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Chat about:
Pub annoyances #834 with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Smiths Arms, Chester Le Street
Castle Dene
Postal town: Chester Le Street
DH3 4HE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about Smiths Arms
This is a strange one as it looks like an old town pub but is pretty much in the middle of nowhere apart from the fact that the A1(M) runs very close by and you can see and hear the traffic on it.
As you enter there's a door to the left and a door to the right. The door to the left leads to the small public bar where there is a huge row of hand pumps which were blocked by the regulars on a Friday afternoon. There is also a pool and darts area behind the serving area. Luckily there is a blackboard with the beers and ciders listed. After a while when more locals with their dogs made it a bit crowded, a retreat was made to the lounge bar.
This had plenty of space but only had a limited serving area.
Beers noted were Adnam's Old, Harviestoun Bitter and Twisted, By The Horns Stiff Upper Lip, Black Sheep Baa Baa, St Peters Flawless, Otter Pale, Titanic Plum Porter, Dorset Jurassic and two ciders. I went for the Otter Pale and the Plum Porter which were in good nick.
This is a strange pub but a worthwhile one to visit.
It's GBG 2018 listed.
On 3rd December 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Smiths Arms
The pub consists of a public bar on the left hand side and a traditional lounge on the right. There was a smaller room at the rear with a pool table. We went into the bar on arrival, where we met a bunch of friendly locals, enjoying their beers. There were eight ales on handpump and an array of nibbles on the bar counter, which I described as Northerner's Tapas, consisting of pieces of black pudding, pork pies, cheese and chicken pieces.
The restaurant was upstairs, where we had a very good Sunday Lunch. The staff were also very obliging and it was no problem to bring some beers up from the bar downstairs.
One thing we did notice was that the upstairs floors were drastically sloping and you can see the evidence of this, when you see a sprit level on a level shelf, where the shelf appears crooked. The manageress explained that the pub was built on a raft and this was the problem, in recent years with some subsidence nearby. To sum up, a good and friendly traditional pub, with some great beers and good food.
On 2nd July 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Peter Carr left this review about Smiths Arms
5/6/09 Visited this traditional Pub,They had three real ales on tap. I had excellent pints of Black Sheep. 4/4, The bar meal was good 3/4. Toilets clean 3/4, Music in tha Lounge was too loud o/4. Service good, 3/4
On 5th June 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 39 recommendations about 39 pubs]