Bear & Ragged Staff, Dartford

I think that this place must have improved considerably since the previous reviewers' visits. but it has suffered from a typical Greene King makeover, with grey painted counter front and some walls, wood that appears distressed and/or reclaimed all over the place, clinical white tiles where there should be a bar back, and of course the tall benches and tall tables that this brewery likes so much. It's all very utilitarian now. But I realise that the majority of people must like these madeover pubs for some reason, because since Greene King got their hands on my local and did a very similar job on it to the one they've done here, it has attracted more customers. However there are some normal tables and chairs, and when my chums and I were in at lunchtime on a Wednesday it was of course pretty quiet and we had no difficulty finding somewhere comfortable to sit. But, unlike a lot of Greene King pubs, there was no guest ale on in here, just their IPA and Abbot. But to be fair, the Abbot was in very good condition and a very reasonable £3.20 a pint after the 10% CAMRA discount had been applied (£3.55 gross). All kinds of meal deals were available, including a deal giving two meals for £10.49. This is a typical Greene King pub, and although being nothing very special, we enjoyed our meal, and the hour or so that we spent in here.

Dreadful place, noisy and full of chavs to be honest. Was once a pleasant pub but has been completely turned over to youth market.