The Copt Hill, Houghton Le Spring

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Rob Hunter left this review about The Copt Hill

I first visited in June 2017 and had a rather pleasant Cwtch by Tiny Rebel. I have heard it has changed hands since and was in the area the other day so thought I would swing by and take a look. According to WhatPub they offer two beers from the Working Hand brewery and one changing beer, so was a bit disappointed on entering to find two of the three pumps on, offering Old Speckled Hen and Double Maxim.

I went for the Double Maxim as it has probably been a few years since I tried this. I wasn't really taken by it and I'm not convinced it was in the best of condition either. I did notice some pump clips stuck to the side of the bar, presumably of their previous offerings, which included several by Working Hand and another which may have been Doom Bar or something like that.

The place was absolutely dead, though on a Monday afternoon this is perhaps to be expected. The lady was sat watching the pub TV and seemed quite surprised when we entered, so presumably is often quiet at that time.

I would actually say it was unnaturally quiet. No music playing or anything like that, just the TV on a fairly quiet volume near the bar.

According to their Facebook page they don't serve food on Mondays, yet the A board outside declared that food was served every day, so a bit of a conflict there. Assuming Monday is a no food day then perhaps it is busier during the rest of the week.

The interior is quite traditional, the room up the stairs to the right has some old mirrors, signs and photos on the wall. There is a further room to the left (behind the bar) which looks like it may be set up for dining.

Hopefully I just caught it at a bad time but the ale choice and quality was a let down for me.

On 19^th September 2018 - rating: 6
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