The Real Ale Way, Westerham

Conveniently positioned on the main road through Westerham, this is a typical shop converted micropub and the sister venue to the pub of the same name in Hayes. The set-up is nothing you won’t have seen before – a basic rectangular room with modern floorboards, plain painted walls and nice shop-style front window bays with high backed settles in them. Another such settle runs down the right-hand wall, with some floral print padding and a load of scatter cushions doing their best to make it a bit comfier. A drinking ledge to the rear has a few bar stools along its length, as does a similar ledge on the left, net to the bar, and should all these seating options be taken, a staircase leads up to a first floor snug, which has a few more seats, a dartboard and a selection of board games, although I didn’t explore properly myself. The servery is in the rear left corner and has a wood panelled counter and some simple shelving on the bar back, next to a door to the taproom where all of the beers are poured straight from the barrel. The whole room has been decorated with a selection of old photographs, a pyramid of mini-kegs to the rear plus a few posters for various upcoming live music evenings. They had an impressive six ales on the go when I turned up as the first customer of the day – Kent Black Gold and Quiet American, Nelson Trafalgar Bitter, Wantsum Golgotha, Larkins Pale Ale and a house beer called Traditional Ale, which may have also been a Larkins brew. Boards listed a wide cider range as well, but I plumped for a pint of the Black Gold which cost me £4.00 and was in good nick. The barmaid was very friendly and helpful, if seemingly a bit ditzy, having to leave me and one other punter to keep an eye on the pub whilst she ran off to get something from her car. This is a decent enough micropub which benefits from seemingly being able to keep a decent selection of ales on the go without compromising on quality. It’s a bit basic in terms of presentation and could’ve done with there being more than just the one other punter on my Saturday afternoon visit, as I can imagine it works better with a bit of a crowd. Nevertheless, I liked the place and thought it was a good addition to Westerham’s pub scene.