The Bulls Head, Chislehurst

Pub SignMan left this review about The Bulls Head

This is a large, attractive pub and hotel at one end of the Royal Parade. The facade is covered in some pretty epic climbing plants, which gives it a striking and aged aspect. The pub is split across three areas, with a smart lounge bar to the left, a more basic main bar in the centre and a dining room to the right. The lounge bar is on the hotel side of the building and I was initially unsure if it was for guests only, but I think it's open to all and offers nice, comfy button backed banquettes, tub chairs and the like, in a carpeted space with its own servery down the right-hand wall. I took the safer option, and sat in the main bar, which has some nice old parquet flooring, full height, dark wood wall panels, and a large servery along the back wall. The bar has an impressive, curved, dark wood counter with a brass footrail, simple dark wood gantry and partly modernised bar back with the craft keg fonts in the centre. Seating is almost exclusively high tables and stools, most of which are under large front windows. Various arty photos line the walls and there were a couple of TV screens showing muted live football whilst a dance soundtrack played very quietly in the background. The dining room is through an opened out wall to the right and has simple table and chair seating in a decent space that ticks all the boxes for a hotel dining room. Food that came past looked great and the room was packed by midday on a Sunday afternoon.
On the bar, Youngs Ordinary and Special were joined by the usual guest of St Austell Proper Job at a handsome £3.05 for half a pint. A row of Beaverton craft keg taps ran along the bar back for anyone who felt they weren't being overcharged enough for the cask. The bar staff were a uniformly nice bunch and one barmaid was remarkably happy to declare that the Proper Job was back on when her colleague enquired.
I think for a hotel bar in a slightly self-important place like Chislehurst, this was actually not all that bad and I quite enjoyed my brief stop off here. It's almost certainly going to work better for hotel guests, diners and snobby locals, but as a precursor to the local micropub, it did a decent job and I have no real complaints.

Date of visit - 4th February 2024

On 21^st June 2024 - rating: 6
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