The Dolphin Inn, Chard

A rather ordinary town centre pub, once a coaching inn which still does accommodation. Much of the original building at the back and the original garden wall have been demolished, making the back look a bit like a bomb site. There is carpark behind, and a rather scruffy garden with some dolphin murals that make it look more like a kindergarten playground than a pub garden. Inside, the ground floor rooms have knocked through to form a single long bar, whose modern tiles look like the floor of a barber’s shop or cheap cafe. There are several large TV screens, all showing live football, and a lot of football-related bric-a-brac fixed to the walls. The noise from the jukebox was intolerable, both in volume and genre; we felt this had been initiated specifically to annoy or provoke us. There are gaming machines, a pool table and a dart board, but none of these was being used when we visited. The locals were far from welcoming, and the atmosphere was rowdy bordering on hostile. The barmaid was rather dim, though given the locals, this wasn’t out of place here. The only ale on was Doombar, drinkable but not great. Tribute was available in tins, which is all kinds of wrong. I don’t think I’ll be back; the Wetherspoons opposite is a much better bet in every way.