The Cunning Man. in West Berkshire

Really dissatisfied with the Sunday lunch, AGAIN ! Served barely warm after mentioning this problem to the server & manager on the previous Sunday visit! You really need to take a look at what the underlying problem is here with your kitchen ? Such a shame because the atmosphere is lovely and the food is tasty. Will try one more visit and if no change that’s it for me I’m afraid.

I like the ambiance of the restaurant but I have one major frustration and that is that Sunday roast is always just warm never hot . The food is tasty and plentiful but the experience is ruined by the food being only lukewarm warm . We have been 5 or 6 times and have mentioned the problem to the server/manager several times but things never change . I’ll give it one more go .

Faultless. Charlie was friendly helpful and relaxed, the food was sensibly priced and superb, service was spot on and the surroundings were a pleasure. I'd recommend this place to anyone.

Jade was such a good waitress, very sweet and lovely! Making sure we were happy with everything we needed, thank you for a lovely evening!

Had a lovely meal at cunning man, enjoying the great pub garden in the sun. The experience was made even better by the service we received from Taylor. He helped us when we needed to move tables and ensured we were well catered for throughout. Some of the best service we’ve received in a restaurant.

Stopped off on our way home from awakes for a late lunch. Enjoyed the sticky sharing platter and grilled bacon chop. Great 5* service from Jade. Thank you!

Really enjoyed our lunch. Jade and Franklin who served us were helpful and efficient. Special thanks to Franklin who, on discovering it was my birthday, arranged for a birthday message to appear on my dessert plate 😀🎂. It was a lovely surprise. It all made for a very pleasant visit. Thank you.

Jade served us, and was very friendly and helpful. The roast turkey was excellent. A very good selection of vegetables came with it

Excellent food, very quick service from Jade, very nice wine and a good selection of beers for the husband - we will definitely be back

Visited the cunning man today for a catch up with a friend. Greeted with smiles by all members of staff, Maddie was very helpful and attentive. Atmosphere inside is great.

Cracking meal out! Made even better by the wonderful Maddie! Will definitely be coming back

Came with the family for Easter today and had a great roast meal. Was served by Maddy who couldn’t be more attentive and helpful to the family.

The doors is great, it’s dog friendly with a sunny beer garden and we love a walk along the river bank so worth a visit. Millie our server was amazing.

Stunning country pub, but we had a wasted journey. We wanted sandwiches for lunch, which clearly states on their website that they are available Monday - Saturday until 5pm, but when we went there, they told us they only do them in the week. Everything else was way too expensive - £18 - £20! No thanks, please remove incorrect information from your website, it's not that difficult.

Welcome was poor, no acknowledgement! No one came to take drink order, went to bar to order myself & ignored! Only good thing about our experience was Dan who seemed to be the only one working! Food not great.

Amazing little pub. We had an amazing waitress (Lucy)

Delicious food, friendly service, great atmosphere. Even though it was busy due to the bank holiday weekend, service was still good and prompt. Staff were attentive, Lucy was great at making sure everything was ok and we were happy.

The Cunning Man is very busy now and has a better menu and service than years ago. Expect a wait for food on busy times as there is a lot of service areas to this popular Pub/Restaurant, which has a large outside area as well. The food is fairly good too and the service team is polite and friendly.

Brilliant pub / restaurant, perhaps more of a restaurant which is brilliantly run with staff who seem happy and enthusiastic. Service is excellent and the outside area is superb, weather permitting. Not many gripes; don't forget to enter your car registration or you'll get fined for parking. Bit expensive but where isn't? Overall a great night out

Nice food very slow service which they charge for on the bill

Lucy who served us today was really kind and polite, she answered all our questions about food options and her enthusiasm was lovely to see.

