The Pied Bull, Chester

Defo worth a visit, as I found their choice of beers excellent. The barman on the day Jake, was friendly and helpful and took interest in what he is doing. I went for their Bulls Hit, which I thought was excellent.

Located roughly halfway between the Northgate and the Town Hall/ Cathedral, the Pied Bull is a former coaching inn, which claims to be the oldest continuously licensed premises in Chester. It boasts a wonderful dark oak beamed interior with nice wood panelling and a grand fireplace which had a lit stove in it on our visit. There is a decent sized seating area at the front of the room including some nice bench seating under the front windows, before the pub narrows as it passes the bar and then opens out again at the rear, with a partitioned off section in the middle. There are a couple of TV screens and slot machines which look a bit out of place, but the TV was off and the machines quiet during our stay. They still do accommodation and the reception can be found to the rear of the pub, with the rooms upstairs via a nice old staircase. Unsurprisingly, the pub is reputed to be haunted in both the hotel and the cellar. We popped in for a bite to eat and to try some of the pub's own ale, which it brews on site and claims to be the only brewery within Chester's city walls. The food we tried was very good and the portion sizes seemed generous for the price. Unfortunately there were no Pied Bull beers available during our stay, so I had to choose from Adnam's Broadside (later replaced by Phoenix Hopsack), Red Willow Relentless, Sandstone Obsidian and Monty's Midnight Stout. I gave the Relentless a try and thought it was fantastic - probably the best beer I found in Chester - which made up for any initial disappointment. The barman, who also acted as waiter and hotel receptionist, did a fine job of getting a new beer on and serving all his customers in an efficient and very friendly manner. This is a pub full of character and history with good food, excellent beer and friendly and helpful staff. I would most certainly put this place down for a re-visit when next in town and would suggest it is a must-do pub that will appeal to most visitors.

Superb old coaching in with plenty of original looking timber Walls and beams inside. There is a fireplace filled with wood but doesn't look like it actually gets used as two large air con units spoil the ceiling. However the range of 6 ales on the more modern looking timber bar make this a very worthwhile pub to visit ( if real ale is your favourite drink). at time of our visit there were two Station House ales, two Hornbeam ales including a stout, adnams Broadside, Brewdog Punk IPA and their own house ale. well worth a visit up Northgate Street to this pub.