Somerset Arms, Gravesend

Doing well in the town and surviving and better. Good beer, music and more

A pleasant town centre pub near the station, now marketing itself as 'the real ale bar'. Exposed brickwork and an interesting collection of records (the musical type) provide a decorative theme. They do homemade sandwiches at a reasonable price. The staff are friendly, if a little clumsy, and the locals were very welcoming and chatty. Live music is advertised but there was no act on when we visited. Of the six handpumps, only 3 were working. I had a pint of Summer Lightning which was in pretty good condition. Worth dropping in if passing, and I'd include in a crawl.

There were a few locals around the large U shaped bar when I visited the Somerset Arms on a recent Friday afternoon. The interior certainly has some character with low beams and a central fireplace at the rear which splits up the open plan seating. Around one side of the bar is some quiet seating and at the rear is a food serving area where pub grub priced around £5 for a main can be sourced. Standard draught is available from the bar that also supports five hand pumps. These were drawing Pedigree, Greene King IPA, Summer Lightening, Young’s Ordinary and London Gold. I spotted one plasma screen which was switched off and I didn’t notice any live sport advertised. There was some low disco music playing in the background and live music was advertised for the following Sunday. I found the service to be friendly and the banter from the friendly locals created a good atmosphere. I thought that this was the best of the three pubs this side of the railway station and I would have no problem returning.

Not overly keen on this place as it seems to follow the maxim that the nearer a pub is to the station the worse it is. Not as bad as some but not great to be honest.

First pub of yesterday's trip, very handy for the station. Calls itself "The Real Ale Pub" on a banner outside, a bit quirky inside with a music theme, discs, guitars etc on the wall. It felt a bit 70's in style. Two from Archers,Spitfire, Summer Lightning, Old Bear Hibernator(bit strong for an opener)and Pedigree. Good range, the pub is a little frayed at the edges and the sticky floor and tables could do with a wipe but ok. Perhaps someone could tell the bloke smoking on the step by the entrance that its only polite to move out of the effing way when people are trying to get in.