Visited the Cunning Man with my parents a few weeks ago and had a really lovely meal. The pub is absolutely beautiful and while there was very slow service, that was to be expected as it was so busy. Although I do wish we'd gone to the bar for our drinks as it did take over 30 mins for them to arrive, and the bar seemed to be moving much quicker. Although, the main reason you've lost a star in our eyes is because we had booked for food yesterday evening, and when we were only 1 minute away in the car we got a phone call telling us that the kitchen was closed. We really don't think we should've been able to book a slot for food if the kitchen was closed, and we made the journey just to turn back around. I appreciate it was quite late, but again, we should have never been given the option to book.

Came in for some lunch and was pleasantly surprised by how attentive our server dan was considering how busy it was! Lovely food, lovely atmosphere and amazing service!! Thank you dan for making our visit enjoyable :)

Lovely place, beautiful setting. We didn’t have a reservation but they found us a table. Service was great, food however not so. My chips were only like warm and my wife’s pie (chicken & mushroom) was only like warm in the middle. The couple next to our table also complained about their food not being hot enough. Apart from that we had a nice time there and thanks to Ben for serving us. Also unless you register your car’s registration number you will be charged for parking.

Leisurely midweek lunch on warm sunny day. It was busy, but friendly service. Our server Dan was very helpful and attentive. Food very good, pavlova looked amazing! though very large and would share if had it again

Our recent visit to The Cunning Man left us feeling rather underwhelmed, especially considering the prices charged. While the setting itself may hold some charm, the food unfortunately didn't live up to expectations. I cannot fault our waiter he was faultless but it seemed the manager or floor lead was banging around tables and glasses like a bull in a china shop, we all have our bad days I suppose, but we did overhear her moaning to other members of staff and even use harsh tones with customers, strange indeed. In regards to the food, My own dish, a halloumi skewer, was decidedly "bog standard." The halloumi itself could have certainly benefited from more cooking, lacking the desired golden-brown crispness. For the price point, it felt like a very basic offering. The table nearby also seemed to send back their starters. My father fared slightly better with his pie and mash, which he described as "decent." However, this was the only dish that garnered any positive feedback from our table. My mother's bacon chop and chips were, in her words, "average." The real letdown here was the accompanying side of frozen peas. At the prices The Cunning Man charges, one would reasonably expect fresh or at least higher-quality vegetables. Overall, our experience at The Cunning Man was disappointing. The food was generally uninspired and certainly didn't justify the rather expensive bill, nothing like what it used to be. While one dish was acceptable, the others ranged from mediocre to undercooked, and the use of frozen vegetables felt particularly jarring given the cost. We left feeling that the value for money was simply not there especially considering it was a evening to treat my parents to a meal but we would likely explore other dining options in the future.

Only had snack this time but has always been exemplary with food. We mainly had drinks in the sunshine, but were served by a guy called Taylor who was very patient with us despite being really busy. He was very friendly & helpful with choices of drinks.

Had a great afternoon at the Cunning Man, had burgers and drinks. The barman, Taylor was super friendly and welcoming. It definitely makes a difference when staff make an effort. Top service

2 previous visits had been excellent, this time dreadful. Restaurant not busy. 30 mins before taking our order. Then Dan came over and asked eventually would we like desserts and we were still waiting for our main meal. Knives n forks on table should have been a noticed they had not been used. Eventually ordered desserts and a drink, drink did not arrive until after everyone had received the desserts. Coffee luke warm. It was a special night to celebrate and it was spoilt.

We had 2 burgers from here tonight. Both had the consistency of an old shoe!

Great atmosphere, great service and lovely food. Love the quiz and bingo too! Alex served us and he was amazing! Would recommend especially in the Summer for the pub garden!

Amazing food as always. Fantastic service from the waiters

Lovey meal our waitress was brilliant Maddie

Great place, excellent service, really friendly atmosphere - Staff are really attentive Ceri in particular was on point. Been a few times now and would 100% recommend.

