Not stuffed at the Bloated Mallard

The latest Mystery Dining destination was the the Bloated Mallard in Victoria Road, just by Teddington Train Station. It has dark décor and an open fire, which took much of the barman's attention to get lit. We chose our own spot, as we were the only diners we had the run of the place and chose a bright table by the window. It didn't take long to look through the short menu. We ordered at the bar and sat back down to chat, only realising later that our drinks had appeared on the counter and were waiting for us to collect them albeit with no cheery announcement from our host, who presumably wanted to make sure that we realised that this was firmly a pub and was not to be mistaken for a restaurant. The food arrived quickly and was very nice: a good plate full of cod with potatoes and green beans for one, and for the veggie option, a fairly petite plate of two stuffed mushrooms with a thin slice of goat's cheese and salad garnish on the side, it did taste nice, there just didn't seem very much of it, but perhaps that's why I am not really a veggie. All in all it was good food, and even though a second table did arrive during our visit, overall the 'Bloated Mallard' seemed a bit lacking in atmosphere and welcome for a regular lunchtime venue.