The Cunning Man. in West Berkshire

Friendly and welcoming, dog friendly but let down buy the money grabbing prices. Seriously, £10.25 for 2 small cokes and 1 J20, then £8.50 for 2 VERY SMALL bowls of chips? Bring sandwiches and eat on the canal bank!!

Great customer service from maddie and charlie.

First time visiting the pub 21/03/25. 16:15. I was really looking forward to it as it was recommended. Wasn't busy when we arrived (party of 6 women) so no atmosphere as such but I could see the potential for later on when it would get busy as the inside is beautiful with good lighting. Staff very attentive and friendly. Didn't mind and pressure us that one of our group was late. Food average prices. Most of us ordered skewers plus sides. Our vegetarian was quite disappointed that there wasn't much choice. I was so disappointed in my food. I ordered prawns. They were all dried up and very chewy and didn't taste of garlic at all and my sides of triple cooked chips were soggy and so was the coleslaw which had quite a weird combination in it. I think the mango made it slimy. Coleslaw should be fresh and crunchy. I eat out a lot so I'm not being fussy. No one mentioned the food until later on when we all got back to our respective homes. I messaged in our group and everyone said the same thing that the food wasn't great but no one wanted to say at the time. However the three who had starters said they were very nice and from my point of view they looked nice too and a generous portion. In conclusion, I won't be recommending it for somewhere to eat. There's a lot of parking spaces available and outside dining would be good in the summertime as it's by the river and lots of seating. We decided we would go back just for snacks and drinks. 5 stars, however, for the friendly staff.

Great food, service and vibes - lovely place for a family lunch. Amelia served us and was very attentive, highly recommend!

Had a great evening here!!! Table of 9, the food was great, service from Amelia and Charlie was perfect, would definitely recommend this place 👌

Food is nice and staff is nice too but Food price went up quite a fair bit in the last few years and we've waited sooo long to get our food :(

Lovely place, slow service host wasn't present and waited over 30 minutes for food order which was very basic. Overcooked chicken and very ungenerous on the prawn starter with only 3 prawns! Not a great experience unfortunately, the dog was very happy all the same.

Really surprised by tge quality of this pub food. Excellent flavour would definitely recommend and will be going back with friends

Lovely meal Friday evening Debi was our waitress very attentive and greeted us with a smile very good service from Debi and fish and chips were lovely with good portions

Had a great time this afternoon for Sunday roast at the cunning man In Burghfield. We were served by Maddie she was very attentive and made sure that we had everything that we needed and was even able to make sure that my stepson had a Yorkshire pudding with his children’s meal :-). Food was lovely, atmosphere always chilled, plenty of space for the doggie too! Thank you so much for another lovely dining experience. 😌

Maddie who was serving us was great and food was just as good. Would come again

We had a fantastic meal at The Cunning Man. 5 friends with varied tastes. Something for everyone on the menu. The staff were very attentive and, despite being a quiet Monday evening, the atmosphere was good.

First time here. Food was excellent and the place was really nice. Would have given 5 stars but they refuse to give pints of soft drinks, which I find ridiculous, and have never come across it before anywhere. Apart from making more money doing this, I can’t think of any other reason, so I had to buy 2 separate drinks which cost more. I think this is very odd! Just put a little downer on the visit

Really lovely evening here tonight. Delicious food and fantastic service. All the staff were lovely but must give a special mention to Ben. Very friendly and polite. A real credit to the company. We will definitely be back 😊

Had a lovely meal this evening with exceptional service by a lovely waitress called Maddie. Thank you Maddie for making my birthday meal so lovely! The best service we have received for a long time!

We were served by Debbie to take our order and then Maddy took over and was super attentive and really knowledgeable when my sister asked about the Prosecco in relation to our meal. She always made sure we had everything we needed and was very accommodating to the menu alterations that we asked for. Thank you so much for a pleasant experience.

Dealt with Alex a few times and cannot fault his attitude and service always happy to help and nothing is too big of an ask. Lovely guy

Amazing food, Maddie the waitress was very helpful e nice

The food was great and, the service was impeccable. Maddie did the best job we could ask for.

me and my family where originally served by the beautiful Debbie, who catered to my mother’s consistent prosecco requests, she was very attentive though the restaurant was full!! then we were severed by maddie who has excellent plate carrying skills and cleared our plates with perfect timing!! will deffo be coming back! #gomadsndebs

The guy who was slicing the piece of meat was so friendly and has that welcoming attitude.