This is the second time we've been to The Cunning Man as it's a great pub with plenty of in-door and outdoor seating next to the canal. The service was quite mediocre. We were asked twice in the 3 hours if we wanted any more drinks. It took just over an hour for our food to be brought to the table from when we ordered. When the food arrived, it was cold and quite dried out. It must have been sitting under lights for quite some time. Will have to think twice about going back.

Lovely bar staff especially gentleman with tattoos A big credit to the team Great food

Went for Sunday lunch, place half full. Waited 15 minutes for drink order to be taken and a further 20 minutes for food. Person with allergy checked in, accepted liability in case it went wrong.Food arrived 20 minutes later, no Yorkshire pudding, carrots soggy, parsnips raw, cabbage no flavour. Asked for extra gravy, never got gravy or Yorkshire pudding. Maybe it was a bad day, I won’t be returning to find out.

Had a fantastic meal out here. Maddie was super helpful and attentive, making sure we had everything we needed. Great drinks, great atmosphere—will definitely be back!

great experience !!! the weather was lovely and the patio gave the best atmosphere! the staff were lovely and very helpful to us when ordering and the selection of food was phenomenal. definitely do come here especially during the summer

Delicious meal and friendly staff :)

I visited the pub yesterday with my mum and brother to celebrate mothers day. I've been to the pub 3 times before with my husband and have had positive experiences but yesterday was a shamble. We first ordered a sharing sticky platter which came out 1 hour l ate and it was dry and not fresh tasting. We asked at least 3 times for how long it was going to take. The service was so bad. Waiters were serving and bringing out food for others and we felt very forgotten. We ordered our mains and it was still being prepared even after waiting 45 mins. We had enough waiting and told the waitress to cancel. There were tables around us who had ordered after us and had their food served so quickly. I told the waitress to cancel the mains as we were tired of waiting and refuse to pay for anything. The waitress agreed that things were taking ages but gave no explanation as to why. It was bizarre. I was so disappointed. The table we were placed at was so cold and drafty and literally felt ignored. Sort it out!

Nice location. Came here after a long walk and asked for a pint of Coke, to be told they only do half pints? I questioned it and said do they not have it on tap? He said yes but only half pints? So stupid. Then another bar tender told the guy serving me not to over explain things, insinuating I was stupid or something, sorry I was just questioning the stupidity of not serving a pint of Coke, because that is, very strange, and stupid.

I travelled all the way up north to have lunch with my family. Booking was arranged by my daughter. We were sat in the restaurant where it was very cold. Ordered starters straight away which we waited for 30 minutes During this painful wait we ordered our mains thinking there is a SLOW service here. Starters arrived was over cooked tasteless. It then got to the point we had to keep asking for our main! After another LONG wait we decided to LEAVE. We observed that service was prioritised and no disrespect to the service staff need more fast pace service with a smile

Had a lovely supper at the cunning man over Mother’s Day weekend. The food was delicious, and the service was excellent from Louise! Friendly and attentive even though it was a busy night. A great place for a nice meal. We’ll definitely be back! Louise was the golden

Had a lovely meal with friends celebrating a special birthday served by the loveliest waitress “Debs” who was outstanding and second to none !! Will def be returning

Parking nice and easy, atmosphere very relaxed and friendly, lovely roaring fire, food gorgeus and freshly cooked and prepared, service was excellent, by an exceptionally friendly waitress called "Debs" who was so happy to look after all our needs. will visit again.

So grateful that with my very high maintenance dietary requirements I had a wonderful meal. Thank you so much to Debs and Charlie for being so accommodating.

Long wait for meal . But was nice.Thank you Charlie for the wonderful service 🙏 because of you we will come back

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.

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

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

Great customer service from maddie and charlie.

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

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 :(

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. 😌

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.

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

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

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!

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 😊

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Amazing food, Maddie the waitress was very helpful e nice

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.

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!

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.

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

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 :)

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.

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

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

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

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!

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.

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

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.

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

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