The Pelican Inn

Not for the first time, I arranged lunch for a group of c. 25 (adults) after a run/walk in the surrounding countryside. Each person attending chose a meal from the menus in advance, so that all the lunches were pre-ordered a few days before. On the day people bought a drink and paid for their lunch before we sat down to eat at 13.15 - and out came the food, four dishes at a time, so that everyone was eating together. All the food met with approval - I'd chosen an excellent sausage & mash - and there were particularly favourable comments on the dressed green salad and the Welsh rarebit served with the soup, so a good time was had by all. There was only one cask beer available, but at 3.4% Black Sheep Bitter was a good choice for those having to drive home afterwards. Well done, Team Pelican: I shall be back, as I'm sure will others of our party!

Service was awful. Walked in and waited at bar to be ignored by staff. Went to another service area to be ignored by chap who may be the manager. Showed us to a table and when we asked to change he told us no - in a half full restaurant. It’s a shame, I have wanted to go there for a while but will not go back. Serious staff training or change required.

We had invited our friends to join us for a lunch time meal to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. The staff were very nice and helpful, drinks were ordered then our meal order was taken. As it was on a Monday it was relatively quiet with a few other groups eating , therefore making the meal a pleasant experience. The main meal we had was superb ,hot, tasty which made it very good and enjoyable. As for a pudding well what can I say, they were just as good as the main meal, the price of the meal was comparable to any good quality high street restaurant . Would certainly return for another meal with the factor of a pleasant environment and staff being helpful.

A 90th Birthday meal celebration for 9 people. Dan and the staff were very accommodating and friendly. I set up balloons and napkins before everyone arrived. Everyone enjoyed their meals and I would highly recommend The Pelican. We will be returning.

Awful service and food! We were waiting for 40 minutes for our order to be taken, wouldn't have minded but it wasn't that busy as we had an early table. Starters took 20 minutes to come and then a further 40 minutes for mains. No mention of a wait when ordering. The food wasn't that nice. Myself and one other person had chicken *****s for starter, we were ill for a few days afterwards. Mentioned we needed a highchair when the table was booked, that wasn't there when we arrived. Asked the Waitress if she could bring a hairchair, she didn't bother so we got our own in the end. Not a big deal but just adds to the poor customer service. People serving us were really uninterested, everything was just so slow including taking drinks orders. We have been to The Pelican a few times before and never had any issues. Sadly after this last experience, we will not be returning.

Midway between Hungerford and Marlborough, a very spacious pub inside with tables well spread out, excellent menu and charming staff. Plenty of room to park in two car parks, certainly somewhere to visit all year round as there is a very pleasant garden.

There were no breakfast facilities even though website said breakfast available. Room was cold as radiator was not working. Requested another room which was ok.

There for 45 minutes before drinks were brought to the table, so probably worth waiting at the bar to get a drink prior to being seated. The roast was absolutely fabulous though. Food fantastic but not so good service or we were just unlucky on this occasion. Food was so good though, we would give it another go and hopefully the service will be better next time.

You know when things aren’t going to be great when you turn up on Chris**as Day and there’s less decorations up than in your own home. We were given an ‘amuse bouche’ of a spoon of mushroom risotto- and I did wonder forty / fifty minutes later if this was all we were going to get. Eventually the waitress remembered we were sitting round the corner near the men’s toilets and brought some food. All the starters arrived with a lovely offering of burnt sourdough to accompany - not just a little, but literally blackened. At this point I knew we were in for a rough ride. Having cleared our own table an hour later, still no sight of anything resembling a turkey was on the way: it got to the point where the neighbouring table were starting to offer us their spare vegetables. I should mention at this point that our waitress ( dressed in her pink dressing gown - I kid you not) was clearly off her face. Eventually the main courses delivered - soggy turkey, cheap gravy, some veg undercooked, some overcooked. So much for ‘shell on prawns’ with the cod in a chickpea cassoulet / it was an inedible piece of fish in a emptied tin of tomato’s and that’s about it. Rosemary potatoes …. More like re- heated frozen Aunt Bessie’s. My daughter had chosen steak - it was served with a tomato. No sauce or other accompaniments. After we had cleared up our plates and stacked them at the bar again, ( at this point our fellow table next door were literally telling staff that we had been forgotten in our behalf by this point), we considered skipping dessert and just going. We didn’t / and were given some random puddings that didn’t resemble anything we had pre ordered. We were not offered tea or coffee at the end, even though it was part of the menu. I was asked for it it and charged for it, as well as the puddings!??! It cost an absolute fortune and was a total disgrace. So disappointing as I used it be a local and the food, decorations and a**osphere used to be really special. Now it’s more like a Wiltshire version of Fawlty Towers, served by in experienced staff. No apologies, no offer of compensation when I spoke to the manager. Never again.