ReviewSituated near the railway station, this is the first (or last) drinking hole in Birchington. The building was built in the 1870’s as the Seabreeze Lady’s Cycle Factory but has been subsequently extended over the years to what we see now. It has previously also been used as a builder’s office, printers and an estate agent until becoming a bar about 10 years ago.
Despite its label as a Wine Bar & Bistro, it does come over more as a modern pub/bar although there is a separate restaurant downstairs and function room upstairs, neither of which I ventured into.
The décor is contemporary with shades of browns, greys and beiges, sofa sections, personalised picture windows and fancy candle holders on each table. There are a couple of tall barrel tables and potted plants and everything that rather typifies the modern pub. Taking everything into account, nothing really feels out of place despite the age of the building and one can assume that much of the interior had been significantly altered long before it became a pub. Outside is an open beer garden complete with a memorial obelisk honuring the poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti who is buried nearby.
The only ale was an unclipped Doom Bar which would have been decent value at £2.90 had the quality been better. The rest of the offerings were the usual kegs and lagers. Food was a selection of pub grub classics at around £7-£9.
The pub did appear to be the late night haunt of the area and most weekends there is live music that attracts a mix of people although my visit coincided with a music festival at nearby Quex Park and with late trains few and far between, the numbers present may have been swelled by festival goers with time to kill and taking advantage of the extended hours whilst the other pubs in town were all closed. That said, it all seemed quite harmonius for late Saturday night.
It wouldn’t be my pub of choice in town but it did serve its purpose at the time although I would need a better choice of ales and an improvement in quality to recommend a specific visit.
