Hermitage Rd, Hitchin

Hermitage Rd is a bar that is named after the road that it is on. You have to go up a flight of stairs to get to the bar room,this room is oblong shaped with the left side for drinkers,there is a long bar running down the left side,there is high bench seating and stools opposite the bar and normal tables and chairs in the middle of the room,the right side is set aside for diners and has normal tables and chairs which were all laid out for diners,there is an open kitchen to the rear right. There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Woodfords Wherry,which was a decent drink,the other real ale was Adnams Ghost Ship. Background music was playing. I did not have any problems getting into this bar on a Saturday afternoon unlike Malden Man. I thought this was a decent enough bar to have a drink in. Pub visited 17/6/2017

The ground floor is a coffee and giftware shop but ascend the stairs and you enter a vast first floor that used to be a ballroom.There is an impressively high barrel ceiling and the space splits into two,the restaurant with it's open kitchen to the right,while the trendy bar is to the left.Opposite the bar there is very high bench seating running the full length of that wall with exposed brickwork and the original parquet floor is retained.There is a magnificent full length window at the end overlooking the street below,with a few circular high tables here ,while in the centre of the bar area there are a series of lower bench tables and stools.The lighting is modern,and gentle muzak enhanced the atmosphere.At the bar there are two handpumps offering London Pride with an Adnams clip reversed,while the 10 keg taps had the usual suspects but also Meantime Yakima Red,Lagunitas IPA and a decent Adnams Mosaic Pale. There are bar bites and lunchtime sandwiches besides a short menu of main courses,with a lot of locally sourced ingedients.A lot of money has been spent on this conversion,and for me it works despite a mundane real ale selection.Live music venue,the photos along the staircase show some of the acts that once featured here including very young looking members of Jethro Tull. Worth a squint to see the interior,a real surprise.

Official site of Hermitage Rd - www.hermitagerd.co.uk

Official site of Hermitage Rd - www.hermitagerd.co.uk