George Vaults, Rochester

One of those 'much larger than it initially looks' places, with different bars on multiple levels. The main bar at the front is much more modern in terms of furniture and decor than the historic façade might suggest - a theme that is further expanded beyond. There is a first-floor Lounge Bar (not in regular use, by the look of things), the split-level Affinity Bar off to one side at the back and the downstairs Vault Bar in the impressive 14th-century cellars (seemingly reserved for private functions). Patio beer garden to the rear. Disappointingly, no real ale, and an indifferent selection from the keg taps too, with no keg bitter either, so the Lagunitas IPA (£4.50) looked the most appealing option.

The George Vaults is a decent enough looking pub that opens pre 11am,so handy for me while doing my Rochester crawl. Once inside there is an oblong shaped room to the front which runs to the rear,the bar is on the right side,the room is bare boarded,the seating to the front is leather bucket chairs and puff stools,the rear area had normal tables and high backed chairs which were laid out for diners. There were other rooms to the rear but all out of use on my early Saturday morning visit. There were no real ales on the bar,so i had a drink of John Smiths smooth crap which was served without an head,this was a first for me on my pub crawling,though it did remind me of the old keg John Smiths bitter which was very cold and fizzy. There were a couple of TVs showing sky sports. This was probably the joint worst pub visited on my crawl,the other one i did later in the day. Pub visited 6/6/2015