The Prince Rupert, Newark

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.

A most beautiful restoration of a Wealden House,originally transported here in deconstructed form from the Weald of Kent many centuries ago.All the original tudor features remain and the interior has retained a multi room layout.The corridor from the front door leads on the right to a square room with a large bench seat around two sides,wooden tables and chairs and many paintings and prints of Nelson.To the left is a quarry tiled front lounge with a small atrium beyond.To the otherside of the staircase to the first floor is a small room with the bar extending along the far wall ,around the corner leads back under the staircase. There is an open view kitchen beyond the atrium and past the entrance to the lavs is a small courtyard with a few tables.Some of the best tudor features are on the first floor with the two front rooms over looking the street quite magnificent,while the third back room was more utilitarian but provides overflow seating. There are two focusses here,real ale and top quality food.On the ale front there was a fine selection from leading micro brewers such as Blue Monkey 99 Red Baboons,Oakham Bishops Farewell,Hardknott Cold Fusion and beers from Thornbridge and Holden's.All pints sunk by the crew were in fine form.This was supplemented on our trip by a beer festival featuring a wide range from Abbeydale,but this proved not so hot with my Absolution rather warm and not in top condition.I stuck with the handpumped ales after that. We didn't eat but plenty of others were and the dishes looked and smelt good.Diners can sit anywhere yet as the evening wore on drinkers were in the majority,especially in the "Nelson" room. You could say that with pints £3+ this place is pricey as is the food but if it's quality you want,I am prepared to pay that price.By far the best pub I have ever been to in Newark,this place would always be my first and probably last port of call.Excellent.

I was really looking forward to this pub on our crawl round Newark. The web site looks good and it was recommended by a bar maid in the Newcastle. Oh dear, what a dissappointment. When we arrived there were just 3 beers on tap, one of which was a hideous Vanilla Pale Ale. Our party of 8 managed just 5 pints before both of the remaining brews ran out, leaving us with no option but to tackle the San Francisco Steam Bitter from the Keg pumps. Beautifully decorated inside and out, this place seems to cater mainly for pizza loving diners and not really to hardened ale drinkers. Maybe we just caught it on a bad day.

Formerly called the Woolpack this historic building dates back to around 1452 and has been lovingly restored to its origional condition. Serving a nice selection of great real ales and with many rooms it is a great venue to dine out of sample some great ales from a rotating selection, kept in great condition too!