The Pied Bull, Dartford

Originally built in 1612 as a coaching inn, the Pied Bull of today has little remaining that hints at its long history. The interior is a bit of a disappointment with the entrance taking you into the main bar which has a few dark beams but is otherwise fairly bland and formulaic with no real traditional feel. There is a small, angular servery opposite the entrance and a few tables with pew and standard chair seating and some photos of local scenes on the wall as well as various pictures of bulls. As you move to the right hand side of the pub, the room extends further to the rear and this area has been converted to a restaurant space which doesn’t really differ much from the bar area aside from the formal table arrangements. There are a few benches outside the front of the pub as well as a proper garden at the rear. We stopped off here for some food and although the menu initially appeared to be quite pricey, the quality of the food was very good and worth paying a bit extra for. An adjacent building called the Coach House used to be available for private functions, but I understand that the pub no longer offers this facility. There were four handpulls offering regulars Greene King IPA, Adnams Broadside and Young’s Ordinary. A blackboard suggested that a guest ale should be available as well normally, but the fourth pump remained unclipped on our visit. My pint of Broadside was in reasonable condition and I was served by one of several very friendly barmaids. I couldn’t muster much enthusiasm for this place and would have regretted stopping here rather than one of the two other pubs in the village had it not been for the food which, being the main reason for our visit, made it all worthwhile.

Official site of the Pied Bull, contains menus - www.thepiedbull.co.uk

This small but picturesque Kent village has 3 pubs of varying merits but sadly the Pied Bull is for me the most disappointing. The building dates from 1612 although after several alterations and refurbishments, there is little remaining to make its age a selling point. Despite the pretty setting, the pub is actually far more ordinary that it initially appears and like many village pubs, has a big leaning towards dining with an approximate 50/50 split between drinking territory and the diners. I have eaten here and must say the foood and service were very good but the pub really lets itself down on drinks side of things with an extremely bland selection of run of the mill ales (Youngs Ordinary, London Pride, Adnams Broadside and Greene King IPA). The décor tries to conjure up a rural and rustic setting with flagstones around the bar old farm sale posters and and plenty of bull pictures to emphasise the pub name but it is all a bit contrived and underwhelming. A battered piano sits in one corner and looks like it hasn’t turned out a tune since Elton John was still known as Reg. There is a single TV and some quite stale background music and it everything seems far too sanitized and inoffensive that you sometimes want the local effer and blinder to pop in just to give the place a bit of edge. The beer garden is one of the better reasons for a visit and the old coach house (available for hire) is one of the few bits to have remained relatively inscathed by designers and builders. The pub is certainly worth a visit in conjunction with the Lion Hotel and Chequers down the road although curry and quiz fans may want to take advantage of Monday nights when both events run simultaneously. Other than that, it isn’t really worth going too far out of the way for to visit on its own.

Official site of the Pied Bull, contains menus - www.thepiedbull.co.uk