The Coopers Arms, Hitchin

This is a very pleasant traditional looking pub tucked away in the older section of Hitchin a bit away from the town centre. Apparently a McMullen house since 1887, It is still a whitewashed exterior but the pub has recently reopened after being shut for an internal makeover. I cannot comment on what it was like before as this was my first visit to this one, but I get the impression from previous pics that it was a traditional dark beams and Axminster carpet type of place. Well it’s certainly interesting inside now. Proof if I needed it that the McMullens interior design team is still smoking dodgy substances before putting pen to paper. Still ostensibly two linked rooms one being the bar and one being more aligned to dining, but both with an interesting decor. A colour palette from the darker end of the range, someone clearly got fed up with pastel shades here. Now bare wooden floors , dark walls with a collection of interesting artwork and some impressive chandeliers. And good to see that the 17th century mantelpiece carving and ecclesiastic windows from when the building was the home of a wealthy merchant survived the makeover and are now prominent features. The comfortable padded seating all looks new however, as does the well lit modern bar back. The bar front has lots of shiny keg taps on it, including a section with four of McMullens Rivertown keg brewery offshoot. Fortunately still a selection of Macs cask ales and can’t complain about the pint of AK I was served. I took it out into what I guess is a brand new made over courtyard garden with plenty of new light wood garden furniture. Normally I like to slag off Mcmullens design teams for destroying the heritage of their pubs but actually I have to say I liked this one and I thought the makeover worked well and pays homage to the historical features rather than destroying them.

The Coopers Arms is a nice looking pub that is just off Hitchin's town centre. Once inside there is a smart looking room which is carpeted with the bar on the mid left side. The pub is a McMullens tied house so i was well pleased to do it. There are normal tables and chairs to the front,the rear left area is up two steps and is bare boarded with pew seats and and normal tables and chairs. There were four real ales on the bar,i had a drink of McMullens AK,which was a very nice drink,the other MCMullens beers on the bar were Country Bitter,IPA and Citra Pale Ale. There was decent background music playing. I thought this was a very pleasant pub to have a drink in. Pub visited 17/6/2017

Coopers Arms pages at the McMullens site - www.mcmullens.co.uk

Coopers Arms pages at the McMullens site - www.mcmullens.co.uk

Best pub in Hitchin. Great food. Kate and Mike are lovely as are all the staff. Welcoming log fire and beautiful historic surroundings. Cant recommend enough.