The Moon & Sixpence, Clevedon: Review

On a recent day trip to Clevedon with the in-laws, we were after somewhere quick and easy to refuel after a long walk around the coastline. Unsurprisingly, pretty much everywhere on the seafront was pretty packed…but thanks to its size, we were able to find a table on the balcony at Greene King pub The Moon & Sixpence.

It’s a bit of a maze of a place, with multiple seating levels: the bar area downstairs, a dining room upstairs, a huge front terrace and a small balcony giving a few tables of customers views over the pier and the Bristol Channel. It’s got a pretty traditional pub vibe, from the high tables with stools and the wood panelled walls to the copper pans hanging on the wall.

Before ordering food, we headed to the bar to choose our drinks. As you’d expect at a Greene King pub, there’s a selection of their ales on offer in the form of Abbot Ale, Old Speckled Hen and Greene King IPA, as well as various other British and European beers and lagers: think Kronenbourg, Guinness, Fosters, Stella and more. For fans of real cider, there’s Stowford Press, Old Rosie and Aspall on offer, along with various wines, spirits and soft drinks.

On the food front, the menu’s a bit of a mixed bag. As well as the traditional pub classics (chilli, lasagne, steaks, salads) there’s a range of Greek dishes on offer, including lamb moussaka, beef stifado, souvlaki skewers and a mezze platter.

When it comes to pub lunches, I find it hard to resist a lasagne listed on the menu, so that’s exactly what I went for. The Moon & Sixpence version (£9.95) came complete with a side salad and chips and was certainly generous. The lasagne topping was rich and creamy as it should be, but the filling was sadly quite bland. The generic mass catering chips were adequate after adding plenty of seasoning, while the salad tasted lovely and fresh. I wasn’t sure about the retro sprig of curly parsley on top, though…

The rest of the meals ordered by our table were also pretty average: fish and chips with the fish served breaded rather than battered, a Sunday roast with undercooked veg, and a ham salad that was nothing special, but offered exactly what it said on the menu.

We also thought that, for such a large and popular place, more focus needed to be spent on the women’s toilet…it’s a tiny room with two cubicles and a wash basin which is a little grotty and VERY confined.

Ultimately, it was a place for us to fill up after an active morning, while enjoying a drink and a fantastic view. It’s not somewhere I’d choose to rush back to for a meal, but in terms of a quick pit stop, it was perfectly adequate.