Barking Cat Alehouse, Poole

A modern pub with traditional features housed in a former Chinese restaurant. It sort of feels like a micro but is too big to be one, really. There is a large bar at the front and a smaller room behind which houses a pool table and could be used for functions. The conversion happened last year, so the décor is fairly new. The landlord and landlady are friendly and engaging, and they are both experienced and knowledgeable of the brewing trade. The customers fall into 2 categories: ale lovers who make the effort to come here and the indigenous idle who are disappointed to find there is no fosters available and make do with the real ale, cider and craft beers on sale. The pub hosts various events such as Meet the Brewer and home brew gatherings, and it is fast becoming a firm favourite with the local CAMRA branch. There were 8 ales on handpump, 7 ciders and another 5 (I think) beers on pressure pump. Breweries included were Goddards, Bournemouth Brewing Company, Palmers and a couple of smaller ones. All the beers we tried were in excellent condition, as you would expect. A superbly enjoyable pub set to become a firm favourite.