The Egremont, Worthing

A large sprawling lump of a pub, multi roomed and rather empty on my mid afternoon - midweek visit, the barmaid assured me it would be a different story in the evening. A good beer choice with Burning Sky Plateau, Dark Star Revelation, Harveys Sussex Best and Tom Paine, plus two from Brightons Kemptown brewery,Kemptown 1836 and DD.Nice enough but a bit understated on my visit.

This place has enjoyed a significant refurbishment since the previous reviewer’s visit, creating a smart, multi-purpose pub that seemed popular with a wide range of customers on my recent visit. Located within easy reach of the town centre and seafront, the pub has a very impressive facade which included some old Kemptown Brewery signage and a very intricately decorated doorway, with a short row of pavement seating under the front wall. Marvellous leaded windows with bright stained glass motifs in the upper section can be found to the front and left of the pub and looked great when viewed from within, whilst the sun streamed through. The interior has been opened out to a fair degree, with an L-shaped seating area around the servery and a large lounge area at the rear of the building. Padded button backed banquettes can be found to the front and left, including on a raised platform to the left, supplemented by numerous low stools. The L-shaped servery has a dark wood counter and tongue and groove bar back and runs along the right hand side of the room. The front right corner presumably usually has some seating available, but had been cleared out for some live music from a jazz/skiffle combo who had pulled a large crowd, including a few who were rekindling the dance moves of their youth in a rather moving way. Decor is relatively minimal, with a few old sketches on show and the day’s papers in a rack, but the place looked fresh and clean as a result. The room extends into the bare boarded area beyond the bar where banquettes are fitted beneath various fishing and seafaring themed items and some old playbills for the nearby Theatre Royal. A plasma screen TV was hung on the wall here but it wasn’t in use. Beyond, partly screened from view, is a carpeted seating area with lots of standard seating in various cosy looking nooks, although thanks to the popularity of the band, this whole area was empty throughout my visit. The pub’s transformation has also seen it find its way into the latest Good Beer Guide and there was certainly an interesting ale range available, with handpulls dispensing Dark Star Hophead, Harvey’s Sussex Best, Goldmark Ebony and two house beers called Egremont Double Dolphin Amber and 1836 Brown Ale. I believe both of these are also brewed by Goldmark and I gave the Double Dolphin Amber a try at £4.00 a pint. A very friendly barmaid served me and it was quite a pleasant pint, if perhaps not quite up to the standard of the Dark Star/Harvey’s options available alongside it. This place represents a great turnaround for a pub that sounds like it was going down the pan. The refurbishment has created a smart, comfortable interior that should appeal to a wide customer base and there are plenty of events going on to keep punters interested. The beer quality and friendly service were also encouraging signs that this place has very much turned the corner and I would say it deserves inclusion on any crawl around the town.

Official site of The Egremont - theegremont.co.uk

Official site of The Egremont - theegremont.co.uk

The Egremont has the feel and décor of a live music venue so I wasn’t surprised to see advertisements for live music at the weekends. There is a stage to the left of the entrance and to the right is a plasma screen that was showing Sky Sports during my visit last Saturday. The bar runs towards the rear of the pub where a pool table and dartboard can be found. Greene King IPA and Sharps Cornish Coaster and Doom Bar were the ale options, although the latter was off. There is also a standard draught selection and I found the barmaid to be very friendly. The handful of other customers seemed harmless enough if not that welcoming. This place is very rough and ready and I would probably walk past if I found myself in the area again.