Ship Inn, Preston, Paignton

The Ship Inn is part of the Sizzling Pubs brand so pub grub is served all day and there are various meal deals that make the reasonably priced food even cheaper. My visit was on a recent Sunday evening when there was a large crowd gathering around a couple of card tables to the left of the pub. I later learned that Sundays are when the weekly cash poker evenings are held and there is also league poker on Tuesday evenings. Other events held throughout the week are the Monday quiz and live music on Saturday nights. The left of the pub can be compared to a public bar with a pool table and dartboard. The right hand side was being used by dining families and children are permitted in both seating areas either side of the thin bar, but not in the bar itself. Standard draught was available and the three hand pumps were drawing Tribute (x2) and Doom bar. Outside the front of the pub are a few picnic tables and a covered smoking area. I found the service to be friendly and surprisingly for this chain I would pop back in just for a beer if passing.

This nice old former hotel is now a mainly food led pub that is part of the Sizzling Pub Company which in turn is owned by Mitchell’s and Butlers. The interior is one long open plan room with a small central bar counter against the back wall opposite the entrance, a public bar area on the left, a dining lounge on the right and a larger eating area up a staircase which is in the lounge. The bar area has a pool table, dart board and two large flat screen TV’s on the walls. The lounge has two levels and a couple of high booths. The décor is a mix of nice traditional timber beams (which look authentic as the building does appear to have some age) and crap modern arty vases and lamps. We just popped in for a drink so we didn’t try the food or see the upstairs eating area fully. Ales on offer during this brief visit were Green King Abbot Ale, Wells Bombardier and St Austell Tribute (Cask Marque). All fairly safe bets but they were all well kept. The landlord obviously knows what they are doing so it’s a shame there isn’t a more interesting selection from a couple of small local breweries. I have been to a few Sizzling pubs and I usually find them a bit tacky and poor quality so I wasn’t expecting much, but this one seemed a slightly better standard and the beer was very good. One of the nicer pubs in the Preston area of Paignton, I would certainly recommend it for a drink and the food was cheap but I cannot comment on its quality.