The Duke of York, Tunbridge Wells

A rare old school pub in The Pantiles area, boarded floor, distressed boarded ceiling although the gnarled beams and posts looked to be affectations. Some wood panelling also looked to be deliberately worn but the wonky floor must be real. The words of the old rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York" are on display as is a shelf of old red suited lead toy soldiers. A roaring fire helped the ambience on a chilly day, there were stacks of logs all around. Beers from Fullers, Pride, ESB, Seafarers, Oliver's Island plus guesting Hooky Bitter and a cider from Cornish Orchards. Various "nights" advertised, curry, steaks, open mic, not my thing I just prefer the quiet comfy pub of an afternoon which is what I found. A decent spot and a grand drop of ESB.

The Duke Of York page on the Fullers website - dukeofyorktunbridgewells.co.uk

The Duke Of York page on the Fullers website - dukeofyorktunbridgewells.co.uk

The Duke of York is a traditional pub in the Pantiles area of Tunbridge Wells where you are more likely to stumble across a restaurant than a decent pub. This a is a single room pub which isn’t the biggest, but the bar still supports five hand pumps that, during my recent Wednesday afternoon visit, were drawing Doom Bar, Abbot, Summer Lightening, Harveys Best and Tunbridge Wells Brewing Company’s Sovereign Blonde. The Doom Bar was on good form and the bloke working behind the bar was a friendly enough chap. Food is served and the sausage and mash comes in at £7 which his very good value for the area. The décor is old and worn and hops were stuck to the ceiling and ran the length of the bar. There was no music and there are no TV screens that I could see. This place has done well to remain traditional in this area and that alone deserves a revisit.

This attractive looking old pub is situated at the heart of the Pantiles area, the most touristy bit of Tunbridge Wells and given its position and alluring charm, you can expect it be fairly busy. The single room interior has a basic feel with heavily sloping bare floors (no, you’re not drunk!) and sagging ceilings propped up by numerous old pillars. Old photos of the town adorn the walls and the pub has managed to retain quite a bit of character even though it has obviously been knocked around internally over the years. There is some seating outside The 4 ales on my visit consisted of a farily mainstream selection of Doom Bar, Harveys and Greeen King IPA that was redeemed by the presence of the Tunbridge Wells Royal. The pub is Cask Marque accredited and also part of the SIBA scheme. Where a lot of its neighbours have sold out to the interior designers and modern trends, the Duke of York has managed to retain its traditional pub approach and, despite it being a tourist hot spot, the pub still has the feel of a local and is certainly worth a look in.