The Greenside, Maybole

Formerly "The Clootie Dumpling," this has now been renamed to reflect its situation, at the side of Maybole’s village green and is also convenient for the nearby railway station. It provided me with a new, if not particularly welcome, drinking experience when I was offered a “Surger Guinness” in response to my request for a pint of the Black Stuff. The barwoman explained that they didn’t sell enough of it to justify having a proper draught supply, so she poured a half litre from a can and then topped it up with a “surge” of foam from what appeared to be a conventional Guinness tap. Actually, it tasted like the genuine article, but, at a cost of £3, I couldn’t help suspecting that I was paying the normal bar price for a can. Aside from this, the proper draught selection consisted of Tennent’s and Fosters lagers, John Smith’s Smoothflow and Strongbow normal cider and Dark Fruit cider. The pub itself consists of one small, square lounge with too much of a domestic living room look to it for my taste. It has one TV screen, several speakers and was obviously being set up for a karaoke session on the early Saturday night I visited.

This is now called The Greenside, under which name I will review it separately.