Goddard Arms in Swindon

I meet up with a group of friends in this bar and we always feel welcome whilst having drinks and sometimes food. What is SO GOOD about visiting the Goddard's Arms is the friendliness of all the staff that serve behind the bar. They always greet us as soon as we come in and, if they don't see us at the beginning, they add a hello when they pass. Jack and Ben, Will and Darren and not forgetting Susie and Hannah are exceptional and they always make us feel relaxed enough to stay for the whole afternoon! We never feel we have to vacate our table and relax into the atmosphere created. Well done to the staff and keep the good work up.

We booked an overnight stay as travelled to the area for a funeral the following day. On arrival we were greeted by Jack and made very welcome. We were registered for free parking due to staying overnight. We booked into the restaurant for our meal which was served promptly and served with a smile. The plates and food were hot and the meal enjoyed. At breakfast we were greeted again by Jack for whom nothing is too much trouble. A decent buffet breakfast was on offer with choice of cereals, fresh fruit salad, yoghurt, croissants, bread for toasting, jams, butters, coffee and fruit juice. The hot breakfast menu was varied and suitable for all. A pleasant and comfortable stay. If the world had a few more people like Jack it would indeed be a wonderful place.

They don't want guests and they are unable to cater families. We tried 2 times to eat there, but no. With staff like that you must be doomed.

Staff were very Friendly, polite and attentive. Sammy was welcoming and efficient. I really enjoyed a relaxing stay in a traditional pub. Good quality pub food with a fair selection of options

Helt grei mat, måtte vente en time til tross for lite folk og enkle retter….. Fikk en kompensasjon i form av drikke- positivt

Sammy Bar Tender so helpful & professional from booking a table and sorting us out on arrival , lovely happy personer and was a pleasure to deal with . We are difficult to please but also appricate good service with a smile and Sammy had both in abundance. Keep up the great work it is appreciated.

‘Sad’, burnt sausages covered with instant thick gravy on some sort of mash and a dry chicken and bacon salad with lots of lettuce.

Fabulous Food and Great Service, the Tribute is kept to an amazing standard. The Lamb Shank is incredible, just fell off the bone. Highly Recommended

1. It wasn’t possible to book a table after 11am. The rudeness when I rang to quickly and politely ask how busy the restaurant was before we set out, and to check our little dog was welcome should have been a red flag, really. Without a word the ‘gent’ who answered just transferred me to an ansa phone mid sentence. However, we took the risk and went.. 2. The table and the windows were really grimy. 3.There were no useable blinds to screen the bright sunlight bothering a few of the seats on tables by the windows.A group beside us were bothered too. 4. The clincher was being charged £7.95 without a word of warning for less than a pint of zero % shandy. My sister was told after that the lemonade tap wasn’t working so she was expected to pay for a bottle of lemonade with her bottle of lager. What a great treatment of nominated drivers or those struggling to stay sober! A clear warning about the cost should have been given. I’ve used The Goddards for years but nonw of us felt the place was worth staying in dor lunch so moved on. What a pity. I emailed with my concerns and have received no response after four days. The only reason this review is 2 stars is that buying our drinks covered us for three hours’ parking at The Goddards whilst we ate elsewhere. And it is dog friendly. Check also as I have been told that this is a bar that officially increases prices during busy times. Not something I could verify given how bad The Goddards are at communicating!

We had a lovely group family catch up and the area had been reserved for us, booked online and all my questions were answered promptly. The staff were very helpful and welcoming it was suggested that we pre order but decided to order on arrival which meant our food came out at separate times which we understood and was fine. We had the lunchtime menu and the food was OK. Would be happy to return next time as met our needs.

We were served a set menu (for a group) that was close to inedible. The food had poor quality and was carelessly prepared with no attention to esthetics. The plates were left almost untouched which did surprise the young waiters a bit. Even the coffee was diluted close to water.

A very warm welcome, superb service, and fantastic food. All that and free parking. If you are in Swindon old town you have to visit this beautiful ivy covered pub.

Business stay. Ate every evening for 5 nights all meals were fantastic served by attentive cheerful staff. Food quick hot and well presented

Such a lovely experience! Compliments to your Chef Fez! Amazing food and brilliant service! Super happy with our visit!

Sadly not very user friendly if you use a mobilty aid (rollator). Having to lift it over various levels even to get in front door and beyond was not encouraging. The toilets not accessible as up several steps and beyond. The table was booked in advance but was sticky to touch and not at all inviting. Bog standard meal with overcooked fish and very bland salad and peas. Won't be returning here.

