The Peterboat, Old Leigh, Leigh-On-Sea

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Pub SignMan left this review about The Peterboat

We visited this large seafront pub in the height of summer on a gloriously hot day, so saw it at what I assume is the absolute limit of its capacity. You enter into a bare boarded main bar area with the servery in an L-shape along the back wall, slightly to your right. The bar has been designed to look like a boat, with masts, port-holes and other such quirky features, all under a nice hop-lined canopy and fairly dull bar back. Opposite, there is a spacious carpeted seating area which opens on through to a conservatory-style space beyond, where smart tables and chairs have been set up specifically to accommodate diners. Passing down the left-hand side of the bar, the room opens out a little into a couple of smartly apportioned areas with comfy seating, upmarket décor, nice leaded windows and old brick fireplaces. This space has signage referring to it as the Peterboat Restaurant, but seemed no more or less food-oriented than the rest of the pub. Pop music was playing in the background for the duration of our visit and as you might expect on such a sunny day, the place was awash with kids and dogs who were causing chaos around the packed bar area. The pub’s standout feature (in the summer at least) is the huge tarmacked garden area (seemingly a former car park) to the side of the building, which is jam-packed full of picnic tables, including a raised section along the sea wall which looks out directly over the water. The garden has lots of bright flowers around the side of the pub and in a few planters, limited umbrellas for a spot of shade and a small booth serving ice creams, hot dogs and a limited selection of drinks. Thankfully, table service is provided out here, so it’s not necessary to trek back into the packed bar to order your fish & chips.
The bar area was so packed, I may have missed a few ales, but I did spot Belhaven Talisk, St Edmunds and Georges Ale, Leigh Six Little Ships and something called ‘The Endeavour’ from an unknown brewery. Due to a mix up with my order, I ended up with Belhaven Time IPA on keg, which turned out to be very drinkable in such hot weather. We also had some food here and found the portion sizes very large, with prices perhaps reflecting the touristy nature of their location.
Despite the crazy crowds that saw us sat at the far end of the garden in what felt like a different postcode to the pub, I enjoyed our visit here and thought the beer range and food both merited recommendations. It remains to be seen whether I’d feel the same sat in the bar area on a cold Winter’s evening, but as a summer destination pub, it was an enjoyable, if somewhat manic, experience.

On 13^th November 2019 - rating: 7
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