The Cunning Man. in West Berkshire

Our Waitress Lucy was very nice and helpful in all aspects

Love this pub, warm, friendly and fantastic food. Very dog friendly;y and big thanks to Debbie who looked after us and met all our needs

Not my first time coming here, but it's always a great experience. Perhaps not the cheapest pub... but it's definitely the nicest one near me. Well worth visiting for date night. Debs gave us service with a smile today.

An enjoyable meal for my wife and I on our own for the first time in a long time.

Had a lovely meal today and was served by a delightful staff member (Deepika) , 5 star's to her for being so helpful

We had a wonderful meal last night, meeting up with old friends. Maddie and Margot were superb hosts: friendly and attentive. Well done!

Food ok but you get a £100 fine for parking in the pub carpark without logging your number plate in the pub! I never saw the tablet for doing this but the pub cancelled the fine after a phone call and email

I've been to the Cunning Man multiple times throughout my life and have also dined at Vintage Inns so was expecting the same quality. Three of us had roasts and the portion size was as expected however they arrived cold - so used the gravy to heat it up! Unfortunately on this visit the food I had was very underwhelming as the service was extremely slow, with drinks constantly being forgotten, it felt as though we were in the forgotten corner and we actually ate our meal without having our drinks brought to us the entire time. I don't feel as though people should have a meal without having the refreshment there also. Such a shame as other Vintage Inns are lovely! Especially The Golden Retriever!

4 years ago I left a review for this restaurant, it was 1 star. This was regarding an issue we had during our visit due to masks and staff ect. Now I have grown up, and looking back at the situation, I'd admit we was in the wrong. The staff didn't handle it the best, but we're all human and covid was a rough situation for everyone. As stated in my previous review the food was incredible. We let ourself down as a group. For that I am sorry. I'll be coming back during my next visit.

The Sunday Roast was fantastic, definitely recommend

Nice food. Great service from Deb.

Really nice pub and good food :) Debs who served us was really lovely and service was quick ♥️

Had a very nice evening meal served brilliantly by Debs :)

Best roast in Berkshire. Lovely pub and food, very cosy and great atmosphere. Also dog friendly which is always a bonus. Thank you to our server Amy for the great service and chat! We’ll be back soon!

Lovely food in a beautiful location. Good gin and cider selection too. Exceptional service from the lovely Debz.

Lovely meal with perfectly cooked steak. Great service by Millie and overall ambience superb. Will be coming again!

We were served by Millie, and she was very attentive and smiley. The food was delicious, I fully recommend the sticky platter! Will definitely be coming again!

A very large pub with real fires, really nice inside and would have given 5 stars for atmosphere but it was a bit cold kept jacket on all evening. Food and service poor to ridiculous. Sat down at around 7pm, pub very busy most tables already taken, received main meal at 8.55pm. They had a deal, 50% off main meals, the deal was actually 50% main meals off! Of our party of 6, 5 had 3rd choice main meals, at least 6 main meals were not available. Apparently they had not considered that the special offer would have made them busy. Bad enough but you only found out what was unavailable when the waiter enters you request into his tablet. The computer says No. So the waiter is taking our first order, no sorry choose again OK I will have, tapping away at the tablet, No sorry next. I pointed out that it would have been better for everybody if we were told what if off in advance. His response was I have found out the same time as you,i.e when I tap in to tablet.Computer software designed by a genius. Apparently it is the chefs job to tell the waiting staff. Food was OK to poor, fish caked worse than Tesco’s, all of the starters served on ice cold plates with brown salad, obviously stored in a cooler for long periods and then the starter, pate and chicken skewers added. Have used the Vintage Inn chains regularly, first time here and worst experience. Would try again but not on a special deal period.

Super nice food and great service by Dan!

Lovely atmosphere, service and great Sunday roast. Thought the puddings were not the best value but were nice.

Disappointing experience - the food portions were small and overpriced for what it was. The sticky platter arrived and was not only small and underwhelming, but only had one wrap. We were sharing and saw that other tables had it with multiple wraps so asked for more. The fishcakes arrived and were missing the tenderstem broccoli specified on the menu so looked sorry for itself and we had to politely ask for it to be added. The camembert was over £15 for what was a small bit of cheese with a few slices of what could have been store bought white bread. Wouldn't have been worth paying a fiver. The portion of fries was tiny and overall the price was far too high for what little food we received. The glasses for water and our drinks also looked dirty. We came with our baby and two dogs, specified this in the reservation and asked if it were please possible to have some extra space/be in a corner (more to not disturb others than anything). However despite being one of the first to arrive, we were put on a table not in one of the corners where we had to squeeze in and constantly make sure the dogs weren't in the way of guests and waiting staff. Also my wife and some of my family were really cold all meal, and had to put their coats on to eat!! Not what you'd expect from a cozy looking pub. The bill came and there was no discount for the food mistakes, which was again was disappointing. We paid the full price and left, but won't be coming back. It's a lovely location and the interior looked nice. Waiting staff were also friendly and service quite quick. But it's not ideal when you don't know your own menu in terms of what comes with a meal, especially when it's not consistent between customers.