Really enjoyed our visit to The Goddard Arms. The manager and the team were very friendly and nothing was too much trouble. Tasty food and a nice hot coffee to finish off. Apparently it's dog friendly too which is a bonus. Very clean and tidy, nice atmosphere, we will certainly be back.

Your chef Fez is amazing absolutely cannot enough of anything for anyone he went absolutely above and beyond to make sure everyone was happy thank you again

good food in a good atmosphere with reasonably priced choices, the chef Fez needs a special mention, also convenient parking there

Jess at the goddards was super friendly! Really smiley and helpful with the menu. Everyone should visit

food very poor over cooked and cold. the Menue said £20.50 for 3 courses which works out £7.00 per course. Your Chef cannot cook Basic Food really needs more training

Took the family for Sunday lunch, but not impressed. Small portions, veg all mixed up with 2 rings of carrots, one tiny, tiny bit cabbage, very stringy sugar snaps, and one firm sprout. Extra side order of cauliflower cheese was tasteless, and the cheese was stringy like mozzarella. No turkey roast at only 2pm, and even some desserts not available. Last October, food was better, but no cauli cheese, no extra roasties available, and again not all desserts. Poor show, as open all afternoon. Won't be going again.

Pleasantly surprised to find out that we could take our dog into the pub, when we passed last week. So we brought our Hamish in with us for lunch. He loved the fuss that was made of him, free water and dog biscuits too! Jack made a lot of fuss of Hamish too, thank you!

Visited the Goddard Arms on Thursday. All of the staff were very pleasant. Bar staff were very willing to give me options regarding the gin choices. I decided to go with the gin that one of the staff members recommended. Good recommendation! I then decided...

Honestly we have had such wonderful times at the Goddard, our mummy group pops in for a coffee or lunch every week and the staff are so lovely and the food is great! A big special thanks to Jack, for always having the biggest smile...

We are regular customers at the Goddards. A large group of us attend once a week with babies and toddlers in tow. We always feel welcomed by staff and customers alike. The Goddards has a very varied menu with lots of choice for children and...

All four of us enjoyed our experience here today, the service was very friendly and professional. Ambience was very pleasant as although it was busy, it didn’t feel crowded as the tables are nicely spaced over a large area. Drinks and food all very reasonably...

We booked through Booking.com on impulse as an overnight getaway. The photos of the hotel and rooms are very accurate and we were very happy with our choice. We hadn't been able to use the express online check-in but the staff member checked us in...

Celebrated our 32nd wedding anniversary at the Goddards and we were really surprised how good the food was and how they looked after us. 3 courses for £12.99 was amazing value and food was really really good. Jack was amazing as he gave us a...

Stayed one night. I arrived by bicycle. Manger very helpful. Found a safe place to store my bike. Room was good clean comfortable. And food very reasonable.would recommend

I don’t think I have ever had worse food in my life. What they passed off as bruschetta had to be a joke … or the chef has got very much confused and has never seen bruschetta before. I can only presume they make their...

We come to the goddards once a week after a baby group and Everytime We always get impeccable service from Jack always happy to solve any issue and goes above and beyond to make sure us and our toddlors are happy. We fully understand we're...

La mia passione per le meat pie mi ha spinto a un'ordinazione probabilmente troppo ambiziosa per questo pub, che pertanto...

STAFF ARE BRILLIANT. We stopped here for Sunday lunch, food was very good, the staff and manager were very helpful and polite. On two separate occasions I witnessed other customers speaking to the staff in the most terrible manor. These guys were a credit to...

Genius menu. So many great ideas I’ve not seen in other places. The belly pork with maple 🍁 syrup and bubble and squeak was amazing. Great value for money drinks also. Did get busy but there are a few lovely tables on the edges where...

BEWARE - This advert for this restaurant is not correct. It specifies that there is free parking but having parked in the advertised “Free Car Park” a few weeks later I received a demand for a fine of £100 for parking in the pub car...

Great Pub for any occasion. We came in for a few drinks and the staff were so friendly and welcoming. Jess and Zsuzsanna are assets to the business. Will definitely visit again!

Love this pub! We frequent this pub on a regular basis. Not often for food (only because we go for a drink, not food) but the food that we see being brought out looks absolutely fantastic. But the staff makes our time here special. Not...

Met a friend for a casual meal and a drink The bar staff were very friendly and very efficient The waiting staff had clearly not received the same training I ordered Lamb shank with new potatoes and veg the waitress came over and informed me...

