Blakes, Dover

Not a GBG pick for 2024 but has plenty of positive reviews so thought I'd check it out and I’m glad I did. It’s a cellar bar which is accessed down some stairs from the porchway of Blakes restaurant. Dimly lit and atmospheric when you make landfall - exposed stone and brick with a bit of varnished wood panelling. Classic ephemera of old pump clips strung up and foreign currency nailed onto the beams; could have done without the tacky Home Bargains style signs though. 70s-esque fake black beams and Artex on the ceiling give you a pretty good clue as to when the place was last refurbished. More modern is the surprisingly contemporary rear garden area. One old fella behind the bar not taking any bantz from the American tourists and their English guide and he didn’t say much to me either. Three pumps with two ales on, Adnams Ghostship and Wantsum Bitter with the third taken up by a local cider. My Wantsum was in good shape (NBSS 3.5). This one really is a Dover must-visit.

An easy to miss cellar bar under a restaurant and B&B in a Georgian terrace, Blakes has a well-deserved reputation for quality ales and is a GBG regular. There are flagstone floors throughout, and there are stairs at the back leading up to the garden. The staff are very friendly and knowledgeable, a couple of the locals were hostile but I put that down to in-breeding. The atmosphere was calm overall, and the tv screen was switched off. Six ales on, 3 from gravity fed casks, this time I had a pint of Cottage Brewing's MGA which was a truly excellent pint. Well worth finding and an essential part of a town crawl.