After a hectic day at work I was looking for somewhere to unwind and, tempted by their two for one cocktail offer, popped into Mackenzies in Swindon.

There was an energetic atmosphere in the bar, which was packed with people making the most of the midweek offer.

The bar is very spacious and, despite being busy, we found somewhere to sit very quickly and didn’t feel packed in.

Both the food and cocktail menus had a good selection, offering various deals throughout the week.

I was taken by the two courses for £10 menu, which had a wide choice of dishes, and opted for the calamari to start and rump steak for main.

My dining companion chose from the full menu, going for nachos to start followed by a Margarita pizza.

We had to wait quite a while to be served, but the staff were very friendly and apologetic about the inconvenience.

My starter arrived reasonably quickly and, although not the tastiest calamari I have ever had, it was quite enjoyable.

However, Craig’s nachos didn’t arrive at the same time and we had to prompt the waiter to bring them over when he came to collect my plate.

He told us they would be brought out with the main course but, when my steak and the nachos arrived, Craig’s pizza didn’t.

After waiting about 15 minutes Craig’s main course was eventually brought out. All the waiting put a bit of a blot on the evening.

The steak was bloody, just as I like it, and very enjoyable and came with a side salad and skin-on fries.

I wasn’t bowled over by the peppercorn and brandy sauce, which was very oily, and decided to leave it.

Craig enjoyed his large portion of nachos and said the pizza was quite nice, but a bit small and basic.

With two mojitos the bill came to a very reasonable £28.85.

Overall we had an enjoyable evening at Mackenzies and would certainly go back for their cocktails, but next time I probably wouldn’t chose to eat there.

* Garden terrace and outside bar
* Cocktail happy hour two for one 5pm - 8pm Monday - Friday, all day Wednesdays, and from 3pm Sundays.
* Screening of live sports
* First floor bar available for hire