A good place for a reasonably priced meal, especially if you have the Vintage inns app and get discounts! Would recommend the fish and chips and pies. Usually a good selection of beers and ciders. The staff are friendly and helpful and a good location for a walk in the summer along the canal towpath.

A huge thank you to The Cunning Man staff, and especially to Alex, who was incredibly helpful when our car broke down outside. We look forwards to coming back for a drink in the future!

Nice atmosphere, good food, great service from Radhika. We've visited this place a few times already will continue to do so.

Where do we start, Alex was amazing, can not fault his service more waiters should be like him. I wanted a stake and they have ran out of stake, he apologised for something not his fault. Handled our table perfectly with no issues and had a nice short chat to make us feel welcome and different not the normal standard service you usually get. Well done Alex 100% amazing

Great service from Alex our waiter. Needs a pay rise .

The last few times I have visited … in December and January it was very cold inside, had to put coat on during meal and was shivering by the we time left. The staff were friendly, the food good….

Great pub and great food. Dan our server was incredibly busy but very attentive - thanks Dan!

Lovely pub but the management is struggling to deliver qood service at busy times. If you forget the long wait for a table followed by wait 30min to get served, and stressed staff running like headless chickens, it’s a great. Genuine portions and tasty food, but overall, we didn’t find the visit very relaxing having to try hard to chat staff attention.

Nice pub, busy. Great in the summer.

Great food at a great price! Staff were friendly and attentive. Cozy atmosphere too. Shoutout to Millie our server!! (P.s. please make sure she gets her drink!)

Beautiful pub with wonderful food and friendly staff. Prices are as expected for an establishment of this quality, but with that said, the food still outdid expectations. Millie was also wonderful, and made sure we were taken care of, thanks!

Such a lovely, friendly atmosphere in the Cunning Man! The food was out of this world and reasonably priced, made even better by our amazing server Alex, who went out of his way to make sure we felt welcomed 🤩 If you want a pub that can do lovely chilled out dining, a massive range of drinks, and fires all around…this is the place to be

The atmosphere of the place is very warm and nice, the food is above average, although not very impressive. The Pinot served here is a truly balanced wine and sometimes you might consider going there just for that.

Debz served us and made our little girls birthday meal extra special! Thank you!

I have had a very enjoyable meal, everything and all food are just fantastic and flawless. The staff - Debs is wonderful, provide us a 5*service, being so polite and helpful for all the questions we had. She is so welcoming which makes us very pleasant and we will be definitely visiting again.

Debs is very friendly and politely. very good service 👏👏 we enjoy to have lunch here and will back soon.

Our family had a great lunch in Cunning Man. Debs is really attentive. She provided excellent service. We will definitely come back again.

Visit down memory lane from the area. How very nice it's been kept. Lovley food and great staff.

Nice and cosy. Delicious food. Kind people. Quiet musing in a background. Worm as I love to seat next to amazing fireplace. Fully recommended.

Excellent service & food at this popular location plus took advantage of the offers.

We had Millie as our server, she was lovely. The food is out of this world delicious and a very loverly setting x definitely be making this a regular treat x

visited the cunning man for the first time in a few years with the extended family for a birthday dinner. extreme weather meant the carpark was partially flooded but the pub rang us to let us know beforehand. the food was excellent and the server (taylor) was able to deal with our challenging dietary requirements with ease. we felt very well looked after and will certainly visit again in the future

Had a lovely meal to celebrate my husbands birthday, service excellent, Franklin was our friendly server and he was excellent to our needs.

The food was great, very tasty! The pub has a nice atmosphere, and we enjoyed the vibe. However, as a large group, we requested separate tabs but were told we could divide the bill at the end, which turned into quite a mess. Some bundled courses were mixed up, and splitting the bill as planned wasn’t possible. A better payment system for larger groups would be appreciated. On a positive note, the pub is pet-friendly and has a huge garden, making it a spot we’d definitely return to in better weather.

