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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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The Hook & Hatchet, Maidstone
Hucking
Postal town: Maidstone
ME17 1QT
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Hook & Hatchet
Remote country pub, with a weatherboarded elevations, that you would never find by chance. Partly opened-out inside with most of the tables in the original building and rear extension set aside for those dining. However, there are a few general tables near the bar and quite an expansive beer garden at the back too. I found London Pride, Youngs Ordinary and Session Pale Ale from Cellar Head (£4.10) on offer from three of the four handpumps.
On 10th July 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
. Wittenden left this review about The Hook & Hatchet
An isolated weather boarded pub high on the North Downs,close to the Woodland Trust's Hucking Estate.Since E TA's visit the pub had been sold by Shepherd Neame, and after a lengthy period of closure, was bought and refurbished as a freehouse by a private couple.
Light and airy,furnished in a cafe or bistro style,on our mid afternoon visit on a Saturday a week before Christmas,the Hook was busy with groups of diners and drinkers, while the staff moved furniture in readiness for a musical performance.
Whatpub forecast a largely "national" beer list-London Pride and Youngs-however these stalwarts were joined by a couple of guests from Whitstable Brewery, from down the road at Grafty Green. The East India Pale Ale was decent, if not great:the food-burgers in our case-good value.
Good to see this pub reopen-I last came here in the 70s or 80s, and we'll probably return , as it looks as if it will be a good base for walks locally.
On 16th December 2017
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 283 recommendations about 282 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The Hook & Hatchet
The Hook and Hatchet is an old country pub which has undergone a sympathetic renovation in recent years and now consists of a lapboarded and brick structure, reasonably large, in the middle of nowhere. The hill next to it used to be known as Hucking Fell, but for some reason this name has dropped out of usage and doesn't appear on the maps. Outside is a large car park (for those unfortunate enough not to have arrived on horseback), very well-kept garden and stalls with water buckets to tether your horse while you pop in for a pint or a coffee. Inside is a large, cosy bar with oak boards, a mix of comfy chairs, pews and tables, a tv and a log burner. The ceiling has oak rafters, but on closer inspection some of these proved to be purely decorative. Haynets and human snacks were not available this time, though they usually do roast dinners and an a la carte menu for the bipeds. The staff were very friendly and welcoming, although some of the locals were a bit stand-offish. There were 3 handpumps on the bar but only one ale on - Spitfire, which was in perfect condition. Well worth dropping in if riding past, and worth seeking out if travelling by car down the A249, though be aware the country lanes can be a bit dicey. It's a good place for hoofing down a few pints or just enjoying a snack.
On 10th June 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3281 recommendations about 3246 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rich Gibbs left this review about The Hook & Hatchet
For the first five years of my drinking life, this was my 'local' as I frequented it most nights of the week. In those days, despite being miles out on it's own 'in the sticks' the place was so busy on Friday and Saturdays nights you couldn't get in the door. It was a legend of a pub run by Norm and Carol in the days when 'scampi and chips in a basket' was THE food. Today the food menu has expanded along with the size of the pub but nothing can compare to your teenage memories I guess. Therefore from a personal point of view I'd rate it today as a 5 but putting those past expectancies aside it's only fair I give it 7 since the location and the efforts of keeping such a rural pub in existance deserve that. The food and ale are fine - it's just the lane it resides in is my memory lane.
On 29th March 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 35 recommendations about 35 pubs]