The Handsome Sam, Whitstable

An excellent micro, the second venue of what was intended to be a pub crawl but where we ended up staying in an attempt to go through the whole menu. The pub is well described by others below, and our interaction with the landlord was also in keeping. Other customers were convivial and the atmosphere was wholly agreeable. The ales we sampled were Iron Pier Bitter and Springtime IPA, May Place Pale Ale, Wantsum Fortitude and Golgotha Stout (the latter in bottles,though), and Kent Brewery Prohibition. All were in superb condition, so this was time well invested. I shall definitely be back for another swift gallon in the future.

Micro-pub located at the far end of the main shopping street just beyond the railway bridge. Usual sort of arrangement inside, although the suspended Snowman is a bit different and two of the four tables are really single-sided pews. There is a very compact counter in one corner, but the real ales are served on gravity from a cool room in the other corner, together with a selection of ciders. I went for the Rother Valley Hot & Bothered (£3.40, and the remaining selection was Old Hector from Four Candles, Boadicea from Rother Valley and Sharp's Sea Fury.

A double fronted micropub by the railway overbridge as one comes into Whitstable. A shop conversion,light and airy.Eclectic range of furnishings, including those auctioneer's rostrums as seen at the Butchers Arms in Herne. The beer (Kent Pale Ale in my case) is served from some kind of temperature controlled tent affair. A friendly and informative guv'nor interacting with a clientele of a certain age on my visit on a June Sunday afternoon. Much appreciated.

This one is named after the owner's deceased cat. Can a cat be handsome? A dog yes but I'm probably biased. The use of the former cat certainly makes for a distinctive pub sign and name. I turned up here early on a Thursday afternoon to find a few people in chatting with the friendly landlord. Although this is another shop conversion the building has some character with old beams on the higher than normal ceiling. There are just high tables and stools but some benches by the windows are a bit more comfortable. Unusually there is a TV screen but it appears this is just for the six nations rugby. It was turned off on my visit. There were a couple of guitars and other bric-a-brac on the walls. For some reason the cold room is disguised as a tent with blue and white stripes and is actually referred to as the beer tent. There were four beers available Adnam's Broadside, Mighty Oak Kings & a house HSBB which I suspect is re-badged Captain Bob and Rockin' Robin Stoutly Robin. I went for the Stoutly Robin and Kings both of which were excellent and good value at the newly introduced weekday lunchtime price of £3.00. I think they would have been £3.50 at other times. Both were excellent and served in lined glasses. This was my favourite of the three Whitstable micropubs but they are all worth a visit. More typical micropub hours apply here :- Monday 12:00-14:00 Tuesday-Thursday 12:00 - 14:00 and 18:00 - 21:00 Friday-Saturday 12:00 - 14:00 and 18:00 - 23:00 Sunday 12:00 - 15:00