This was a spontaneous visit at lunchtime as we had to abort our canal walk due to flooding. We expected the place to be very quiet but even for a dull day in January there were quite a few customers and a cosy atmosphere. Our waiter, Franklin, was friendly and helpful and the service was quick. We had fish & chips, pie of the day (steak and venison) and aubergine gratin. Large portions, served hot. It was quite chilly when we arrived (it was icy outside) but we soon warmed up next to the open fire. A very enjoyable experience all round.

We came for a Sunday dinner and everything was soo lovely! We were welcomed warmly and there was a warm and friendly atmosphere. The roast beef was very tasty and tender! Everything was so delicious! The service was great! I will definitely be back, thank you!

Had a lovely farewell dinner here for my son before he returned home after his visit. Everyone enjoyed their meals, and the ambiance of the restaurant was lovely! It was a cold evening and they had cosy fires going to warm up the place which was much appreciated. The staff were friendly and our server Dan was both friendly and efficient. Overall, a lovely experience and we shall be returning!

We had very good food with amazing service. Thank you to Deb3, she deserves 5*** She was attentive, helpful and friendly.

We had such a lovely meal when we came down we had pork belly it was amazing Alex looked after us and Sajan cooked the food.

We booked christmas day for dinner. 15 of us. Amazing. Staff were amazing as we're the food. Great atmosphere. Very helpful in the lead up to the day as well.

Fabulous food and drink. Helpful and friendly staff. Very highly recommended. Margot is a wonderful waitress.

Such a lovely place, nicely situated, with a free parking! We have been there for a New Year's Day lunch and it was really nice, still Chrismassy, warm, with fireplaces on. My burger and chips wer very tasty. Ordered Pavlova for dessert and it was nice but a bit too big! I have also ordered the passion fruit martini, which was tasty but no passion fruit on it and was served without a straw, that is a small minus. I really recommending this place for a tasty English meal.🙂

Very underwhelming food experience. I had the 3 course festive menu. Veg was undercooked. Brussels were like bullets. Very poor. The wait time between starter and main course was 1hr 45 minutes. That's a long wait between courses. I complained about this and the server said they would get our dessert out asap. Yes they did but the crumble was cold in the middle. On checking the bill we noticed 2 other things were put on our bill which wasn't ordered by ourselves. They were taken off but luckily we checked. Used to love it here but seems to have gone down hill recently. I won't be returning

Great service from Debs as usual very friendly and very welcoming

The meal was really good, first time out in a long time, and the service, by our waitress Zoe, was top notch, highly recommended.

The service and food were excellent. Very organised and efficient despite the pub being very busy. Very good value for money.

Went for Christmas Dinner. Nice dinner but was very rushed. Not enough time between courses and was told by staff that they were on a very tight schedule when we told them everything was to rushed.

It’s such a beautiful pub it always has pretty lights so the perfect place to go out for Christmas dinner Food was so disappointing It was essentially a Luke warm bad roast dinner no Christmas sparkle to the food all Veg was bland, potatoes rubbery pigs in blankets were cooked but looked raw , no sauces such as cranberry/ bread sauce offered Soup starter was ok but no butter with the bread Beef wellington pastry was soggy Crumble was ok but topping undercooked and the smallest boat of custard served with it I felt let down, with the price paid I expected more. Christmas dinner is supposed to be indulgent but this was far from it I wouldn’t return for Christmas dinner there again

Did not have food, beer great, service very friendly, will definatly visit again.

I've been here a good few times. On this occasion, it was for Sunday lunch, just before Christmas. The food is always good. A little late and not as hot as usual today. The place was packed and noisy (kids and larger parties). That's not the restaurant's fault, of course. Our server was Lucy though and she was exceptional. Attentive, engaging and obviously doing her very best in clearly trying circumstances.

Great atmosphere and Taylor was very attentive. Highly recommended.

We live locally and have visited twice recently after not eating here for a number of years. We enjoyed both visits. The food and service were very good, the pub looks lovely for Christmas. I'd like to mention the great service from Taylor at lunch time today.

Emma did a great job and the foods is fantastic ! We do enjoy it ☺️

Very nice meal and brilliant service from Emma tonight.

Lush food, and brilliant service this evening by Emma!

Emma was brilliant. Made our experience super special

Had a great Time here . Brilliant atmosphere and really good food . And my server franklin was top notch . Well mannered and polite .

Great food and service as usual

Very good service our first Xmas do as students and would recommend as it was a group of 17 of us . But yes 10/10 food was amazing

Everyone was really nice, helpful and kind. Had a great night and would happily go back

We had a large group booking for the festive menu. We had a separate area and the food was lovely. Our waitress Emma was great with making sure everything was as it should be!

