The Cunning Man. in West Berkshire

Amazing place by the River Kennett with a huge beer garden. Rich menu and friendly staff. Great kitchen and nice selection of wines & beers. Strongly recommended.

Had an excellent lunchtime meal here. Service was very friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is appealing. Outdoor bar on a sunny day. Very popular place. The decor suits my taste. An eclectic mix of framed pictures, open fire, fairy lights, fresh flowers and candle on all tables. Highly recommend a visit.

Fantastic old building right next to canal so weary walkers may stop for a simple bar snack or meal either indoors or out. Friendly table service. We walked from Theale along the tow path and stopped for a couple drinks and simple bar snacks, portion sizes on the small size but very tasty. Dog friendly. Toilets upstairs need a little maintenance.

We went here for Sunday dinner with family it looked like a nice spot and had good reviews.We did book in advance which is probably advisable it was quiet when we arrived at 6pm but that is late for a Sunday!Unfortunately they were out of beef and lamb but had the pork belly which everyone was happy with as I'm not usually a fan of pork belly I went for the house burger instead.Well none of us were disappointed the roast dinners looked fantastic and the pork belly looked amazing as well I was a little jealous!The burger was also lovely the pulled brisket on top was amazing very very tasty!We all enjoyed the food and the staff seemed very nice especially our waitress who bought some water and a treat over for the dog as well!Lovely location with walks near by and the pub itself was a really nice building and nice and comfy with an open fire.Would definitely recommend!

Lovely mother's Day lunch, venue was busy but staff dealt with this very well and were very efficient and did not rush us at all . Food was delicious and the chocs and daffodil on the table were a lovely touch

One the most beautiful pubs I've visited as its all thatched and beamed inside & situated on the banks of the canal all very beautiful & picturesque...however very disappointed with the food! My husband is Coeliac & was given the ipad to navigate through what was available to him which he struggled with and he's very savy with technology & even has an ipad but this wasn't user friendly in the slightest .. when given help by the lovely girl serving us there was a very small options for a main meal .. he decided to have steak & chips (same old same old 🙄) which he did enjoy.I chose to have Chicken & mushroom pie with spring onion mash and roasted vegetables .. my meal I didn't even finish half of it 😪 The mash tasted like it was pre done and re heated and the vegetables were absolute mush ..not crunchy in the slightest and the pie was tastless really except the pastry on the top was nice. I did mention when plates were cleared that I was didn't like the meal and she apologised..I then ordered Eton Mess for Pud and this was huge and very tasty. On payment again nothing mentioned about my poor meal or the fact that I left more than 50% of it.All in all I would not recommend or be back.

Exceptional food and such good prices. Beautiful pub. Used to come here years ago when walking down the canal. Such a lovely location.

**Edited 01Feb2022**Came here again on Sunday and got that 5* roast! We were very happy with the meal this time and shared the chocolate brownie for dessert - delicious!*Initial review 09Jan2022*Came here for Sunday lunch today and ordered the pork belly roast and turkey roast. Both were really delicious, however we don't feel they were great value for money. Both dishes felt a bit on the small side: broccoli was missing from both and there were only a couple of carrots, parsnips and potatoes on each. The turkey roast was also missing the cranberry sauce and pigs in blankets. The pork belly roast only had a tiny slice of roasted apple on top. If the quantities of food had been greater, and all bits listed on the menu were on the plate, it would have been a 5* roast!

Lovely building, great initial atmosphere & aesthetics plus a friendly head barman….BUT, let down by both a lack of & then some v young waiting staff. We experience v slow service (on a reasonably quiet day!), forgotten items & food which arrived fairly cold… not really good enough for a gastro pub which has great potential.

It’s a lovely looking pub and as usual, Vintage Inns didn’t disappoint. It’s definitely the best one I’ve been to. We were put at a table right by the fire which was lovely. The waitress was friendly and although the service wasn’t the fastest, they were quite busy so it can be forgiven! The food was great and the festive menu meant I could have a little Christmas pudding :) generally great experience and definitely want to come back!