Galleon Bar @ Royal Castle Hotel, Dartmouth

The front entrance of the Royal Castle Hotel leads to a central corridor with doors to the left and right and a check in desk for the upstairs rooms at the end. The right hand door leads to the long and thin Galleon Bar that has a carpeted seating area at the front, a bar with a flagstone floor in the middle and a wooden floored seating area at the rear. Three old fireplaces in the right hand wall suggest that this area was once separate rooms. There was some background music playing. The bar supports three handpumps that were drawing St Austell’s Tribute and Proper Job alongside Bath Ales Cheshire Cat. There is also a limited standard and premium keg selection. During my recent Thursday afternoon visit there were no free tables so I asked the barman if I could prop up the bar. He said I could, but also gave me the option of drinking next door in the room to the left of the corridor, which I did to have a nose around. This is a smaller area with another less well stocked bar with only keg. I liked it in the Galleon Bar and would certainly return if in the area.

Still my favourite place to enjoy atmosphere and friendly staff this time I had to "submit" to a task of staying sober and take a picture this time ;)

This is an impressive 17th century building overlooking the quay and river that is a privately owned hotel and free house, it has two very different rooms called the harbour bar (modern) and the galleon bar (traditional) that are both open to the public. As you enter the hotel there is a hall way that leads to the reception area towards the back of the ground floor, on the left of the hall is the harbour bar and on the right is the galleon bar, naturally I was drawn to the more traditional galleon bar which has real ale on hand pull and spirits while the harbour bar has continental lagers and wines. The galleon bar is long and narrow with a small brick bar counter on the left at the back of the room and three fire places, one stone fire place in the right hand wall at the front of the room, a large cast iron stove with working spit opposite the bar and a large inglenook fire place at the back of the room in the right hand wall. These three features and the low beams made a very cosy atmosphere, on the walls were old rifles and shotguns, brass pots and pans, horse brasses and old paintings. A plaque on the front of the building reads “This old coaching inn has been famous since Drake first sailed.” Regular ales are Dartmoor Jail Ale, Sharpe’s Doom Bar and Bays Gold. There is no changing guest which is a shame in my opinion, I found all three ales to be well kept but a little pricey, probably because it’s first and foremost a hotel bar (GBG 2011). A great traditional place to have a drink, the galleon bar feels olde worlde and has plenty of character. I did not bother with the modern harbour bar as it didn’t look like my type of place. Both bars have different menus, but I had already eaten so I did not even look at the food. The place was busy with regulars who were in for a drink despite the slightly high prices which I think says a lot. Definitely worth a look for a drink.