Three Kings Inn, Buckie

Sitting on an incline amid a terrace of solid stone cottages, it would be easy to miss the Three Kings were it not for the signage. The small front bar is dimly lit with exposed stone walls, bare floors and low beamed ceilings. The bar is cluttered with brewery bits, nautical artifacts, lanterns and other oddities including a pair of ice skates and a replica 1879 Kensington Station clock. The open fire would be most welcome on a dark cold winter night (of which my recent visit obviously wasn’t) and everything adds up to being a cosy bar full of character. The larger rear section down a few steps is mainly for dining and is a bit more spacious and airy. Various domestic artifacts line the shelves and window sills and the ceiling contains a selection of old 78’s, album covers and sheet music. A jukebox dished out unobtrusive music) and there was a quiz machine but I didn’t notice any TV’s. Running off to one side is a games room with dart board that also doubles up as a kiddies play area and has baby changing facilities. Outside is an attractive and decent sized beer garden. There were 3 hand pumps but only 2 available fior my visit – Belhaven St Andrews Ale and Theakston’s Lightfoot, both of which were very good quality and most welcome after the 3 mile stroll along the cliffs and across the beach from Portknockie (there are several good coastal walks in the area). As we were in Cullen it seemed prudent to try the local speciality Cullen Skink (a haddock, potato and onion soup) which was very good, reasonably priced and promptly served. There were a few people eating more hearty meals so I would assume that the food in general is very good although I didn’t actually make any notes regarding the menu. The staff and customers were friendly, welcoming and chatty and had we more time, I could have happily spent a few hours perched at the bar. This is, in my opinion, the best pub in Cullen and of the 20 or so pubs we visited in the area during our week stay, this would certainly be in the top 3 or 4.