Henry's Bar, Paignton

Looks a bit like a fake Wetherspoon's in a downmarket Spanish resort from the street. However, once inside the arcaded entrance with its covered seating area, you find something completely different: an attractive, well-maintained, traditional-style, single-room pub. With four of the five handpumps in use, the beer choice was Doom Bar, Dartmoor Jail Ale (£4.60), Exmoor Gold and a cider. Good Beer Guide 2025 listed.

Has the look of a tacky seaside chip and lager house but inside its still themey in a pirate type way but comfortable and the beer is actually good and there is some care here. on the strip from the station to the beach

Official site of Henry's Bar - www.henrysbarpaignton.co.uk

Official site of Henry's Bar - www.henrysbarpaignton.co.uk

Not 100 miles off looking like a JDW from the outside decal. Inside, it goes back further than you would expect from the narrow exterior. Quirky interior. Bar to left, seating going down the length. Small patio area out front. Dartmoor Jail Ale in good condition. GBG 2022 entry and lets hope it stays. Will cost them a fortune to change the signage.

Situated on the main drag from the beach to the station, this place looks like yet another tacky seaside bar on first appearance, but once inside, you find yourself in a very smartly presented pub that must be one of the nicest places to settle down for a few drinks in this part of town. The pub has a relatively narrow, but deep interior with a nice carpeted front seating area offering tables and chair to the left and a number of wide, U-shaped banquette booths down the right-hand wall. The bar appears midway along the left-hand side of the room and has a nice wood panelled counter with curved ends, under a matching canopy which has been covered with blackboards listing various food and drink deals. The U-shaped booths continue opposite the bar, before turning into standard back-to-back booths further along, each with some lovely stained glass partitioning screens between them. The seating options are rounded out by a final long button backed bench to the rear left, which also has some stained glass above it. The whole pub has been quite liberally decorated with high quality breweriana, including a lot of cool beer adverts and brewery mirrors, plus an old pub sign. Elsewhere, TV screens were showing muted daytime TV, which happened to be an episode of Lingo – the TV gameshow equivalent of Wordle – whilst R&B tunes played fairly quietly in the background. There was a good mix of locals and tourists in attendance, which gave the pub a nice atmosphere, without ever getting too busy, unlike the nearby Wetherspoons. There are five handpulls on the bar, one of which was out of action when I arrived, leaving a choice between Sharps Doom Bar and Doom Bar Extra Chilled(!), Otter Bright and a Sam’s cider. I couldn’t bring myself to order a Doom Bar Extra Chilled, even if it sounds like it might mitigate the flavour problem of that particular beer, so opted instead for a half of the Bright (£1.75), which was in good shape and served to me by a friendly, no-nonsense barmaid. I didn’t have very high hopes for this place, but found it was the best of the four pubs I visited in Paignton, thanks to a very nicely presented interior, well-kept beer and cheery service. The ale selection might be a limiting factor for those hoping to enjoy a longer session here, but this is definitely worth a look for anyone passing through the town.