The Smugglers Inn, Minehead

A run-down seaside hotel which now has a bar and restaurant in the basement, which are open to non-residents. The building is mid-20th Century and is in a poor state of repair. There is a very tatty garden of sorts, while parking is available on a battered concrete strip which runs alongside the building to a concrete yard at the back. You enter the bar and restaurant either directly from the garden, or as we did, through a sliding door in the foyer down a vertiginous flight of stairs. Once in the basement you find it mainly open plan, with a large chimney breast forming an informal, though very substantial, demarcation between the two areas. The bar is small, has an open fireplace and a suite of comfy chairs as well as a single high table and some bar stools. The restaurant is larger, its furniture being basic cheap wooden tables. The bar counter has 4 handpumps, one of which is dry. The others dispense Bearserker and Nanook from Black Bear Brewery, plus Porlock Weir Cider. The keg choices were Guinness, Alpacalypse, Sharp's Offshore, Thatcher's Gold, Madri and Carling. The young barmaid was quite apathetic, certainly not in her comfort zone when it comes to customer service. There were no other customers in, quite telling given the time and the fact that it's the only pub in the middle of an extensive holiday camp. The ale was in good condition, but it's not worth making a special effort to come here and I doubt I'll be back.

Official site of The Smugglers Inn - www.thesmugglersinn.co.uk

Official site of The Smugglers Inn - www.thesmugglersinn.co.uk