The Frog & Toad, Gillingham

I thought that I had stumbled upon a hidden gem after reading the blurb on the outside of the Frog and Toad about more than 30 Belgian beers being available and the cask Marque accredited plaque. Unfortunately there was no sign of these Belgian beers and four of the five hand pumps were unused leaving London Pride as the lone ale. Hoegarden and Leffe were available alongside the usual draught suspects, but I went for the wife beater which was served by the friendly bloke on duty. There was some low back music and I spotted a dartboard at either end of the pub. I didn’t spot any TVs and there were no advertisements for Sky Sports. I wouldn’t go out of my way to drink here again.

The Frog & Toad is only a short walk from the station but is so tucked away in Gillingham's back streets that only the locals and the ale hunters would ever find it. The interior consists of 2 knocked through but off centre rooms with an unusually situated kitchen in a seaparte room to one side away from the bar. The far room is more of a public bar with darts and plasma TV although there is another dart board in the main bar as well as an upright piano for those Knees Up Mother Brown moments. The sign outside boasts 30 Belgian Beers although I can't claim to have noticed and despite the rear room being festooned with pump clips, disappointingly there were just 2 of the 5 pumps operational with Youngs Winter Warmer and London Pride hardly being an inspirational selection. That said, there is little competition in Gillingham on the Ale front so whatever is on offer comes as a bonus and to be fair, this was an early Sunday lunchtime and the pub was empty apart from myself and 4 Aston Villa fans ahead of the recent cup tie. Sunday papers on the bar were a nice touch and it all feels quite homely with old photos and maps on the walls. The F&T is certainly one of the better Gillingham options but probably not worthy of specifically going out of the way for (unless one of their beer festivals is on).