Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

First Pub review of 2021 :-)

Perfect spot by the Thames, with a large garden, where they have installed an outside bar and an outside kitchen.

Plenty of staff milling around - so service was prompt but not necessarily effecient.

The beer: A choice of Doombar or Otter. Unfortunately served in plastic glasses - which I felt was unnecessary.

The food: Expensive. I ordered a steak and it was served with just fries, on a paper plate and get this - with a wooden knife and fork.

I asked the waitress if she could get me a steak knife - and get this. She said No!

I asked her to fetch the manager or someone who could make a reasonable decision and she said she would and then buggered off!

I'm sure these are teething problems but left me feeling that I didnt receive value for money.

They need to rethink the disposable serving ware.

Covid update - reopened post lockdown, for takeaway or for drinking in the tiny courtyard at the back. Not much room for swinging a cat but the intimacy made for a proper pub experience. Lively banter and 4 excellent ales on, this was everything I have missed about pubs, you’ll have to get in early to secure a seat though.

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as good as a pub gets really. friendly, totally traditional inside, a bit worn around the edges, two Titanic ales on the bar, beer blackboard completely out of date. loved it...

A good start to post-lockdown drinking, it was good news to find this pub open at lunchtime, albeit with a few restrictions. It supposedly has 13th Century roots, though these are not easy to see. It may have been used as a coaching inn, and the courtyard layout supports this. Inside, there are bars both sides. On the left as you enter from the high street is normally a saloon and dining room, the other side a public bar with pool table and darts. There is a more comfortable lounge bar at the rear, and a skittle alley which doubles as a function room. Passing through to the rear, there is a paved terraced yard with plenty of seating, some of it covered by a high canvas roof supported by columns which also support large infra red heaters. Most of the yard is usable by smokers. There was only one ale on, Doombar, which was in good condition. The staff were pleasant and welcoming, and there was a strong local contingent in. I’d be very happy to revisit, hopefully when restrictions are over and they have more ale on.

Shepherd Neame pub in a great location right by the beach, with the wooden picnic tables in the front beer 'garden' sitting on the shingle. Also has a bit more seating on the the narrow front terrace and in the sheltered rear patio area which has some additional tables of different sizes. On a splendid spring day, almost everybody would have been eating and drinking outside anyway (even without the Covid-19 restrictions) so I was only able to take a passing glimpse of the relatively compact, refurbished interior when passing through to reach the back. Two of four handpumps in use, dispensing Spitfire and Whitstable Bay Pale (£4.50, and in great shape).

Glad to finally be able to add a photo of The Corngreaves Hotel. This was taken in 1979.