Arden Arms, Stockport

Very busy doing christmas meal no time for people that just want a drink had a pint of Robinsons Unicorn not very good. Must be the wrong time of year just for us drinkers will give it another go

Both John B & Roger B have described the interior of the pub excellently, so I won't. It's quite a foody place and the right hand room as you enter was reseved for diners only on my Friday late afternoon visit. In fact you have to wait to be seated in there. The pub itself was very busy with the post work crowd, but the service was efficient. I had a pint of the Dizzy Blonde. I'm not a great fan of Robinsons beers, but I've always had a well kept pint of it here. This pub is in the GBG2012 and also on CAMRA's National Inventory Of Historic Pub Interiors.

Occupying a street corner position at the foot of a small hill down from the Market Place is The Arden Arms, a fine traditional unspoilt pub retaining many original features. It’s a Georgian style brick built building dating back to 1815 and is Grade 2 listed. Several different rooms are served from a superb central curved mahogany bar with sash windows and glass screens that extend up to the ceiling. The drinking lobby here has a black and white chequerboard tiled floor. A framed certificate by the bar tells us that The Arden Arms was CAMRA Pub of the Year 2004 runner up. Posters advertised live jazz on Monday evenings. A small room on the angle of the streets has fixed seating, bell pushes and “Arden Arms” etched windows. On the wall in this room is a Brains mirror. At the other end of the bar, a much larger comfortable room features a grandfather clock and rinks posters and is used as a dedicated dining room with a prominent notice by the entrance telling us to “Please see Joe to be seated”. As well as lunchtime meals, food is served in the evening from 5.30 to 8 pm between Wednesday and Sunday. Rather unusually, a small snug is situated on the staff side of the counter and can only be accessed by walking through the bar servery. Access to this room is by invitation only, an arrangement that reminded me of The Bridge at Topsham ( near Exeter ) – the only other pub that I can remember having this feature. The pub is listed in CAMRA’s National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors. A pleasant outside drinking area features a cobbled stabled courtyard with outbuildings. It’s a Robinsons pub which was serving the usual range of beers on my recent evening visit. Notably, the beer pumps are at the back of the bar, not on the bar counter. The Unicorn - £ 2.60p – was reasonable. The pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular. Unfortunately, a fellow customer was unnecessarily rude to me when I accidentally picked up the wrong glass from the bar which put a slight damper on proceedings. It’s the type of minor, trivial occurrence that, somewhat illogically, one always remembers. However, this is an attractive traditional pub, worth seeking out

Excellent Town centre local, serving Robinsons on top form. Large drinking corridor with rooms off. The Millgate room is set aside for diners at lunch times. A snug is located through the bar itself. Up to six Robinsons beers on tap. Great food menu at reasonable prices. Outside their is a beer garden. Two min walk from the town centre.

The Arden Arms is a Robinsons tied house in Stockport town centre,i had a drink of Robinsons bitter. Pub visited 18 march 1989.

For me the Arden Arms didn’t really live up to the hype. It’s a pretty plain exterior but the interior is quite impressive. We weren’t able to look around the whole pub as much of it was being used as dining rooms and there does seem to be a big focus on food. We were asked a couple of times while waiting for a pint if we were going to be eating, almost as if it made us second class customers if we weren’t. There’s a pleasant outside seating area with decking and a shelter from the wind and rain. A good range of Robinsons beers although the pumps are behind the bar as opposed to on the bar so make sure you take a good look to spot them all.

A genuine classic; RogerB has highlighted many of the interior features including the snug - only accessible thru the bar (one suspects that may be just for the inner circle, haha), but note also the lovely rounded wooden sash-work windows around the bar, and black/white floor tiles. Very popular for food, and starts filling with diners almost from opening time (12:00), includes good-looking specials menu at ~£8.00. The handpumps are on the rear wall of the bar, dispensing Robinsons in top condition. If the pub is very busy the bar area can be a little congested and make the route to the loo something of a ‘corridor’, but this a small price to pay for retention of originality in a great pub.