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Nags Head, Rochester
Rochester
ME1 1HS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ 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 Nags Head
A proper old-fashioned pub on the down-market (eastern) end of Rochester High Street, with a weather-boarded façade and retaining a split-level layout of two small bars. The main room at the front is traditionally furnished but fairly plainly decorated. The back room is slightly larger and also has a pool room up a few more steps at the back and a small patio area on the other side. London Pride and Spitfire (£3.60) available from the handpumps om each counter.
On 9th April 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about Nags Head
The Nags Head is a really nice looking pub that is very handy for the train station.
Once inside there is a small oblong shaped room to the front with the bar facing,this room is carpeted and has very comfy bench seating and small stools,there is a separate room to the rear which is up a few steps,this room is large and bare boarded,there is a pool table to the rear right.
There were two real ales on the bar,i had a drink of London Pride which was a decent enough drink to end my Rochester crawl on,the other beer was Spitfire.
I quite liked this pub.
Pub visited 6/6/2015
On 6th June 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about Nags Head
Rough traditional pub on the old High Street, whose fortunes vary from year to year. There has been some decline in the last few months, although it is nowhere near as bad as it was a few years ago. It remains an architectural, though, a piece of living history. Still 5 pumps on, but only one ale - London Pride which was in poor condition. It's worth a visit for the history, and it's important to support these pubs, but it is becoming harder for them to survive. Convenient for Rochester Station, a lunchtime travel break is a good way to see this pub, unless you want to experience the live music which they now do most weekends.
On 22nd April 2012
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3277 recommendations about 3242 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Nags Head
An attractive weatherboarded pub situated near the station but in the opposite direction of the town so often overlooked by the tourists. The twin bar interior is on split levels, the cosy front bar being quite small with a low ceiling propped up by a pair of thin pillars, small fireplace in one corner and banquette seating with a few scatter cushions. Note the redundant corner door suggesting that this was once 2 much smaller bars. Amenities include a flat screen TV and a jukebox.
A few steps up lead to the larger rear bar with bare floors, unpretentious décor and an equally rough around the edges feel as the front bar. A flat screen TV and a tuba adorn the wall as well as another jukebox. At the rear is a separate pool table area and a small triangular plot outside for the smokers.
There were 2 ales across 5 hand pumps (2 at the front, 3 at the rear) with just Spitfire and London Pride. The Spitfire I had was competitively priced (£3.20) but wasn’t the best quality. A blackboard near the foot of the staeps offered well priced food with snacks around £4/5, several main courses around £6/7 and top priced steaks at less than a tenner.
This is the sort of local’s pub that I generally like although the local pub bore was beginning to test my patience during my visit and it would need to improve its ale range and quality before it becomes a regular stop on my Rochester outings.
On 14th July 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about Nags Head
The Nags Head consists of a small front bar that has a jukebox and plasma screen and five steps lead up to a larger back bar that has a pool table, another jukebox and a second plasma screen that was showing racing at Ascot during my visit early last Saturday afternoon. At the rear there is a very claustrophobic outside area with some seating, but I think that this space is aimed more towards smokers to get them off the path outside. A standard draught range was available from the bar along with Spitfire and Pride. Very cheap food is served and I munched on a £3 sausage baguette that went down a treat with a decent pint of Guinness. I had to wait a while at the bar for the barmaid to appear, but when she did finally arrive she was very friendly and apologised for the wait. I didn’t see any Sky Sports advertised, but there is poker every Thursday night from 21:00.
I liked it in here and would have no problem returning.
On 27th June 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alex Short left this review about Nags Head
A pub I first visited as a 17-year-old, The Nags Head is a traditional-style hostelry situated a short walk from the local railway station. The buildings weatherboard exterior is rather tatty, though adds character. There are two entrances: one into what would have formerly being the saloon bar and another that leads to the old public bar. The building is housed on a hill of sorts and the pub has a multi-level design as a result. The lower bar (saloon) is rather basic in approach, with a few tables and a plasma television – that is seemingly rarely used: a well-stocked jukebox and genial conversation are the preferred choices down here. The spit-and-sawdust ‘public bar’ is a little more rough-and-ready with a table-or-two randomly sprawled across the open space, another plasma screen (this one gets used for sport – though not X-Factor, thankfully!) and another jukebox. The third level is really only a room with a pool table, a hallway to the lavatories and the entrance to a small outside beer-patio. On occasion, the pool table will be shifted for a live group or artist (usually locally-based). Since my first visit around a decade ago, the clientele-type has changed little. Here attracts a blend of the young, middle-aged and slightly older still. The atmosphere throughout is generally of a friendly nature and despite the odd raucous customer, have never witnessed any kind of trouble. The staff (all young females) are attentive in their service – although pints will occasionally require a top-up and not be served in the appropriate glass – Spitfire in a Guinness glass, anyone? The pub does indeed offer real ale, with – I think – 5 hand-pumps in total – two in the lower and three in the upper bar. Spitfire and London Pride have been the current offerings of late, though it has to be said that the condition has been utterly atrocious recently and even the most hardened ale-drinker may struggle.
To conclude: The Nags Head is a pub I choose to visit out of convenience and nostalgia. The atmosphere – generally good – and well-stocked jukebox make it a decent enough stop-off for my friends and I. Whether I could spend an entire evening here anymore, I don’t know (I certainly used to) but it serves its purpose, definitely. If they could improve the beer-condition, tidy the interior up a little, etc, then it could become a favourite. Until then…
On 26th October 2010
- rating: 6
[User has posted 6 recommendations about 6 pubs]