Fabulous roast dinner with 1 veggie option and one fish alternative. Lovely deserts too.. Staff very helpful and attentive. Special Mention to James and Shannon! What a great find right under our noses and never tried before !

After so many months working from home, my team and I were looking forward to get back together. We had a great evening at the Goddard Arms. Everybody was happy with their food, which was very reasonably priced. The staff were brilliant all the way...

Dropped in after a tiring day. The staff were all wonderfully helpful and friendly, and very accommodating to my mum when she wanted the hunter's chicken without the 'hunters'! Had a great chat with our server who gave us some info about the local area...

James the waiter was really nice, good banter and got us to buy shots. Slightly hurt you underestimated how much the girl in the blue could drink, but you were nice nonetheless!

Great service and lovely food..,..Ollie and jack served us...they were very good..the lasagne and steak were cooked to perfection

Visited with family including baby in high chair - all catered for in a covid safe environment. Only one problem - I think the wine had been standing in the open bottles for most of lockdown - but the food more than made up for...

I eat here a fair bit I love the warm atmosphere the kind staff who are very attentive (I suffer with anxiety and always feel comfortable here even when I visit by myself) they always have a great food menu which accommodates a lot of...

late afternoon meet up with friends which I haven't seen for over a year the atmosphere was warm and the staff very attentive so all in all would definitely recommend the place

Booked this lunchtime visit on line a couple of days before our visit, great reminders etc. Turned up on the day, very well organised, booking apps, sanitisers etc. Ordered food and drink on the MyPub app, very easy. Food was good, well cooked and to...

Came here on 6th October all was very nice, lovely staff working very hard during Covid 19 making sure all customers served and happy, place was very warm and welcoming, all safety measures in place very well, which meant you felt safe and relaxed. Food...

We have eaten here several time. It's good pub food and a good location. Window seats are the best. We have had a good family birthdays meals here and just as a couple.

Was really surprised to find their vegan burger was one of the best i've ever had! Really worth a visit. Staff really lovely too.

Sunday lunch with my mum So well organised and lovely friendly staff , social distancing down to a T .. not the most sophisticated food in the world but tasty and hot , please support these guys they are giving it their all :)

I would like to say what a pleasure it was to visit the goddard arms the staff are so helpfull and friendly. Food is great quality. Tables are sanitised as soon as people leave. We have been going there twice a week we have a table in the garden which we love sitting at and if it's free we always get it well done to all the staff

Loved the food and drinks here. Excellent choice of real beers and we had a sharing type platter which was uber filling! The servers were very friendlty and it was the safest place we've been to in swindon so far since the covid problems. car...

The Goddard Arms is superb. Wonderful Staff, pleasant atmosphere, tasty foods and excellent wine list.

We eat the special of the night, meat pies, Great flavour and value £6 a head! Didn't enjoy the seasonal veg. my problem not there's. Very good beer and wine. Thanks

Didn't stay at the hotel, just went for lunch.Had the steak pie, and it was excellent!!! Other friends had fish and chips, also reported as excellent. They also do daily specials and deals, and also Sunday roast!!

We dropped in here with our fellow ale amblers from Cheltenham CAMRA. Most of the group ordered their lunch (just standard pub food by observation) but my chum and I were not really hungry after a healthy breakfast so instead opted for liquid sustenance only. Unfortunately the range of ales was pretty ordinary fare, so we made do with just the one before moving on.

Had our work xmas meal on a very busy Saturday night, 20 in our group, could not fault the service, quality of the food and value for money. Was by far the least expensive festive menu in Swindon. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the evening thank you and well done.

Came to this restaurant last year for Christmas dinner and wasn't disappointed. This year again the service was outstanding, the food gorgeous and fair price for the drinks. I have no doubt we will be back again next year.

Usually only visit for coffee but decided to try the Sunday lunchGood atmosphere - plenty of people eating. Always a good sign! Table near window - able to see all going on. Excellent meal, well priced. Efficient friendly staff. Certainly worth a visit and we will be returning again soon!

Usually only ever come here for social drinks but came out for a family meal today. Great atmosphere, quick service and friendly staff.2 Turkey Roasts, Lamb Shank and Lasagne. All were absolutely delicious. Big portions too! You can order extra gravy, potatoes and yorkies for FREE which they bring to the table. Usually pub lasagnes are bland, watery and tasteless but this was full of flavour with added bacon. Was going to take some pics but we’d scoffed it all before we realised! We will be back!

