The Barn Bistro, Wigton

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Will Larter left this review about The Barn Bistro

I arrived here one quiet lunchtime expecting to take a photo and move on, but several improvised signs suggested that the pub was open, despite appearances, so I decided to go in. It was very quiet - I was the only customer, and the owner was behind the bar polishing some whisky glasses for that evening's session of the pub's whisky club, which meets monthly and gets to taste some seriously high-end malts. He was very friendly and informative - he has served over 200 different real ales since taking over seven years ago, which is pretty good for a quiet village in the middle of nowhere. Local Camra members make trips here, and the whisky club, formerly a moribund affair involving a bottle of Bells, is now thriving and indeed has a waiting list for membership.

The pub is at the entrance to a caravan park, which presumably provides the bulk of the clientèle, but the aim is clearly to make it a destination in its own right. To this end, a beer festival will be taking place at the end of September this year. Beers available at the time of my visit were limited to Jennings Bitter (a regular) and a couple of guests. My half of Bowness Bay Amazon was in excellent condition. I liked this place to the extent of toying with the idea of coming back for the beer festival, which unfortunately will not be feasible.

The pub signs, with the deliberately wonky letter N, suggest that the pub's name should be pronounced "bar'n bistro", and this is confirmed by the pub's Facebook page.

Date of visit: 15th July 2016

On 15^th September 2016 - rating: 8
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