The Lamplighter, St Helier

Very much the traditional pub inside reminiscent of those in London in particular. Plenty of ales on offer, covering Liberation, Young's, Hobgoblin and Whitstable. Beavertown gets a couple of taps and Mahon one. A huge number of whiskies are advertised, though food is not. I sampled a couple of Liberation cask offerings and enjoyed both. So far as I can ascertain, all pubs in Jersey have music playing and The Lamplighter is no exception, though it's background enough not to be intrusive. Worth a visit for the the traditional pub interior and range of ales, even if there's nothing to get the pulse racing.

This is a cracking traditional pub with a fine decorative façade just a short walk from Liberation Square. Upon arrival, be sure to stand across the road to check out the bold colours of the exterior which includes a large statue of Britannia and long garlands of fruit strung between ornate pillars. You enter into a cosy front bar, carpeted throughout and with chunky timbers along the ceiling and around much of the room and some incongruous Six nations rugby flags in the front windows. The servery appears midway into the pub on the right-hand wall and has a nice tongue and groove panelled counter front with a pewter top. The red painted bar back has been decorated with some disparate items including pub t-shirts and a list of armagnacs available at the bar. Banquette, low stool and chair seating to the front and left provides the majority of the seating options, although some sofas can also be found to the right beneath an impressive display case full of whisky. The room, which is already pretty cramped, narrows drastically at the point it passes the servery, creating quite a pinch point, although space has still been set aside for some high tables and stools along the left-hand wall, directly opposite the bar’s hop-lined canopy. Moving towards the rear room, you pass what looks like an excellent selection of pies and scotch eggs in a cabinet on the bar, before the room opens out again into another compact rear section that looks like a mix between a lounge and dining room. Another banquette runs down the left-hand wall beneath a large board detailing the pub’s specials, and on around the back wall which has a huge TV screen mounted on it showing live rugby union – one of several such screens that seem to have helped draw in a large early evening crowd. In fact, the staff were also all wearing Six Nations shirts and more flags could be seen elsewhere around the pub, so perhaps sport, or at least rugby in particular, is a key feature here. The whole pub has a huge collection of tankards hung from the ceiling beams, with pump clips filling in the spaces between, all further enhancing the pub’s traditional ale house feel. On the bar, there was the widest ale range I found anywhere on the island, with options on this visit comprising Wadworth Dirty Rucker, White Rock Guernsey Loosehead, Wychwood Dirty Tackle and Hobgoblin and Fullers Swing Low and Seafarers, with a final handpull out of action and seven real ciders also listed on the beer board. My pint of the Guernsey Loosehead was in good shape and served up by one of the very efficient and friendly bar staff. This was by far my favourite pub from my time spent on Jersey and it seems to be the best regarded ale house by the local’s too. It does have its drawbacks, in that the place can get rammed if there is a big match being screened, the beer range includes a few mediocre picks and the back room feels a little food-orientated, but beggars can’t be choosers and I’d make this my first port of call the next time I’m in St Helier.

The Lamplighter is an L-shaped pub with lounge seating at the front and standard seating up the left wall to the rear. It was very busy in here during a recent Tuesday evening visit and it was tricky to get to the bar which was lined with people sitting on bar stools. I counted four televisions that were showing Championship play-off football. This was muted in favour of some background music. I counted nine hand pumps, although eight cask ales and four real ciders were advertised so I probably missed some. At the rear of the pub is a chalkboard that lists a huge selection of whiskies. This pub is a must visit for real ale fans.

Deservedly renown as the best place for cask beer on the island and an excellent traditional pub in all other respects too. The interesting decorative work high on the façade, together with the hanging baskets lower down, immediately inspire interest; and the front bar and rear dining room are just what you would expect. Up to eight real ales - mostly from Liberation (including the seasonal Cutback) / Butcombe range and also guests from the likes of Wadworth - and four ciders available from a total of 12 handpumps.