The Dolphin, Canterbury

This is a back street pub that from my old Kent guide looks like it may have been a Whitbread house. It seems to be done up like one of those trendy places in Islington or Hackney with bare boards and grey walls. They even had a cliched blues soundtrack playing. The one item of memorabilia that caught my eye was a Meccano model of the Blackpool Tower. The bar has five hand pumps which had one unused, a cider. Doom Bore, Gadd's Green Hop and Landlord. I went for the Green Hop (£4.25) which was excellent. The price of this locally brewed 4.8% ABV beer was daylight robbery and completely unacceptable in my book. One of the best things about this pub is that it doesn't appear to have any TV screens but the prices would deter me from coming back.

Backstreet pub but only a couple of minutes trot from the town centre. Nicely light and airy inside. Some 1970s retro stylings such as an old Walls Ice Cream shop wall mount, Michelin Men, Bertie Bassetts, Fred the Homepride Man, model trucks, model trains. The stylised bird wallpaper caught Mrs Quinno’s eye. Bare boarded bar room, with a couple of carpeted areas to the rear leading to quasi-conservatory and a lovely grassed beer garden which was well-populated on our Tuesday afternoon visit. Other items of note included an upright piano (looks used), tasteful flowers on tables, railwayana, and board game selection (the sign by which amusingly says ‘where board games come to die’). Food is offered and gets good reviews. GBG listed for 2014, though not an overly inspiring choice of TT Landlord and Doom Bar (was a weekday afternoon I suppose), plus two varieties of Westons cider. But of course it’s quality no quantity and I had no complaints about the standard of the Landlord. Would have happily stayed longer if time permitted and I’d be prioritising this one for a revisit. Apparently used to be one of Cantab’s dodgiest pubs so it shows what a bit of effort can achieve.