Whitstable Brewery Bar, Whitstableback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This place is really difficult to find at night. It may be obvious from the beach, during the daytime. But approaching from the road, you have to wander through an industrial area. It's now called the Lobster Shack and specialises in seafood, especially lobster and oysters. I guess it still has some kind of link to the Whitstable Brewery. The solitary cask ale was their Christmas Spirit. Not wishing to try a Christmas beer in mid-January, I instead opted for a key Oyster Stout also from Whitstable. Most customers were families. Inside was a bit on the cold side. More of a restaurant than a bar.
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I am sure this place is very jolly in the summer ,
and with a pint of Whitstable local lager coming in at £3-90 it should be.
I suspect this is where the second homers from Islington come to .
more of a restaurant than a bar, and an interesting wine list ,as in expensive .
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The brewery is in Grafty Green.
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Manky old chap,
It's nearly always closed and when it is open it's heaving and full of people looking to either get completely off their face and/ or get their leg over.
As for the beer coming from the Whitstable Brewery...where exactly in Whitstable would that brewery be?
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It's closed
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It seems I was fortunate indeed to be able to review this place with any conviction, given that previous would-be commentators were thwarted by odd opening hours. I'm not au fait with the usual routine, but it was very much open on Thursday evening, and positively thriving, as most other town outlets do on Fridays. There was live music - good live music to boot - sport on 2 large TVs, and a beer festival, featuring 30 ales from 6 breweries. I have to say this probably isn't the norm, as Whitstable is gearing up for its annual oyster fest, and many places were seeking to capitalise. Still, it was a lovely evening to be out, and if you wanted liveliness, this would suit. Left after a half not because the ale was poor, or the service lackadaisical, but because it was just a little too loud and studenty; I felt quite aged despite only being in my early 30s! But for you young 'uns not there, get down to the quay and fill your boots. After ringing to check if it's open...
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Great views, but on the rare occasion that I've found the place actually open I've found the staff strangely aloof, more interested in stoking the fire than serving ale.
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Closed at 6pm on a Friday, despite the sign saying it's open. Hrrmph.
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Friday afternoon and bloody closed! The signs says open Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. Great.
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we walked in at 4 in the afternoon, not a sole in there. The staff couldn't be bothered to serve us. There was no seating inside, or outside apart from 2 benches tucked right round the back on the beach, and it was not a nice day to sit outside, so we stood inside and drank from plastic cups. not classy at all. i'm sure on a good day when the sun is out and the benches are outside it's fine.
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Remote location at the end of East Quay, right on the shingle beach. There is a car park - but it is walkable, even though through some unattractive and soul destroying scenery. Keep going - the bar is there at the end! Well, rather than bar, it's a large wooden beach hut. The place has a cool, laid back student atmosphere, though during the day the customers were all solidly middle aged, and clearly put off by the young staff playing music VERY LOUD! Nobody sat inside, even though it was a cold, blustery day.
The beer garden is the beach itself - which actually sounds good in theory, but in reality means a wooden table on gravel overlooking the grey, miserable Thames estuary with highlights being the Isle of Sheppey, the wind farm, and the Maunsell Sea Forts. The location would probably be very nice on a warm, sunny day - but is less attractive at other times. We were particularly bothered by the prevailing wind, which blew over my plastic pint glass, and found some refuge in the glass shelter by the door.
A number of the Whitstable beers are served chilled under pressure, but there are others served from the cask behind the bar.
The place is certainly interesting and worth a visit, but your pleasure at the experience would depend on weather conditions and how you feel about VERY LOUD music.
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Great looking bar in a great location but there are a few things which stop it becoming a great bar, namely the fact you often have to pay to get in on a weekend evening, the beers ok but too cold and always in a plastic (even well into winter), wine often runs out by Sunday (they own 3 other restaurants - how hard can it be?) as does the bitter. Staff are less than competent and indifference is often the best you can hope for. Hardly any furniture in the place but the management seem so complacent I'm not sure continuous improvement is a concept they are familiar with. Oh, and don't go if you don't like reggae . . .
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Out of this world beer! Good food & service. What does it for this bar is the location on the outer habour entrance & the staffs friendly demeanor. What an atmosphere! If the sun is also out this place is heaven on shingle...
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Great location, great beers but never bloody open!! I've gone there twice in the last few months at different times and always shut!
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There's nowhere I'd rather be on a (rare) glorious British summer's day. Incredible views, excellent beer, just amazing.
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Excellent surrounding, wonderful scenery, their own brewed beer on tap - could it be better?
Actually, yes. It could be better. They make some of the best beers I've ever tasted (I defy anyone to improve on the Oyster Stout or the Raspberry Wheat beer) and then they serve it all ice cold on gas flow....
This could have been a 10/10 bar.....
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Just when you think that a pub crawl of Whitstable can�t get any better, along comes the Whitstable Brewery and plonks this superb bar into the town�s already abundant collection of excellent pubs. Situated in a large shed built from reclaimed timbers right on the beach front, there are panoramic views across the Thames Estuary. There is an excellent and comprehensive selection of Ales, all local, that are poured directly from the numerous barrels racked up beer festival style behind the bar. Apart from the Whitstable Brewery range there were also 4 guest Ales from the Crouch Vale Brewery just over the water. The lager is also from the Whitstable Brewery so don�t come here expecting the usual High Street tosh. The interior is light and airy with simple and basic furnishings consisting of a few benches, a run of sofas on a raised area in the corner and an old stove. The bar itself is made from old breakwater timbers. There are regular live music nights and there is plenty of seating outside for the smokers and sun lovers. This is a great place to spend an evening whatever the weather and a welcome addition to our annual pilgrimage to the town�s hostelries.
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