The Old Bell, Rye

This is apparently the oldest pub in Rye, one of several dating from the 15th century, and retains a lot of character. There are two doors at the front, labelled ‘Public Bar’ and ‘Private Bar’, and though some of the internal division between the two areas remains, these doors are blocked off and one enters via the door at the corner. There are two hand pumps – one with Harvey’s and one unoccupied on our visit, plus a fairly standard keg selection. It was a fairly quiet Friday afternoon, but it felt welcoming, was serving food (presumably does all day) and the ‘dish of the day for a fiver’ offer yielded a very enjoyable ham, egg, chips and peas. Various events were advertised, including a open mic night the next day on behalf of Help for Heroes. I liked this pub, and would go again, provided I hadn’t already got bored with Harvey’s Best, which is all too easy to do in the area. I’d like it a lot more if it had a choice of ales.

There is a sign up outside this pub informing the readers that this is the oldest pub in Rye, which didn't surprise me. The owners/managers seem to have put a lot of effort into the pub which was the reason I was so surprised when I walked in at the lack of other customers. The reason soon became apparent as the barman was playing a loud game of darts with a mate of his and the dance music didn't really suit the surroundings. Fortunately after about 15 minutes this friend left and the pub actually became very enjoyable. I was very happy to tuck into the well kept Pride, but I didn't try the Harveys as I was getting a bit sick of it as every pub seemed to sell it. There was also a selection of standard lagers available. The pub had a feel like the parents had gone away and left their son in charge, but as I said, the general ambience of the pub vastly improved as the night went on – it may have been the beer though.