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Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 15th June 2025) with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Prince of Ales, Gillingham
Rainham
Postal town: Gillingham
ME8 8AN
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 9 of 10) see review guidelines
Quinno _ left this review about Prince of Ales
First of the day's numerous Medway Micros. It’s wood heavy and it has an alehouse feel, with the seating put together nicely including a couple of booth-like structures. Interior sports a plethora of old pump clips and lots of old local black and white photos. No bar so it’s table service, which the locals in situ were quick to inform me of and the old boy serving was over in a flash. Four cask with a good range and 10 ciders, my Magpie Best was off stillage and was in good nick, if not a brew I much rated (NBSS 3.5). Plenty of middle-aged male banter firmly rooted in the 70’s school of humour. I enjoyed my stop and was my pub of the day in a trip encompassing Rainham, Gillingham, Chatham and Strood. I’d make a point of going back.
On 28th August 2024
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5589 recommendations about 5570 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Prince of Ales
Decent micro-pub in a small converted shop unit, with a couple of rustic booths and a little elevated bench seating in the same light wood. Decor is a mix of pump clips, other breweriana and some local history photographs. No counter, so all cask beers are normally dispensed by gravity from stillages in the cool room at the back, although there is also a wall-mounted handpump near the door which may be used occasionally. Four real ales available when I visited: three from Kent - Musket Brewery's Ball Puller, Hazelnut Porter from Four Candles (£3.60) and the Kent Brewery 6% Green Giant - plus Swannay Island Hopping all the way from Orkney.
On 30th November 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8733 recommendations about 8733 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Prince of Ales
Ticks a lot of the correct boxes this micropub. We found the locals on our Sunday lunchtime visit to be most welcoming and we stayed a lot longer than anticipated. There was no bar as such, so the table service was well received. This was a pure ale drinkers paradise with no gin or prosecco, a choice of two ciders along with a choice of three cask beers. The ale menu read Mad Cat Crispin Pale Ale, Canterbury Knights Ale and Kent Breakfast Oatmeal Stout. A cheese selection and biscuits was nicely received on this visit and we were encouraged to tuck in. A very good painting of the Mona Lisa holding a pint of beer, painted by a local artist can be spotted along the lobby near the cold room.
On 9th June 2018
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3684 recommendations about 3684 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about Prince of Ales
A former shop which until recently was used by the Post Office next door, this micro opened on 12 Mar 16. It consists of a single bar with fixed wooden tables and chairs, and there is a tiny yard at the back for smokers. The floor is also new wooden flooring. No bar counter, just a cellar room with windows so you can see the stillage. No food apart from crisps, though there is an intention to introduce sandwiches later. There are no electronic distractions, apart from WiFi, and no plans to introduce any. Dogs and children are not permitted. Five ales on gravity at any one time, I had pints of Goacher's Fine Light Ale, Best Dark Ale and House Ale, plus Nelson's IPA, Spitting Feathers's Special Ale and Whitstable Oyster Stout. Two ciders were also on, but time didn't allow. All the ales were in perfect condition, the joint-landlords were extremely hospitable and the pub's first day was a tremendous success. An important addition to Rainham's real ale scene and one to which I shall certainly return, though it currently doesn't plan to open on Mondays.
On 16th March 2016
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3547 recommendations about 3511 pubs]