National Hunt — Restaurant in Cheltenham

Only giving a one star as it will not let me leave any lower on a weekend away i booked this pub as it had good reviews the pub is tidy and has local pub atmosphere I ordered jacket potato and a side salad with a side order of coleslaw and two corn on the cobs the meal was delivered and the jacket potato was just above frozen temperature it was still hard from being defrosted the coleslaw had salt in the mix and the corn on the cob was burnt from the inside out this may have been microwave for to long I returned the meal and a new one came but the pub wasn’t able to supply the full meal as they had ran out even tho the pub hadn’t been full and on previous conversations with the bar staff if they had been busy I was told not really. The meal came and the new jacket potato had been microwaved to the point I was surprised lava wasn’t coming out of the middle I had to wait 5 mins for it to cool to an edible temperature and at.That point it had started to harder as it was over cooked the salad was bone dry and hadn’t been washed the meal for two turned in to a meal for one as I had to leave the inedible meal a local pub for a pint if you were thinking of a meal forget it I would have expected more from such a large chain green king be ashamed of your poor...

We were staying at the nearby Premier Inn and on arrival wanted a coffee and maybe one cheeky vino before going to see the city. On googling pubs the nearest was the National hunt. What a tucked away little gem it is only a couple minutes drive. Just stick on sat nav and you are there. The staff/team were very friendly and welcoming and covid standards were awesome. The assistant manager out does Mrs Hinch for sparkling cleaning with a smile. We felt that comfortable we stayed for lunch and a Gin and tonic. My friend had a chicken wrap and said the chicken was cooked to perfection. I had a jacket spud with beans and cheese. The gin selection was large but we dragged ourselves after one as we wanted to actually see Cheltenham city centre even though we were very comfortable where we were. Thank you for a lovely start...

This is an edit from my previous 2* review (below) which was actually generous at the time, things have very much improved with the new landlady (Martika).

Since Martika has taken over there has not been less than 3 good ales, food service is now as it should be (and quality has improved too). The word has got out and some old regulars have started to return, which only adds atmosphere.

Most of the same staff remain & continue to be a pleasure to interact with, seems the changes are all positive.

Where as previously I'd have said "catch a bus to town" I'd now say don't (you might end up at the old landlord's new pub), go to the National Hunt.

-------------original review------------- Continually poor ale selection, doesn't serve food till 9pm as signage states (last orders for food...