Yard of Ale, Broadstairs

This micro pub has a really rustic, rural feel to it, thanks to its unconventional setting in a converted outbuilding that looks like an old stable block. Inside, a brick floor, exposed stone walls and a gabled ceiling are all retained to good effect, whilst features such as a lit stove in the front left corner helped make the place feel remarkably homely given its former use. Some high drinking ledges lined with bar stools extend out into the room from the rear wall whilst additional seating is available in the form of padded pews along the front and left walls, best utilised to make the most of the aforementioned stove, which is very much needed in this cold building. There’s a small servery over to the right with a basic counter and several casks racked up in a fridge-style unit on the bar back. The room has been decorated with loads of pump clips, which liberally line the ceiling beams alongside various agricultural tools and other such associated items such as saddles and horse brasses. Boards on the rear wall list all the beer and cider options as well as a few bar snacks (home-made Scotch eggs took pride of place at the end of the bar), and a few seats are also available in a pleasant little courtyard outside. There were four cask ales available from the ‘fridges’ – Gadds Rye Pale Ale, Sambrooks Junction, Iron Pier Perry Street Pale and North Down Muggy Porter – plus a couple of keg lagers and a wide selection of ciders. My Perry Street Pale was in very good shape and my other half tried one of the local ciders which was also on top form. The barman seemed friendly enough and the locals offered a friendly farewell as we left. This is a nice twist on the usual shop-converted micro pub, offering a pleasant, rural-feeling environment in an interesting old building. There was a nice ambiance even early on in the day and it seemed like a cosy spot to settle down in, especially if you can bag one of the comfier pews to the front and left. Probably my favourite micro-pub from our crawl around the local area.

This place is something different. I was expecting the usual shop conversion so wondered where on earth it could be as I approached. I saw the sign and then discovered it's through a garden gate and is an old flint building set in a small hollow. As noted below it was originally a stable and is accessed via the partly decked patio. Inside it's a single room with a small bar counter to the right with a sliding door glass chilled cabinet behind for the beers and ciders. It's a proper micropub with no music or TV and nothing in the way of keg beers or speciality spirits. There's a wood burning stove but apart from that it's the original stable with a few bits of pub furniture added. Obviously the horses have been relocated. There were already a few locals in when I arrived just after midday on a Saturday. There were four beers available, Gadds' Green Hop, Dark Conspiracy & No 7 and Northdown Hebru IPA. I went for the Green Hop and the Hebru both at £3.00 and both excellent. I thought this was a quirky and excellent micropub and it's highly recommended.