First & Last, Fant, Maidstone

Quiet backstreet pub to the west of Maidstone town centre. This pub does not open until 4pm during the week. Arriving not too longer after they had opened, a couple of guys having a swift one were already just about to leave, which left just the landlord and ourselves. We were also only staying for a swift one, but enjoyed the time we spent here. It is a fairly simple interior with a few things to admire around the walls. The landlord seemed a fairly friendly chap. Timothy Taylor Boltmaker is the regular beer. We both chose the guest beer, which was Kent The Quiet American. It was well-kept and went down quite nicely.

The First and Last is found in the backstreets of Maidstone West on an acute corner which gives the very cosy interior an odd shape. Despite the small size there is a dartboard to the left of the entrance in what was once a separate small public bar. The saloon bar to the right is now a seating area that is only slightly bigger than the public bar. Some background music was playing during my recent Wednesday afternoon visit when there was a good atmosphere created by the ten or so locals in attendance. There is a plasma screen tucked away at the rear of the pub which was turned off and as far as I know this pub does not show Sky Sports. The bar is stocked with a standard draught selection and I counted three hand pumps. One of these was unused leaving Sharp’s Doom Bar and Timothy Taylor’s Landlord as the ale options. I didn’t see any food advertised. This pub doesn’t open until 16:00 during the week and 14:00 at the weekends. A quiz was advertised for the following night (Thursday) at 20:30, but I’m not sure if this is a regular occurrence. I found the service to be very friendly and if I lived locally I would use this pub often.