The Bolthole, Welling

Facebook page of The Bolthole - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Bolthole - www.facebook.com

This is a two room micropub, located on a small parade of shops at the far end of Falcolnwood from the train station, and not too dissimilar to several other micropubs in this part of South East London. It's the usual shop conversion format, with bare floorboards, a mix of exposed brick or timber clad walls, big shop windows to the front and a compact servery at the rear. High tables and stools run down both sides of the front room, with a few more stools along the front window sill. The walls have been decorated with a few blackboards listing gins and cocktails, and these additional drink options had clearly helped draw a more diverse crowd on my Saturday evening visit compared to your average, ale focused micropub. The bar has a timber fronted counter, with the handpulls hidden behind a Guinness font at one end. There's also a bare brick bar back with modern metal framed shelving, plus blackboards on the canopy listing various drink prices. A big TV screen on the left-hand wall was switched off in favour of some very quiet background music. A corridor on the right-hand side of the bar leads past the toilets to a rear overspill room, which looked well appointed but was home to large group celebrating some sort of private party, so I didn't venture in properly. There's a pavement-side seating area out the front, with quite a few tables, and a helpful windbreak and shelter for smokers. Once I'd located the handpulls, I had to chose between Dark Star Hophead (£4.50 a pint) and Harvey's Sussex Best, opting for the former, which was in good shape and served to me by one of the friendly bar team. A modest keg range is also available and included beer from Meantime and something from Inchs Cider. Even without the large group in the back room, the place was very busy and I had to perch on a stool under the front window, as no other seats were left. I thought this was a decent enough micropub serving an otherwise sparsely pubbed residential area and commanding a good local following as a result. The cask range is a little limited, but the conditioning was fine and friendly staff made for a welcoming feel, so it's worth a detour to check this place out. Date of visit - 25th November 2023

As micropubs go, this one isn't up to much. Located in a parade of shops, it has a nice feel with a front room, a back room and outdoor seating overlooking a park. The owner also seemed friendly, as were other customers. The layout of the front room is similar to most others in this neck of the woods, with long tables along each wall. It certainly has the feel of a micropub. Where the Bolthole falls down is in its selection of real ales. Just the two are offered and these don't appear to change. Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter & Kent Session Pale is the choice. Neither is there any real cider and even the keg options are fairly mundane. Music plays in the background. Although, it is at least at an acceptable level. So, I don't mind that too much. My Kent Session Pale was in good condition. I'm surprised this has managed to find its way into the Good Beer Guide. The two ales must be consistently good quality. The pub would be much better with at least the one changing guest beer.

Official site of The Bolthole - bolthole-micropub.co.uk

Official site of The Bolthole - bolthole-micropub.co.uk

THey hope to open by December 2019.