Harbour Arms, Margate

Official site of Harbour Arms - www.facebook.com

Official site of Harbour Arms - harbourarmsmargate.co.uk

Official site of Harbour Arms - www.facebook.com

Official site of Harbour Arms - harbourarmsmargate.co.uk

Opening back in the Spring of 2013, this is another of Thanet's ever expanding number of micropubs, this time situated inside a former coal store towards the end of Margate's concrete pier. As with most micropubs, all modern distractions have been stripped out, leaving the beer to take centre stage, with compact confines creating an environment conducive to conversation. The room has a bare concrete floor and some exposed brick walls, with a short servery tucked away at the rear, next to the taproom where the beer is poured directly from the cask. There is a high table with stools to the right whilst benches and standard chairs serve two more tables in a slightly extended left hand area. A barrel in the middle provides the only other drinking surface, although plenty of people had spilled outside where a few more tables can be found. Somehow, room has been found for an upright piano and I noticed an acoustic guitar propped up in another corner, so maybe some impromptu sing-a-longs are par for the course? One wall has been covered with the obligatory pump clip collection, whilst another shows various pictures of the harbour, pub, its staff and regulars and another displays classical seascape paintings. A fishing net hangs down from the ceiling and it appears to have hauled in some inflatable fish, a football, some lanterns and a mermaid among other things. An old stove stands on the left hand wall, with some old lanterns, candles and bottles on top, although I'm not sure it gets much use. A few board games are also available, piled up near to the front door. On this visit the ale options were Gadds Time Ball, Dark Star Hophead, Hopdaemon Incubus and Wantsum Dynamo, with an impressive eight real ciders and perries also available and proving popular. I had a pint of the Dynamo, but was disappointed to find it was very flat and not very enjoyable. My other half had one of the ciders which was also in a bit of a poor state and served very warm. This was a shame and I noted that a lot of customers were sampling the Gadds which had been launched at the pub a couple of days previous to commemorate the restoration of Margate Clocktower's timeball and looked like it was in sparking condition. I thought this was one of the better micropubs that I have visited, especially in terms of the ambience and aesthetics within, but I was really let down by a couple of very poor drinks which have clouded my judgement. I saw enough that I would be prepared to give the place another try, but maybe ask for a taster before committing to a pint.