IN LATE September, I met with the new owners of The Who’d A Thought It, Lockeridge, to speak about their plans for the re-opening of the popular village pub and their aim to bring traditional pub grub back.

Fast forward two months and I was sitting in the freshly-refurbished restaurant, eager to try a meal from the menu.

Both my guest and I were very impressed by the modern decor, inspired by agriculture and livestock.

One particular favourite feature was the bench cushions that were held in place by an equestrian bit.

The friendly barman greeted us and sat us down at our table, which was annoyingly a bit wobbly but wasn’t the end of the world.

When we got into the pub it was relatively quiet, mainly because it was still quite early. I was pleased to see the restaurant begin to fill up as the night went on though.

Any pub that serves Thatchers Haze on tap always gets bonus points from me, so I was not disappointed on that front - except for the fact it was £4.20 for a pint. My guest ordered a glass of the house red - a Merlot.

Scanning the simple but tasty-sounding menu, it didn’t take either of us long to decide what we were going to choose.

I opted for the Cajun chicken burger with the addition of cheddar cheese and garlic mayonnaise. The burger was served with fries and cost £16 with the extra trimmings. I thought that was quite expensive for a burger, to be honest ,so I was hoping it would be worth it!

My guest was easily swayed by the 8oz ribeye steak served with fries, mushrooms, tomatoes and a red wine jus It cost £18 which we both thought was a fairly reasonable price for that cut.

We didn’t have to wait long for our food to come out. Even if we had it would have been totally worth it - the food was fantastic.

The chicken breast in my burger was perfectly coated resulting in a delicious Cajun taste, perfectly combining with the garlic mayo.

Crispy chips are also very important and chef Alex did not let me down.

My guest believes the steak she had that evening was one of the best she had ever had.

It was cooked to absolute perfection and the red wine jus complemented the quality of the meat supplied by Sumblers in Marlborough.

My surprisingly filling main course stopped me from ordering a dessert, even though the mini doughnuts really caught my eye.

My guest was not as defeated as me, so opted for the treacle tart served with clotted cream and a rum, raisin and orange syrup at £6.50.

She was very pleased with the pudding and said it rounded off a delicious meal very well.

The tangy syrup complemented the sweet, rich taste of the tart.

Overall we were both very impressed with the pub as a whole. The decor was modern yet cosy while the food was delicious - especially as the owners have only recently opened the kitchen.

It pleases me to see that The Who’d A Thought It has raced out of the blocks so quickly and I’m sure it will become a firm favourite in Lockeridge and surrounding areas in time.

Isaac Garg