The Marine Hotel, Stonehaven

Official site of the Marine Hotel, contains menus as well as beer, wine and whisky lists - www.marinehotelstonehaven.co.uk

Official site of the Marine Hotel, contains menus as well as beer, wine and whisky lists - www.marinehotelstonehaven.co.uk

This pub used to be called the Border Tavern a few years ago.

Old stone building on the harbour side next door but one to the Ship Inn for a short but high quality pub crawl. Two rooms with little in the way of a dividing wall, the bar counter is to the left with a good collection of changing ales from Inveralmond, Deeside, and Highland plus the mass market Deuchars and Yorkshire interloper Timmy Taylor's Landlord. Good quality European beers from De Konnick, Erdinger, Leffe, Hoegaarden plus two fruit beers, a framboise and a kreik, all on continental style fonts and served in appropriate glassware. British ales are served in lined glasses so don't be fooled into thinking you are getting a short measure. Beer quality is generally good and I had no complaints about the service. Décor is tongue and groove in the bar and stone walled with fishing boat stuff in the area to the right, the furniture here is quite posh pine tables and chairs and is more of an eating area. There are also converted pews with integral lights! Customers in this part seemed to be a mix of middle aged local diners or outdoors type tourists, the atmosphere being a sort of posh bar that dresses down. The area by the bar counter seems to be mainly but not exclusively, the preserve of younger locals.

A great place to go any time of the year. Always busy as is the Ship Inn next door. You can sit outside in the summer and watch the boats in the harbour. A really nice pub.

A real ale oasis.Good beer and a cheery atmosphere.