The Boaters Inn, Kingston Upon Thames

Official site of The Boaters Inn - www.boaterskingston.com

Official site of The Boaters Inn - www.boaterskingston.com

A modern building next door to the rowing club,but now weathered into it's surroundings ,and offering fine views across the River Thames,it still has the feel of a club house.The interior has a wooden floor throughout,with a raised dining area infront of the large glazed windows with the best views,the rest of the interior has some seating booths and traditional furniture elsewhere.There are some very interesting photos dotted about featuring Kingston over the years,while outside there is a substantial beer garden under the plane trees,the wicker furniture having the best river views,while the bench seating seemed more utilitarian.The picket fence marks the boudary with Camley Garden,the towpath runs infront of the pub,which has it's own mooring for waterborne customers,although these need to be booked. At the bar there are 5 handpumps,with three working on my Monday lunchtime visit offering Sambrooks Lavender Hill,Wadworth Horizon,and a reasonable Aylesbury Brewing Beaver State.Some craft keg from the taps.There are signs for meet the brewer nights and a tap takeover by Redwell was advertised,together with it's GBG listing and CAMRA discount this marks the pub as somewhere to visit if hunting for good ale.The lunchtime food from a short menu was very good,so this pub ticked a lot of boxes for me ,given that it also hosts a quiz it's more than just a foodie pub and has a friendly ,community vibe at quiet times.

Fairly new-build feel, but well positioned literally adjacent to the river with just the width of the towpath to the lapping water, a young lad was fishing from his spot a couple of yards from the side entrance, I imagine flooding may be an occasional issue? Panaoramic riverside windows make the most of the location, albeit blinds were masking the low sun, but rowing 8s were cutting serenely past & white-railed property on opp bank had a couple of boats moored outside. Antipodean barstaff were ok, 5 handpumps, 4 looked to be in regular use but only 2 were on (Sat06), Doombar & HogsBack Advent Ale, Blacksheep & Adnams were reverse clipped.