The service was good, the drinks were reasonably priced and the breakfast was good value for money. The staff were helpful and polite.

My friend & I met up in this hotel for a drink & ended up staying for a meal because we were particularly enticed by the menu. However I was more than disappointed that they had no Baileys profiteroles left so I took my mother out for a meal a few days later just so I could have some. Believe me, they are definitely worth it & I will be back again just for them!! My mother & I regularly eat out & we agreed that this restaurant has a very interesting menu & we were impressed with what we had for starter/main. The camembert sharer which included scrummy arancini balls & houmous/crudites was really good value. And they have excellent choice of Savignon Blanc - another reason I will be back! The bar area is quite basic but you can overlook that because the seating is spaced out & there is an excellent spacious beer garden. I thought the bar staff were friendly & of course compliments to the chef. So yes, i will be coming back to sample other offerings on the menu & especially if Baileys profiteroles stays on menu! and I would certainly recommend.

we have family in the old town area so we generally stop here when we visit, which we did a couple of months ago.

so busy everytime we eat here. garden is great when the sun is out, good for a quick lunch. can get extremely busy though so wait times for food tend to change. always have something from their lunch menu which is value and tasty.

never eat here , plastic foods , reheated , terrible slow service if you can find a member of staff , as they all look uninterested , drinks maybe in the garden ok ,

Visited for a Sunday roast with our family and my wife and I chose the roast beef as one can't usually go wrong with that. I came out and the first mouthful of the meat had one taste only - pepper - and sadly both my wife and I hate pepper. Why do chefs feel that they need to season food to death? In every restaurant there is always both salt and pepper on the table so what makes them think that they know the level of seasoning for their customers - it is a little arrogant. It is a lovely building but wouldn't return to eat again.

Personalen ej intresserad av gästerna. Efter en lång väntan vid det anvisade bordet berättade en annan gäst att man beställer allt i baren.Köttet var segt vilket personal noterade utan att beklagande .

Ordered food, horrendously overcharged, they didn't know how to refund the difference. In the end had to accept a credit on our tab. Credit £24. Starters perfectly acceptable. Mains edible. Ordered more drinks total £18. Waited almost 60 mins for desserts so ordered more drinks. Informed that our tab credit was £2, didn't have the will to argue so paid another £12 for drinks. How two small diet cokes and a pint of cheap real ale is £14 I'll never know.

On Thursday 11 July 2019, my wife and me stayed at the hotel as i was working in Swindonon business the following day. We dined in the restaurant was were pleasantly surprised at how good the food was. it was 'steak night' -offering a discount on the normal price and we received excellent steaks, perfectly cooked together with chips, onion rings, mushrooms etc. A nice choice of real ales and lagers, ciders etc. and some reasonably priced wine. Breakfast next day was very good indeed so satisfaction all round!

My wife and I called in on a Friday evening on spec, while staying at the nearby Marriott. We got a table straight away but the bar area was very busy. The bar staff were all working flat out and we were soon started. We were warned that there may be a 20 minute wait for our meals, as they were so busy.

Went in for breakfast on a Sunday. THe place was quite busy butthe food arrived promptly and was plentyful.

Came here with a group of friends having pre-booked. It turns out they only offer a ‘Sunday’ menu which consists of roast dinner, and quite a few other options. When we arrived at 2.30pm we were informed they only had lamb shanks and nut roast left for the roast option. Considering they didn’t start serving until 12pm, it was a shame there wasn’t other options available. They had also sold out if other options on the menu. Considering this was the Sunday of a Bank Holiday weekend I would have thought they been a little more prepared and ordered more in, especially if they already had many bookings. The absolute travesty was that they then sold out of the mini puddings!! Not what a group of hungry women want to hear. It’s a real shame because the food is always really nice, it’s always busy even lunchtimes. So how and why did they run out of food so early on.

Big pub and restaurant with friendly bar service. Lunchtime snack of nachos very good and served quickly. Clean and tidy toilets. Recommended.

Visited here on Good Friday and the meal was really poor. I ordered off the specials menu but had ran out ... so take it off ! My husband ordered mixed grill but no rump steak for the mixed grill in which he replied no probs any steak will do, but this wasn't allowed when the chef if you can call him that was asked. Hubby ended up ordering steak medium but it was so thick it was rare only burnt on outsides he couldn't even cut it with the steak knife. My burger was just that a burger with fries no salad and was so bland and dry. Never again dont bother,, how sum people call them selves chefs I really dont know ...AVOID

Gross! Avoid Avoid Avoid Sunday Lunch ....

