Having read the reviews below, I went to the Bannockburn with the crossword from the newspaper (I was dining alone) prepared for a lengthy wait. My order was taken within five minutes of my arrival and my beautifully presented meal of braised lamb shanks arrived 15 minutes later. Most crosswords take me much longer than that to complete, so my pre-judgment of the service was misplaced. My choice was made from a tempting blackboard menu offering a wide variety of food types. While enjoying my tender, succulent shanks (yes, plural) with perfectly cooked fresh vegetables, I noted the delivery of main courses to other diners was invariably greeted with gasps of astonishment and comments about the size of the meals. The ambience was good, the service efficient and pleasant and the prices very reasonable – especially considering the size of the meals. Based on the experience of only one visit, I rate this among the best pub restaurants I’ve experienced.

I visit the Bannockburn probably once a month and believe the food and atmosphere is exceptional, in fact we arranged for our son and partner to have their wedding reception there. The managers worked hard to make a wonderful reception venue and a great price for the menu. The food was beautiful and all the guests were very impressed….keep up the great work !!

My friends and I arrived (without a booking) on a busy Saturday night. We were seated straight away and had a fantastic evening from start to finish. The food was full of wonderful flavours, while the wine list featured a great selection of well priced local wines.
We were all blown away by our dining experience at a small country pub. Super service, stylish surroundings and food we were still discussing with delight the following morning. Can’t wait to go back to try their lunch menu!

After reading the previous reviews i felt like i had to comment. As we all know only the people who complain seem to take the time to comment.
I went there 2 weeks ago with 5other people. I could not get over the work that has been done there. outdoor areas at back and front are a vast improvement and still seem to be a work in progress cant wait to see it finished.
the day we were there was very busy. the food was excellent especially the salmon in fact we had been at the hilton the previous day and it was in fact 10 times better than theirs. the cod was Devinne and a real treat is the cheeseboard with their excellent selection of local wine. it does surprise me the previous comments of the wait as the day we were their was very busy and the wait was 45 mins which i would expect if getting freshly prepared food.
keep up the great work and don’t compromise you food for impatient people.
My last comment is a whinge to the people with the baby why don’t you purchase one of those baby seats that fit over a chair you can take with you. Highchairs in restaurants are a thing of the past get with it.
would thoroughly recommend to people who enjoy a casual dinning experience and appreciate that good things sometimes takes time.

I thought this little “country-pub” would have been memorable for all the right reasons however it wasn’t.
First, the table didn’t have enough seating (3+Infant) as requested (4+Infant) – so they squeezed us in the corner which was barely big enough for the 5 of us. Secondly, the high chair was very old and clearly had most of its restraining straps missing which made it clearly unsafe so we had to take turns at holding him.
Next, the meals took 1hr and 15mins to arrive – way too long. Once the meals arrived, I had the Pork belly which was only so-so, with a rather sweet sickly pumpkin mash. My wife had the Salmon which was simply disgusting. The salmon itself was nice, but the salad was soaking in a plateful of Balsamic Vinegar – so much that it was inedible. On complaining to the waitress, all we got was “oh, thats no good”… no sorry, no offer of recompense, and they still wanted to charge full price. We were stuck between a rock and a hard place really. If we returned the meal for another, we would have probably had to wait another hour to get a new meal. Instead of staying for deserts, we left rather annoyed and hungry and got a tub of Ice Cream from the local dairy. We’ll never go back here again.

The food was okay, menu could have had a bigger range and was a bit boring. However, I have to admit the unfriendly service probably made me feel negatively about the food. The communication was not good from the two waitresses and not at all friendly. The meal took a long time to come and this was not explained. Very uncomfortable wait and I felt I was a major inconvenience with my presence.

The service was unskilled and rude I was told the kitchen would not start cooking until 6 pm. This was particularly annoying since I asked if it would be okay to come at 5.30 pm. Although the bar serves snacks all day this did not stop them from taking forty minutes to bring garlic bread. The wine was warm and the waitresses were surly when you asked them anything. I was served pavlova with a teaspoon of ice cream, when I asked for cream I was given a teaspoon of cream, moreover this seemed to annoy the waitress and I feel lucky I did not get to wear the dessert. It seems the customer is always right unless they go to the Bannockburn Hotel. I would never return, even if the meal was free, since the ambience in the restaurant is zero. This is place you take someone to punish them, not treat them.

Thanks to Tim and Janelle for wonderful hospitality and absolutely delicious food. We had the Lamb Shank and the Pork Belly, and both were exceptional. We’ll definitely be visiting again next time we stay in Cromwell.