The menu is good, and the food is cooked really well, but in my opinion, the staff make it. Twice we have been here to celebrate birthdays, and the staff have been amazing Very accommodating and friendly. They couldn't do enough for us.

Fantastic service from Dan our waiter during the busy Christmas period. Good food with lovely surroundings.

If you check my profile, you'll see that I tend to give 5 stars reviews quite easily, while I usually don't bother writing a review when things doesn't go as expected. This time I feel it calls for an exception. The pub wasn't crowded and we were 7 adults and 2 kids. Three of us ordered the fillet, blue. The other went for burgers and one for a King Prawns skewer. They were out of ribeye, roasts and lamb rump. The wait for really long, I'd say around 40 minutes. All 3 fillets came between medium and well done, most likely because the meat itself was about to rot, as despite been overcooked there was still a hint of a smell that fresh meat is not supposed to have. The burgers, while they looked good, they were average at best. The King Prawns were rather small (more shrimps that king prawns) and, like the meat, they also smelled a bit funky. When the meat arrived we told the server it was not cooked like we ordered, yet we said we were going to have it anyway, because we are nice and agreeable people and because we were rather hungry and the wait was already long enough. Anyway, we showed the server that the fillets was overcooked and she agreed and acknowledged. When the bill arrived there was no discount of sort.

Excellant food, staff and atmosphere

Quite expensive and terrible service, with servers bringing the wrong things multiple times and extremely slow service. Food was OK and correctly customised to order.

Yet another great visit, food delicious and staff friendly and polite. Lovely atmosphere in the place and always very pretty decorations.

Lovely and cosy festive atmosphere. The food was good. Kerry gave great customer service and was very attentive. Even though she was rushed off her feet she still had a smile on her face and enjoying the moment.

Unfortunately, the experience was far from satisfactory. Despite the restaurant being half-empty, the wait time was inexplicably long. Once seated, we were disappointed by the food quality. The dishes not only lacked freshness—some even had an off-putting smell that suggested poor refrigeration—but all three of the fillets we ordered were overcooked. We brought this to the attention of our server, who acknowledged the issue but made no effort to rectify it, such as offering to remake the dish or providing a discount. For the high prices charged, I expected a much better standard of both food and service.

Good beer and decent pub grub at reasonable price

Very pleasant starter and mail course. Very good service from Deepika

Only popped in briefly (drink and a bite to eat), however a good vibe and delicious food.

Visited today lunchtime,for a festive lunch prebookedfor a family of 20 people. I can not praise you enough ,the food and service was wonderful well done to the chef ,servers,barstaff everything was brilliant. Thankyou so much for helping to make a special family memory. From happy grandparents.xx

Another great evening at the Cunningman. The food was delicious and the service was very quick and pleasant

First visit. Great place to go for a Christmas meal gathering Friendly service. Good menu choice.

Everything was great - staff were wonderful and food was excellent. We'll definitely be back.

Wonderful atmosphere and the service first rate

Best place for a British Pub Meal. Best time to visit is the summer and you can walk along the canal from the town centre, all the way to the pub. Great for families with children As for the meal, they are all brilliant.

Lovely pub, nice and cosy & Christmassy. Great service & food, cater well for gluten & dairy free.

A lovely experience at The Cunning Man. Our waitress, Margot was great. She made my daughter feel at ease with her milk allergy. The food we had was fantastic- especially the beef rib bourguignon - really exceptional. We will be back!

The food was amazing! Such a beautiful pub and Margot was helpful and lovely:)

Really nicely decorated, food was filling and tasty, our sever Margot (and a guy with a Berserk tattoo, didn't catch his name!) were great :)

The food was delicious, good portion sizes for the price, left feeling full!! Holly was lovely, nothing was a bother and she always had a smile!

Came for cosy Sunday lunch with friends with dietary requirements and the team went above and beyond to help us find delicious meals we could all have. So friendly, welcoming and helpful. Thanks!

Very nice meal, everything piping hot and all served at the same time! Excellent food! Would highly recommend! Fantastic service by Taylor!

Booked and shown to table ordered food and waited and waited 50 mins later partner asked a waiter as our waitress had disappeared when our food would be coming he appeared with 2 plates almost immediately and I said this is not what I ordered he went to get correct order came back said it wasn’t there the food we did have had been sitting around as it was almost cold so disappointed won’t be back

Lovely place and delicious food. Awesome service from Margot, thank you very much!

Franklin was amazing today, very polite and helpful :)

We stopped for lunch at the Cunning Man while walking the Kennet & Avon Canal. Pub is lovely and right next to the canal walk. Beer was good, food was excellent, and staff were very friendly and helpful.