Marine Bar, Bridlington

Official site of Marine Bar - www.expanse.co.uk

Official site of Marine Bar - www.expanse.co.uk

Stuck out on a bit of a limb at the North-Eastern end of Bridlington Beach, away from the majority of the town’s pubs and bars, this is a fairly large, wedge-shaped pub in the ground floor of the Expanse Hotel. The pub straddles the line between a community local and hotel bar, seemingly serving the local area well if the packed late afternoon crowd we encountered is anything to go by, but also had that slightly down at heel feel to it, despite not actually looking all that shabby, having seemingly had a refit not all that long ago. The room has nice herringbone flooring, full height tongue and groove wall panelling in an aquamarine shade under a plain white ceiling. Seating comprises a series of very comfortable blue padded banquettes formed into seven-sided booths, with the eight side left open for access. Most booths serve a couple of small square tables and have low stools in support and temporary screens in between them, with large lanterns on the flat surfaces behind each one. A walkway through the centre of the room has a few smaller tables and chairs along its length, getting a little larger the further into the room you go, as the space starts widening. The bar is at the far end of the room and has a plain tongue and groove counter front and a modern shelving unit bar back with a beer board in the centre. Décor throughout the room includes several brightly coloured modern paintings of local scenes and a series of blackboards listing all manner of food options, from a specials board to details of a senior citizen’s discount menu. There’s a fair bit of picnic bench seating around three sides of the pub, much of which has good views out to sea, although the same can be said of much of the seating inside the pub too. Pop music played in the background throughout our visit and there was a large crowd in, mostly older customers, many of whom were eating. I wasn’t expecting much on the beer front, so was surprised to find they had five handpulls in operation, dispensing Taylor Landlord, Isaac Poad Best Bitter, Rudgate Dinga Dinga, Theakston Best Bitter and Wold Top Anglers Reward. A friendly and somewhat overworked barman poured a good pint of the Anglers Reward which went down very well after we’d walked out here from the town centre. This sort of seafront hotel bar type of pub usually ends up being a disappointing experience, but I thought they’d made a pretty good go here and set up something to attract locals as well as holidaymakers. It’s not going to be to everyone’s taste, but I’m quite glad we stopped off here and would suggest it’s well worth a look if you make it up to this end of town.

After discovering this could be a decent real ale place, I had to check it out as so far I have found Wetherspoons to be the best option in Bridlington. It doesn't look much from the outside, a flat roofed extension to a seafront hotel, but the inside more than makes up for that. Décor is nice with seaside themed colours and pictures on the walls. All nice and clean and tidy. At the bar, six hand pulls which were offering Old Rosie Cider, Tim Taylor Landlord, Half Moon Dark Masquerade, Half Moon Jester, Wold Top Anglers Rest and Theakston Best Bitter. My half of Jester set me back £1.45 which I think is pretty reasonable, and it was in decent nick. Food is served and there was a TV showing a sports channel. Overall, a much better than expected seafront real ale bar. Well worth a visit.

Hotel bar that is a longstanding GBG entry. Facing the seafront, the interior has been done out light and bright with powder puff blue striped wallpaper and a lot of dead branches enmeshed with fairy lights hanging from the ceiling. Good views from the window seating which wraps round the exterior and the sea is visible from most of the banks of half octagonal padded seating. They've done a clever job with the Discover Cask posters which decorate the beams very effectively. A blackboard behind the bar lists their achievements (11 years in the GBG, being finalists in various competitions). Six pumps at the bar with 5 ales and Old Rosie cider. Three ales are regulars (Theakston, Tim Taylor Landlord and Wold Top) with two guests in Pennine Mad March and Isaac Foad 86. I tried a couple of the ales which were in good nick. A fair mix of diners and drinkers in situ, creating the feel of an upmarket social club. It’s quite a yomp from the station but worth the walk, I enjoyed it here.