The Pilchard Inn, Kingsbridge

A rather enthusiastic review below, for which I am prone to. The deposit system is still applied, still £2 and a bit of a farce. It opens at 10am and due to trying to beat the rain on a walk, I was at the door bang on opening. No apologies. I was explained the system and promised to bring back a PLASTIC cup - but was told rules is rules. The Dartmoor Legend was not pulled through and a hazy mess was dumped into the glass. Taking it back for the £2 to be returned to the card, required a 10 minute waits. There was one bar staff, making half a dozen coffees for the only other punters. I cannot imagine what a Pain in the backside this system would be at peak times. Still, the location, approach, history and views make it a special place. Hence the high rating for poor beer and a poor beer experience.

Official site of The Pilchard Inn - www.burghisland.com

Official site of The Pilchard Inn - www.burghisland.com

A classic pubby experience - either walking across the sand if the tide is out, or getting the Sea Tractor. Pub sign emblazoned with 1366 - with this the oldest pub in Devon. A wonderful beer garden and a low ceiling, maritime paraphenalia interior. Incredibly popular when the sun is shining and we were lucky to get a table. Unsure if this is a permanent feature or a covid response - but its a bit of a pain in the arse getting charged a £2 deposit on a plastic glass - which you then have to claim back when you return. You can imaging how many people are taking advantage of the facilities when its 22 degrees in September. Not going to let this put me off a wonderful revisit after 25 years. It was 1995 when I was last in here, with my dad. Hope its not another 25 when I return.

Small 2/3 roomed pub with old wooden sign depicting a pilchard and the date 1336, also printed in bold on the whitewashed stone exterior if you approach from the beach. The ‘Front Bar’, it should be mentioned, has a small sign at the door indicating hotel guests & regulars only, which is unfortunate, but I don’t know how actively that is enforced and can’t say that I noticed any ‘us & them’ atmosphere last Sun/Mon, although there should have been service cover for both sides to avoid the log-jam that a couple of large rounds created. Front Bar has studded wood stable door, old stone fireplace with heavy wooden lintel & open wood burning grate, cobbled floor by fire otherwise slate tiles, low beamed ceiling, old curved wood settle & a scatter of tables & chairs, a stuffed hawk is displayed in a recessed glass case and lanterns & ship’s wheel lend character. A little snug to the side has one table, settles & chairs and bar servery. Slipway Bar, whilst admittedly less atmospheric, is served by the same central servery, has higher beamed ceiling, low window settles, 6 tables, blackboard announcing soup & baguettes and, contrary to an article I heard about in the Kingsbridge & Salcombe Gazette, a bar (not a serving hatch) with more footage than that of the Front Bar. Just outside is a covered smoking area & beyond to a picnic set & barrel table with view over the strip of sand to mainland, below this another 9 picnic sets have similar vista and no ‘roping off’ was evident last week. This was a pretty idyllic spot to sit with a beer in the sunshine waiting for the tide to retreat (sea tractor out of action). The beers are Pilchard Best (which I heard is St Austell Cousin Jack, but couldn’t find that name on StA site) and XSB from South Hams Brewery. The new barman on our day of departure may not be cut out for the pub game but the other guys were good, incl Gary, a star from the hotel. The pub has an upper room which forms extra accommodation for Burgh Island Hotel. (review refers Oct09)