The service is great, the portions are good and the staff are very friendly. 100% recommend Thank you, chef, and thank you to everyone on the team.

Amazing atmosphere and Alex was really helpful and he is a real credit to this business! Will definitely be seeing me again

Alex was very good and the service was great

All I can say is WOW, and that stands for wow oh wow, mainly the bar staff Alex. His charisma is illuminating in the pub and will 101% come back again just to see him!

I had a lovely meal last week at the Cunning man pub. My friend and I have been before and thought we would try it again. It didn’t disappoint. The whole experience from start to finish was fantastic. We were served by a lovely young lady Amelia who looked after us on the day. She is a credit to your establishment.

Lovely welcome, impressed with tinkly atmosphere and very pretty table settings. Debs served us and was super helpful. The guy on trial was also very nice and seemed confident and professional.

The service did take a while - we didn't get our drinks for nearly 40 minutes after ordering. It was very busy as probably the first good weather for a weekend in the year. The food itself though was generally pretty good, although the fillet steak that I asked for medium rare was more like medium well or well done - only a slight pink hue if you squinted. This place also adds a service charge by default, you have to ask to get it taken off. Personally I don't like places that add it by default (and I usually tip anyway), I doubt I will be returning. (To add to the response, we had a table of 3, definitely not the group of 8+ which had it added). The place must have undergone a renovation recently because the inside style was different from a couple of years ago when I last visited. More of a traditional pub style, but quite dark inside even with good weather. I imagine if the sun isn't out it will be very dim inside.

First time coming here, and I was firstly gripped by the outside look of the pub and its warmly country feel. I ordered the calamari and the pork belly and both were brought over by a very attentive and smiley waitress (Maddie). Thoroughly enjoyed the food and felt very welcome at the pub. Would defo come again! :)

Great meal, and service. Debz was brilliant. Will be back again :)

I was at the pub last Friday night with 4 friends We all had a 3 course meal, and we all said how lovely the food was, it was very busy, but Debbie the waitress couldn’t do enough for us, she was working so hard. The atmosphere was very good also We all said that we will be back So see you soon Thank you again Debbie for help making our evening good

I was at the pub last Friday night with 4 friends, we had a lovely meal, and the atmosphere was great, the food was very good Debbie parry one of the waiting staff; she could not do enough for us. The pub was very busy, Debbie was very attentive, and explained the menu to us, We all said what a great night, and we’re be back very soon Thank you

We came from walking the canal path,gasping for a drink. Asked for two pints of cordial and soda and got half pints mainly ice cubes and at a stupid price. Not blaming the staff-its a chain- but it's expensive. Decided not to eat there. Nice pub inside and a massive garden which I can see would be popular in the summer.

Had a wonderful time at this restaurant and was looked after by a young South Africa chap who recommended fish and chips that was amazing I will definitely be recommending this restaurant to my friends and family service was amazing thanks to Taylor

I had such a lovely meal at the Cunning Man today with friends. Our server, Debbie, was so polite, friendly, and helpful. I had a delicious chicken burger, and the chips were amazing! My friend really enjoyed her fishcakes, too. I will definitely be coming back what amazing service and an amazing waitress! Thank you!

Met up with friends for a meal. Debbie was looking after us. Very friendly and helpful.

Not happy at all! We sat there for over an hour to get our starters, never got the mains. We ordered a pasta for my little boy. It was about 20mins waiting when I checked on how long would it take, they said it should be done soon. And guess what! The lady comes back to say the are extremely sorry but there is no pasta and our mains is not ready yet and will take longer. The other customers sitting next to our table arrived after us and finished their meals. It was just us who were not being served. I understand if there is no pasta but they should have told us that when we ordered and not after making us wait for half an hour!! Certainly not when its a kid's meal. Ridiculous! What made it more upsetting is that the manager was trying to justify saying there was a starter so the mains was taking longer? She seemed quite unapologetic. That was a humiliating experience I have never had before. We didn't want to wait any longer and left. The manager was rude and the service was pathetic. We definitely wont be going back.

