There cannot be many people who do not view the £200,000 transformation of the Moonrakers pub, in Nursteed Road, as a good thing.

The exterior is much improved and has catapulted the former dark and dingy drinking house with its old-fashioned bars into the 21st century.

Wadworth’s partnership with new tenant, the Adastra pub company, which owns pubs in Hampshire and Sussex, has resulted in a contemporary family steak and grill restaurant but without the bland chain feel.

When we arrived just after 6pm one Friday for a family meal, it was anything but quiet. The tables were rapidly filling up and the bar area busy, and it stayed that way throughout our meal.

The grey colour scheme and contemporary decor seems more in keeping with an establishment in a large town or city such as Swindon or Oxford – it felt like a breath of fresh air in Devizes.

The menu largely covers steak and mixed grills with a ‘pick your own’ system of choosing your meat, then your side dishes, so you effectively build your own meal.

We chose the surf and turf (steak and scampi), with blue cheese sauce and a jacket potato and coleslaw, plus the 8oz rump steak with giant onion rings, fries and peppercorn sauce.

The wait was on the border of acceptable, but we could see they were busy.

My steak was cooked just as I wished, well done, and the scampi was perfectly cooked and crispy, perfect for dunking in the sauce. The jacket was the slow oven-cooked variety with the skin peeling away, not an inferior microwaved offering.

The puddings seemed a little pricey but we plumped for the cheesecake, which was delicious, and hot fudge cake. The taste soon made up for the price but I felt the Eton Mess in particular didn’t represent huge value for money.

The bill came to £29 for two, excluding drinks.

Rumours circulating after the pub’s opening about various teething problems appear to be unfounded, or now ironed out, and it certainly offers a welcome change for Devizes.

To those who might find it difficult to exorcise the ghost of the old Moonrakers, my advice is: give it a whirl, you might be surprised.

* Open: noon to 11pm from Monday to Saturday; noon to 10.30pm Sunday.
* Food served all day until 9pm except Sundays when service stops at 8pm.
* An enclosed garden area at the back and a terrace at the front can serve 50 alfresco covers.
* Large car park
* Disabled access