Started our weekend meeting up with friends for breakfast. Lovely food, a few extra hash browns on my plate because I traded them for bacon from my wife. Food tasted as good as it looked

We had a few drinks at this place. The atmosphere was lovely and it had a variety of different customers of all ages. The staff were quick to serve you. One of the best places to be on a Friday and Saturday night.

Very busy place which meant it was really really noisy!

Great food and one of the few places nearby who can cater for larger groups. We ate here with our works team for christmas dinner. All the food was hot and well presented. They had 6 traditional hand pulled beers on tap, we tried them all between us. good beer, good food. There are hotel rooms available but I've not used them. they also have a massive collection of gin and tonics which pleased some of the group!

20 of us had Christmas lunch and the food was of poor quality, small portions, poor customer service, and manager hiding away in the kitchen refusing to deal with complaint about poor quality of food.

40 mom wait on food, which we accepted, but food poor quality. Wife ordered chicken and brie pie and the crust was like cardboard. My beef rib roast was so fatty it was horrid. Waitress agreed to replace with normal beef but they had run out, so I said could I just have the veg and trimmings with a few pigs in blankets. Unfortunately all that came out were so aneimic pigs in blankets with some cabbage and carrots. No Yorkshire, no potatoes, no gravy - not even a knife and fork. Won't be back.

good range of different groups. good value. friendly staff. great location. good for breakfast/lunch and evening.

This pub was recommended to us, so we gave it a try - Very [pleased we went there and have visited it 4 times in September 2018.

My daughter and I have had an early dinner here twice recently and on both ocassions the service & food have been awesome.

We have visited this pub for food and drinks many times. This, in our opinion, is a first class pub. We have had breakfast, evening meals and lots of pleasant evenings spent having drinks with family and friends. The staff are the most efficient and friendly people we have met working in a pub. We enjoy eating and drinking here and cannot recommend The Goddard highly enough.

Went here after reading trip adviser reviews.

Food was excellent and plentiful. Great selection of drinks including a number of craft and real ales. Parking free if your staying at the hotel

It was nice place to stay and breakfast very good extremely polite staff enjoy my stay nice pub if you are in Swindon really worth visit this place.

Pop in regularly for drinks as depending on what you get or can be cheaper that alot if old town. Service is good depending who you get. Food is good but don't rate their breakfast and their weekday lunch deal is definitely value for their money.

Random find but so pleased with the choice! Friendly staff, lovely atmosphere, probably the best veggie burger and dauphinois potatoes I've ever had! A definite food venue whether you live in town or are visiting. You won't be disappointed!

The food was very good. Lots of it and definitely at the lower end of the price range. Bar was a bit noisy as it was very popular and we were lucky to get a table.

Called in after a long time to taste the beers and look at the menu , nice selection of ales that tasted nice . I will return to try the food again soon.

love the goddard, probably the busiest pub in the area and it's always got something going on. Came in with friends for a meal before a night on the town. I had a burger, it was as described and tasty, my wife wasn't very hungry so just had a starter which ended up being fairly filling. there's a big selection of spirits and real ales, lots of customers is always a good sign.

I live local and have been here a few times to eat before. We decided to come here rather than other pubs in the area for sons 21st prior to go to the party. The guys orders chicken burgers and chips and I ordered chicken linguini. The burgers where dry and clearly had been frozen at some stage. My linguini was awful and cold and they even managed to slice the chicken breast in half so I only had half a breast. Didn’t eat it and got my money back and certainly not worth £9. Ruined the night if I’m honest and wish we chose somewhere else.

I came here today to treat my Mum to a good Sunday roast. Sadly that didn’t happen.

Ant in for quick fish and chips. It was great. Staff was nice and polite. Place was fun. Great experience.

This is our go to local pub for food and drinking on the weekend if we’re out and about, the menu is much better now and food quality is good, nothing special. The one moan I always come up with here. BAR STAFF - I’ve been waiting sometimes for 25 minutes to order food. They have no system in place, if only they had a food only till at one end. This would solve every problem they’ve had, it could be amazing here. Manager needs to use some common sense! But keep up the good work

We arrived at the Goddard Arms 20 minutes before the kitchen closed after travelling to meet up halfway between our homes.

This place is always busy when i've been. I can't comment on the accommodation but as pubs go, and i've been to my fair share, this is a little gem. Always a selection of 5 or 6 real beers and always kept very well. The...