The Pippin, Maidstone

Awful was the first word that came to mind when we entered. A large GK pub as described by others, below, whose customer base seems to be the younger element with plenty of spare cash. It had a shufl board which was being abused by sub-teen children, gaming machines which stood idle, and hazardous wooden stakes trying fruitlessly to form a formal entrance. The barmaid had never heard of CAMRA, so the manager explained it, but she still thought it was the volume of beer that was discounted rather than the price. Old Speckled Hen and Greene King IPA were on draught, plus there were 4 boxes of Lilley’s cider on the bar. In addition they sold Cruzcampo, Estrella, Guinness, Noretti, Amstel, Madri, Peroni, Old Mout, Inch’s Cider, Hazy Daze, Level Head, Jubel, Paulaner and 2 from Sierra Nevada. All the bad bits of a rough estate pub but without the charm or conviviality, so I shan’t be revisiting.

The Pippin is a large Greene King pub that is located about a ten minute walk from Maidstone Town centre. This is a food led pub so there is a large car park at the rear. Outside the front of the pub are lots of picnic tables so I imagine that this pub gets busy in the summer. The interior is made up by a conservatory type area at the front of the pub where there is some seating. This area was populated with some mothers with buggies during my recent weekday lunchtime visit. Beyond this front seating area is a bar that is found along the left hand wall. This faces some high tables that run down the centre of the pub and along the right hand wall are two raised seating areas. The rear of the pub is extensive and was being used as a dining area by several groups of student age people. The bar is stocked with standard and premium draught products and I counted three hand pumps. The Old Golden Hen was off leaving IPA and a house beer called Pippin as the ale options. The food available is standard pub grub and the mains start at around £7. I didn’t spot any televisions, but there was some background music playing. This pub has a late license until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Wifi access is available. I found the service from the young staff to be polite, but I’m not sure that this pub is worth the trek from the town centre for a revisit.