High Street eating: The Wellington Arms has reopened – for pie and a pint and much more

The Wellington Arms, Marlborough’s historic pub, built on the site where the great fire of Marlborough started on April 28, 1653 and named after the Duke of Wellington who stayed the night there in 1836, has reopened after a complete refurbishment.

With an extended dining area which spills out into a sunny courtyard, the pub serves food all day and up to an hour before closing (Monday to Thursday 11-11, Friday/Saturday 11-12 and Sunday 11 to 10.30.)

The new menu includes award-winning pies from Pieminister which are made exclusively from responsibly sourced ingredients including free range British meat and seasonal vegetables.  

Szymon Kocjanwicz, the new manager, told Marlborough.News: “The product speaks for itself. I have visited the factory and it looked just like my grandmother’s kitchen – hearty portions, traditional. The feedback from our customers has been excellent.”

Pies on offer include Moo with British beef steak and ale or Meatador with beef steak, chorizo, olives and butter beans or Heidi with Somerset goats’ cheese, sweet potato, spinach and red onion and even Saag Pie-Neer with peas, paneer, spinach, potato, chilli and mango.

Pies without pastry include Captain Nemo (hake, salmon, pollock and prawns with a cheesy mash topping), Moo & Brew (slow-cooked beef steak with ale and a mash top), and Holy Macaroni (wild British venison and scotch bonnet chilli with macaroni cheese).
 
All pies are served with sides of mash, minty peas and red wine and onion gravy. Experimental diners can add jalapenõs, PM No.10 Chutney, macaroni cheese and spiced cabbage – perhaps not all at once.

The Wellington offers cask ales and keg beers including Caledonian Deuchars IPA, Sharps Doom Bar Amber Ale, and Sambrook’s Wandle as well as the local Ramsbury Gold. There is  an extensive gin menu including Broker’s, Langley’s and Sipsmith with selected Fever Tree tonics. There are plenty of wines to choose from and Kimbo Italian coffee.

Manager, Szymon Kocjanwicz, has moved to Marlborough from Salisbury and after 14 years working in London:  “It’s beautiful around here. I grew up in the countryside in Poland so I love it here.”

He believes The Wellington Arms is all about “…keeping tradition with a modern twist. We can offer Marlborough something a bit different.”  

And he is keen that the pub is dog and family friendly. In fact there’s a jar of dog biscuits on the counter!