Ship Inn, Pentraeth

Beautiful old whitewashed buildings - several knocked together to form the pub. Bar to the left, completely unused, with a sign directing you to the right. Very narrow bar with seats blocking access but once fighting through, service was swift. Timothy Taylor Landlord Spotted amongst a house brew - Kenneally's. All was going well until i got the bill for the pint (£4.40 - OK, I can live with that) but the three cokes - where 8 of the 16 ounces was ice - was a rip off at £3.05 each. This is more than a pint in my local. My incredulity soon got other talking and I had ten minutes of sharing horror stories. The girls charged £7.95 for a glass of cava, probably had the worst battle scars. So, not sure what to say - great looking pub, fine pint, felt utterley ripped off by the experience. Visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2Oc70HO

Occupying an envious location on Anglesey’s east coast shoreline is The Ship Inn. It’s a fine traditional country style inn that is on Anglesey’s picturesque coastal footpath. A typical white washed exterior has a central entrance with a room on either side. The main bar is on the right hand side and features a number of traditionally and comfortably furnished adjoining carpeted areas. The walls are decorated with various prints and photographs on a nautical theme, including a number of photographs and oil paintings of the pub itself. Pleasingly, and unusually in my book, customers with dogs are restricted to one specific area only. Families with children under 12 must use the room on the left of the central entrance which, for some unknown reason, has a brass nameplate on the door denoting “H Jones – dentist”. This is a smaller and slightly more basic room, but here we see a fine collection of pumpclips on the beamed ceiling. Upstairs is a dedicated restaurant area, which appears to be only open for private functions and on Saturday evenings when we are promised “full table service at candlelit linen clothed tables” Outside, reflecting the pub’s reputation and its evident status as a destination pub, is a large car park. There’s the usual picnic style tables at the front and side of the pub which afford splendid views across the bay to south east Anglesey. On the wall, we see the date AD 1751, which makes the pub either 260 or 270 years old, depending on which laminated menu you happen to pick up from the bar counter. On the edge of the car park, in front of the pub, we see an old clothes wringer. At some stage, it looks as though the pub has been extended into the cottage next door on the right. It’s clearly a destination pub and, on my recent Saturday lunchtime visit towards the end of September, it appeared that half the population of Anglesey had come here, despite the rather cloudy and overcast conditions. We learn that the pub has been owned by the Kenneally Family since 1971 who, according to a Beatle City map on the upstairs wall, previously ran a restaurant in Liverpool. Perhaps not surprisingly, food is a major part of the trade with a good range of meals at prices which reflect the pub’s popularity. As well as CAMRA Good Beer Guide stickers, the front door displays stickers that reflect the pub’s inclusion in most of the main pub / restaurant guides. On my visit, the catch of the day – Boozy Bass – sea bass in beer batter, was proving polular. Whilst it’s not a drinkers pub, beer is evidently taken seriously here with 5 pumps serving Adnams, Tetleys and Conwy Brewery Rampart ( 4.5% ) which, according to the tasting notes on a blackboard above the bar, is a full flavoured dark malty ale. It turned out to be a fine pint in excellent condition. Some brewery memorabilia would suggest that The Ship Inn was formerly a Marstons pub. It’s now a free house and has been a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular. According to its website, it’s the only pub on Anglesey with Cask Marque accreditation, not that I put much store on this fact. You’ll need your own transport to get here – I didn’t see anything to suggest it’s on a bus route and it’s a couple of miles down a narrowish country road off the main road. I think it’s well worth making an effort to seek this one out.

Excellent old pub by quay at sea's edge, although concentrating on food especially at busy times. Seems very well run and has a separate room for families and people in wet suits (!?). Beers include local ales and some from further afield, while the impressive food includes range of fresh fish - not cheap though. Outside tables couldn't get much closer to the water (except when the tide is out).