I visited the pub on this gorgeous Spring sunny day (08/03/25 )but wasn't impressed by the atmosphere, service or the food. Ordered a dish with calamari that didn't have any calamari in it and a salad that never got to my table, after asking about it, I got an unwilling employee throw a packet of crisps at me to replace the salad. Beyond disappointed, but won't let it ruin my day,just won't be recommending the place to anyone else or visit anytime soon

Disappointing, place is very noisy, lighting is poor and they've packed as many tables in as possible so hardly room to move. Food is overpriced and not great tasting, very salty.

Great food and and a very cosy vibe with the fire and lighting. Had a lovely valentine's meal here

Went here saturday morning, 22nd Feb. Arrived at approx. 11:45. Ignored by three staff, but eventually seated. We were probably one of about 3 tables waiting for food at the point we ordered. Nevertheless, it took 40 minutes to receive our food. Slow! Finished our food (which was very basic and certainly not worth the 35 quid it cost) and went to sit in the bar area at a table about 3m away from the bar, by the main door. As we were sat there, a woman tried to order a sandwich. The barman, who will be referred to a Grinning Man A (right in photo) then proceeded have an open argument with another member of staff called Sam in front of customers about why or why not sandwiches should be served at that particular time, just so in professional. All this in front of the poor lady trying to order; she was clearly embarrassed that such attention was being drawn to her. I then tried to pay and was served by Grinning Man A. We had walked away from the table we ate at at this point and I was unsure of the table number so, in paying, I stated our table was ‘in the back room next to the fire place’, assuming that would at least narrow down which tables it could have been. But no. Terrible attitude from the guy straight away, claiming to not know where the back room was and that there were multiple fire places. I pointed and stated again, kind of shocked, and without really knowing what else to say, ‘the back room’. After much huffing and puffing he said ‘I’ll assume it’s this one then’ and handed me a receipt. It was that one, and given my description never changed, he clearly knew where I meant and just chose to be difficult. If that wasn’t enough bad customer service for one day, having gone back to my table, about 5 minutes later Grinning Man A started openly and loudly mocking me to Grinning Man B (left in photo). They were having a jolly good laugh at my expense, and were very pleased with themselves. This is all while I’m still sat 3m away from them, in both eyeline and earshot hearing every word. It was an incredibly rude and humiliating experience. As we were leaving, my partner pulled Grinning Man A for a chat on his unprofessionalism and instead of being embarrassed at being called out and apologising, he arrogantly and smugly defended himself by saying that I had a bad attitude. He was a thoroughly unpleasant individual. The only decent thing about the entire experience was the Aussie waitress. Very nice (sorry didn’t get her name). Beyond her though, the customer service was, on the whole, garbage. There is a clear lack of discipline or leadership. I rang to complain the same day and spoke to a nice guy who took the matter seriously and who said he would get the general manager to email to discuss this matter in lieu of leaving a bad review, but the manager hasn’t bothered and this general lack of care sums the place up. So, bad review it is.

Great food and wine. Good Service. The voucher always helps especially in these times. The staff are all excellent. Debz who has the surname, but not related, is always so friendly and helpful.

So.....we ate at the Cunningman. All I can say is what a perfect day. We walked there, were treated like royalty and the food was quite outstanding - I recommend the trio roast if you have a large appetite. The staff were polite and welcoming. We did look at previous low reviews, such as one from a person who provided a picture (unacceptable) as we were actually served by the person in the picture (grinning man A or B) who was hospitable, intelligent and kind. Keep it up Cunningman.

Really nice roasts, friendly staff. Interesting & tasty desserts.

Had valentine's dinner here with a set menu. The food was amazing! The servicer was polite and attentive.

Had a lovely meal last night. Debs looked after us beautifully and good was gorgeous! Splashed out and had three courses. Hoping to go again soon.

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

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

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

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.

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!

The Sunday Roast was fantastic, definitely recommend

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

Nice food. Great service from Deb.

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

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.

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.

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

Super nice food and great service by Dan!

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.

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

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

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!)

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

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!

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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

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 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.🙂

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