The Prince Rupert, Newark

This is an interesting building, with many different rooms on two floors all worth a visit - a little like looking around a museum, apart from the piped pop music in every room. (Lose a rating point straight away, in my book.) The bar is centrally placed in a room of its own, which doesn't really invite drinkers to stay after making their selection. There are five beers on hand pump and a real cider too, with the beer range constantly changing and apparently no regular offering. The pricing policy by abv is noted on a blackboard beside the bar, but can be summarised in one word: expensive. (Luckily it wasn't my round.) Most people at the time of our visit were eating, and we had a quick look at the menu, and just as quickly put it down again. This place may become more pub-like in the evening, as previous reviews suggest, but at the time of our lunchtime visit it was more like a cafe in a museum, that just happens to (quirkily) offer a range of real ales.

You will find it very difficult to fault this pub. Both the interior and exterior are kept to an exremely high standard. We enjoyed our Friday lunch time visit as it wasn't too busy, which gave us a good opportunity to have a good look round the pub from top to bottom. There were six ales on offer on our visit and the St Austell Spring Brew was very refreshing. The food I thought was overpriced for a lunchtime menu. If you wanted the steak pie, you had to pay an extra charge for the veg and extra for chips, which worked out at £15. Pizza was £12 and each topping was extra, hence their lunchtime trade was quiet.

It's a lovely and beautifully restored building this, dating from 1452, with a number of small cosy rooms in which to get quaffing. We didn't eat but the menu looked good and early on Saturday evening plenty were taking advantage. Drinkers took over as the evening wore on and though busy, the atmosphere was friendly helped by Newark's giggly girls and lairy lads enjoying a few drinks. Somehow this mixture of diners and boozers works very well. Beers on were: Hardknott Cool Fusion, Holden's Purple Haze, Thornbridge Jaywick, Blue Monkey 99 Red Baboons and Oakham Bishops Farewell. An excellent selection and everything we wnet for was in very good condition. There were also 6 Abbeydale beers on including Absolution and Deception as a single brewery beer festival. As is often the case, this worked less well than the handpumps as the beer was a touch warm and flat. Nonetheless, there is clearly a commitment to real ale here. An incredibly welcome addition in Newark which has, for so long, lacked a pub serving top quality ale and richly deserving of its GBG 2012 entry. My first, and probably only, stop in Newark.