leave. That was very much appreciated. The only problem we had, was what to do with our keys and how to pay our bill and get a receipt. Nobody was up at that time. We ended up putting our room keys through the letterbox and calling to pay later in the day. I would happily stay again. Probably more suited to couples and a weekend away than business users."

Goddard Arms

Goddard Arms

1 High Street, SN1 3EG, Swindon, United Kingdom

Pubs • Steak • British • European


"I 've been to The Goddard Arms before and to be honest it 's always only been been mediocre, but the location to our friends and workplace made it the most convenient place to go most of the time. It 's a nice bar and the staff were friendly enough. Me and my children booked for a 1pm lunch, unfortunately we were placed next to 8 ladies of a certain age on their Christmas lunch and I had to ask to be moved due to the language and volume of enjoyment. We were moved though, no problem, and I appreciated that. A few things, especially the food made me write this review as I was so disappointed. I ordered the Hunters Chicken, one of my 'go to ' meals it 's always a classic. Unfortunately, there was no bacon. Instead of BBQ sauce topped with cheese, the burnt and dry chicken was in a pot of white sauce. I had to stir it to check what it was and found the BBQ sauce in the bottom. It looked like the outpour from a painfully swelling... I couldn 't eat it. The skin on fries I ordered, when asked if I wanted skin on fries or chunky chips, arrived as chunky chips. The side dressed rocket and sun dried tomatoes was a small pink of 4 very wilted, dry, old leaves and 2 sas looking tomatoes, I couldn 't/wouldn 't eat it. Peas...fine. Beer battered onion rings , fine, just very small. My 7 year old had 'chicken goujons ' which he couldn 't eat as they were too overcooked and rock hard. The Sundae we ordered arrived as what was basically a biscuit cheesecake with squirty cream and frozen raspberries, no ice-cream. My older son seemed ok with the fish and chips. So disappointing, the chef clearly has no pride in his delivery. The food was expensive at £15 a plate so nowhere near the quality it should have been at. Some other things which just added to the disappointing visit: Our cutlery was dumped on our table unwrapped and unceremoniously. We had 2 pepper pots and had to search the whole restaurant for the salt. The windows are filthy. It was really hot the radiators and mid room fire were on. My 7 year old was provided a massive dessert spoon for hid sundae not a tea spoon which we had to ask for. I won 't be booking my friends Christmas lunch here unfortunately. And I won 't be returning for food at this low quality."

Roosters Grill Shack

Roosters Grill Shack

13-14 Fleet Street, SN1 1RE, Swindon, United Kingdom

Grill • Halal • Barbecue • Fast Food


"I have always loved Roosters. On this occasion (Friday 21st September delivery was very quick, we sat down and tucked into our food, however after taking the first bite of my meat free wrap (as I don't eat meat I discovered it was actually chicken!!! Okay so everybody makes mistakes but most people who are meat free would have kicked up a fuss more than I did. I called up and received an apology and the lady on the phone was helpful and apologetic and I was told a correct wrap would be sent out asap, which it was, great. However the reason I have given this review 2 star was because of the delivery driver, a lady who I found very rude, when she delivered the correct wrap she asked for the incorrect chicken wrap to be returned, it was cold and sat on a plate, I think she expected us to say we had eaten it and it couldn't be returned but as the packaging was all in the bin, she scooped it up into her bare hands and took it to her car, (maybe she ate it, who knows, but I thought it was pretty disgusting to collect food being returned in your bare hands and even to expect it to be returned in the first place, it was as if she didn't believe us! If the lady on the phone had told us it needed to be returned it would have been fine and I would have had time to wrap it up, but it was abit unexpected I didn't have time to get the wrappers out of the bin to wrap it up. Pretty gross and uncalled for."