The Three Pillars, Gravesend

Horrific entrance outside and steep steps down to the bar and, with the bar area at the back propped up with locals it wasn't a good start. But its a nice cavern room, well set out and is friendlier than you first believe and good beer

I didn’t realise that the Three Pillars is a cellar bar, so I walked past it up and down Wrotham Road a couple of times before standing across the road staring at the two pillars by the entrance of the Masonic Hall like befuddled Freemason wondering where the third pillar had gone. I was about to give up when I saw an A-board sign down the side of the Hall literary with an arrow on it pointing at the word downstairs, this I understood! The stairs lead down to a couple of carpeted front seating areas and beyond is a brick floored bar where a serving counter across the rear faces high tables and stools. This is a cosy bar with lots of pump clips and beer related thing on the walls and ceilings, and I also spotted a couple of football shirts from local lower league teams. I didn’t see a television, but there was some old rock background music playing. I went for a pint of Kent Brewery’s Old Skool, but the governor returned from the barrel room to the left to inform me that it had gone, so I went for a DV-8 Breakfast Stout. This was a bit sweet for me, in fact this is the third time I’ve had a Breakfast Stout, and they’ve all been a bit sweet… I should probably stop ordering them. Another offering from Kent Brewery was available, One In the Wood, and the fourth and fifth hand pumps were drawing Two by Two Brewing’s Snake Eyes and Gadds’ Ramsgate Brewery’s SeaSider. There was a good atmosphere, especially for a Wednesday evening, so I’d have no issue returning, but be aware that it is cash only.

Facebook page of The Three Pillars - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Three Pillars - www.facebook.com

This was intended to be my first pub of the day but having got to the door saw a sign saying cash only which sent me back in the direction I came from looking for an ATM, deciding to come back at the end of the day if time permitted I'm glad that was the case and was easily the best of the day. Another basement micro I entered a buzzing and vibrant room full of chatter, added to the choice of six cask from gravity along with three ciders and some decent background music it made a decent Gravesend finale being only five minutes from the station. I would certainly return to this one.

This is a slightly unusual micro pub located in a series of small rooms through the basement of the town’s Masonic Hall. A pretty steep flight of steps leads down into a simple, carpeted seating area which has a mix of high tables and stools and more conventional tables and chairs under whitewashed brick walls decorated with lots of old black and white photos, many of which seemed to depict former pubs from around the local area. The toilet door is to the right and has been painted to look like the door to an old red phone box, complete with an old phone box door handle. To the left there’s a tidy little side room through a pair of etched glass doors, which offers a few more tables and chairs and has a nice, large display cabinet on the end wall as a focal point. Moving through to the brick floored rear room, you pass through a small anteroom with enough space for a single high table and a couple of stools under an impressive, colourful mural and a ceiling painted with fake cracks and missing plaster, into the main bar area. The dark wood servery is along the rear wall and seating comes mainly in the form of high stools and benches, including some around a centrally positioned pillar. The bar canopy has been liberally covered with old pump clips as you might expect from such an establishment, whilst beer boards to the left detail the full range. All of the locals had congregated in this room and the radio was audible but not particularly intrusive. I only paid attention to the cask ale range, which comprised Gadds Best Bitter and She Sells Seashells, Evil Thieves Angels & Demons, Mighty Oak Old Man And The Sea and one from the Musket Brewery that I forgot the name of. However, there appeared to be some craft keg on the bar as well as real cider and wine options. The landlord was very friendly, greeting me warmly on arrival and then stopping at my table for a chat after I’d settled down. My pint of the Old Man And The Sea was in excellent condition – my first truly great pint of cask ale this year. I really liked the feel of this place, which benefited from being able to repurpose the Masonic Hall’s existing bar, creating a nice, intimate environment that stands out from the slew of shop-converted micro pubs that predominate the scene. The friendly welcome and tip-top condition beer meant that I stayed here longer than anticipated and had there not been other nearby pubs to check out, I might well have considered sampling the entirety of their range. A great pub to enjoy my first indoors pint of 2021 in.

Three room mini-pub somewhat hidden away in the cellars beneath the Masonic Hall. It could be a gloomy arrangement, but the decor is mostly light so rather more appealing inside than the initial descent of the narrow external steps might suggest. Plenty of room for a counter, but no handpumps used so all real ales served on gravity from the cool room. I went for the local Gravesend Shrimpers (£3.00) but there was a decent selection of five other beers in a range of styles.