The White Lion, Tenterden

Official site of The White Lion - whiteliontenterden.com

Official site of The White Lion - whiteliontenterden.com

This is a large, old coaching house well positioned on the main High Street through Tenterden. The pub has been given a thoroughly comprehensive modern make-over which has left it looking smart and contemporary, but has also resulted in the loss of some of the pub's traditional character and ambiance. The bar is to the left of the entrance and is a nice enough spot for a relaxing drink, with an L shaped servery along the back wall, bare floorboards, pastel shaded walls and a good mix of seating options including some rather comfy banquettes in the front bay windows. A TV in the corner was showing muted Sky Sports News when we arrived, but the staff very kindly switched to ITV so that we could enjoy the first half of the Bournemouth vs. Liverpool FA Cup tie. The room follows the bar counter round to the rear left, in a space described by the pub's website as a snug. It's more of a side room, with a row of seating down the left hand side and a small, two table recess to the right. Various art prints line the walls here, including a couple depicting the various cuts of meat from pigs and sheep. A similar image, this time of a cow, can be found in the right hand side of the pub, which is set up as a restaurant. This area is vaguely split in two by some display cabinets which screen certain areas of the restaurant. As you would expect, the seating is predominantly standard tables and chairs, most of which were laid in anticipation of weekend diners. There is one final area, between the bar and restaurant, which houses the hotel reception desk and a small seating area dominated by a large pizza oven. We tried the jerk chicken pizza from an inventive menu, and thought it was very tasty, although the fried breakfast we tried the following morning wasn't quite up to scratch. The pub offers accommodation and we stayed for one night in a spacious, well appointed room with a nice view over the High Street. There were just two ales on when we arrived - Marstons EPA and a house beer called Lionheart Ale which I tried and thought was a rebadged Pedigree, although I might be wrong. As we left at around 13:30 on the Saturday afternoon, I noticed that Old Dairy Red Top was coming on, so returning around closing time, I thought I'd give it a try, only to find that the locals had polished it all off over the remainder of the day. The staff were very friendly and good humoured, with two of the barmaids hanging around for a bit of banter before we all called it a night. This is a decent pub which seemed popular with young families and elderly couples alike. Whilst there is little left to hint at the pub's historic past, we enjoyed our stay here and would recommend a visit for the friendly welcome and tasty pizzas.

Part of the Marstons chain, therefore sells a varying range of Marstons beers, always well kept and served. Its food offering is competitively priced and of reasonable-to-good quality and, as a result, it is always busy: sometimes too busy for the bar staff to cope well.