I’ve decided to write about this pub as Roy did get a drink here, but I think it’s fair to say that this venue isn’t really targeted at me. That’s not necessarily a criticism in itself, as pubs have to appeal to rather more people than just me, inconvenient though that may be for them.
There are decent views over the quay and the venue has a prominent location in the town. The venue has a long history, it has been a licensed premises since the middle of the eighteenth century and in more recent times it became part of the Bullards, then Watney Mann, then Pubmaster and then Punch Pubs estate. The listed building notes mention:
“Early C18, much modernised. Brick and pantiled. Front, pebbled and plastered. 2 storey and attics. 3 casement dormers. Eaves cornice. 2 sash windows with glazing bars remain at 1st floor, altered centre window with casement. Rusticated quoins. Dutch gable. Interior: oak open stair well said to be included.”
So it seems much has been lost internally, likely a long time ago, and it did feel a little soulless inside.
Jen had disappeared at some point and returned with what can only reasonably be described as an enormous ice cream from somewhere nearby. She then stood peering through the pub window while eating it. Roy and I decided that asking questions would probably only encourage matters, so we left her to it and didn’t say anything.
I was marginally amused that the menus on the tables advertise these bar snacks. A customer tried to order them and was told in quite a direct manner:
“It’s Sunday, you can’t order bar snacks”
I’m afraid I’m with the customer, it’s a little sub-optimal to be dismissive of someone trying to order food as it doesn’t say anything that they can’t be ordered on a Sunday.
The beer range was fairly generic and there wasn’t anything that particularly excited and delighted me, so I decided against ordering a drink myself. It does feel a shame that there’s no attempt at localisation here at all, even the real ale that they didn’t have is a generic national offering. CAMRA notes that real ale is often unavailable and it’s only ever Timothy Taylor’s Landlord when it is available. It’s also card only, which I have no view on, but I’d say that’s quite brave for a venue of this size.
Ultimately, it’s positive that the pub remains open in such a prominent location and is contributing to the life of the town. It was busy enough to suggest that plenty of people appreciate what it offers, which is considerably more important to its future than whether I personally felt an overwhelming urge to move in. Roy got his drink, Jen had acquired an ice cream of almost architectural proportions from somewhere and I had obtained another blog post, so everyone emerged from the experience with something.