please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
After a walk from Borough Green, my wife and I arrived at the centre of West Malling in need of a drink. The first pub we spotted was the Bull but we thought we'd have a quick look to see what else there was nearby. For various reasons we didn't much fancy the other pubs we saw (e.g. the Joiner's Arms was out of Shepherd Neame bitter, and the Swan appeared to have no cask ale) so we returned to the Bull. Once inside, we wished we'd just gone straight to the Bull in the first place -- the interior was pleasant and comfortable, and there were about six hand-pumps on the bar (these included some tempting ones, but we opted for Harvey's Sussex Bitter, a favourite of ours). We only wished we could have tried a home-made pie as well, but sadly the kitchen was closed (it shuts down at 4:00 pm on a Sunday).
|
Perfectly jolly place for a real ale session with friends.
Fair mixture of locals, mostly friendly and chatty.
|
The Youngs is still here, but when you're shifting a barrel a day it would be mad to take it off.
However: This pub focusses on fantastic beer produced in Kent (and near surroundings). On the other four handpumps we see Kent Brewery, Old Dairy, Whitstable, Westerham, Goachers, and many others.
Last night's line up was: Old Dairy Copper Top, Whitstable Native, Whitstable Renaissance Ruby Mild Mild, and Kent Brewery Spring Wheat.
There is also a new handpump dedicated to real cider - last night's was a crispy 7.5% "House Cider".
No food these days, but it's a thriving venue for local drinkers who enjoy a range of well-kept ales.
|
Very pleasant Goachers Dark in a characterful pub with some decent Sunday trade. Attractive little village setting too.
|
Great pub, now with 6 handpumps (albeit 2 are dedicated to Young's PA). Constantly changing range of good ales. And don't forget the free Pub Quiz on Mondays.
|
For a pub in the Good Beer Guide I was a little disappointed with the selection of real ales available. Young's Bitter and Speckled Hen are nothing special nor I suspect in this area is Goachers. Dark Star from the Tonbridge brewery was a new one for me and I enjoyed a couple of pints.
The place was pretty quiet but it was early afternoon so I suppose that was to be expected.
A large historic pub which from all accounts gets lively in the evenings and at weekends.
Another visit might be in order!
|
There's a regular free quiz night every Monday (Bank Holidays excepted)
|
Great Beer Festival over Trevor's birthday weekend, only a few pints left at the end which were kindly donated to anyone who was left in the pub late last Thursday
|
Great Beer Festival ove Trevor's birthday weekend, only a few pints left at the end which were kindly donated to enyone who was left in the pub late last Thursday
|
I'm not a great lover of Shepherd Neame beers generally but the Spitfire was on top form here last night.
|
Another surprise for me this week. |I discovered that the Bull has a quiz night every Monday. And I have to say it is one of the best run quiz nights that I have ever been to. And we have all that lovely Ale to drink.
|
No wonder this pub has caught the interest of camra. The beer is kept to perfection and is ever changing in variety. The customers to are a delight. What a pleasant surprise. West Mallings little secret
|
This is a first rate pub - an excellent example of what a village local ought to be, Pleasant welcoming and friendly atmosphere, knowledgeable and enthusiastic landlord, and interesting beers, always, in my experience, in tip-top condition. On the subject of beer, Goachers Dark and their admirable Gold Star are (I think) always available, but the pumps supplying them are not visible from the bar - so if you want them, ask!
|
A pub with good kept beer. Warm and cosy when I visited it on Saturday.
|
The missing pub sign makes the exterior look a bit run down, but it is nice enough inside. Also a bit surprised to see several customers eating takeaways from the local chippy because I thought it did food. However, four of the five handpumps were on - a couple of seasonal brews (Rocking Rudolph and a very tasty Rosey Nosey) plus Youngs Ordinary and another standard ale.
|
Looks really pretty and welcoming from outside. It's clean, and has a cutesy hopbine hanging over the bar, and a dartboard. All pluses.
However, the staff would clearly rather be at home than serving. We ordered a lacklustre half and an Irish Coffee which turned out to be a hugely expensive tiny cup of scalding coffee with a massive shot of whisky in it. Just that. A bowl of white sugar and pasteurised potted milk was given under duress. When told it was neither Irish Coffee nor drinkable, the barman just shrugged and said he didn't drink coffee so wouldn't know. The pub serves food, so should know how to make basic pub food and drink. It's not a spit and sawdust pub. Now, I have no beef with pubs who refuse to serve poncey drinks like this on the basis that they don't know how to make them. But don't pretend you do, serve up something expensive which isn't the same, then run away so that your punters can't even talk to you about it mumbling that you don't drink the stuff. It's like saying you don't drink beer and giving a punter a couple of hops in some fizzy water. Not acceptable. You can feel the dustballs rolling round the five customers in there. No surprise given the attitude of the staff. Not really a 'people' pub.
|
Tried again but same ales as before. Atmosphere still a bit lacking too. OK if you fancy a really quiet pint.
|
First time visit to West Malling (from Bedfordshire) hoping to try some Kent ales but 3 of the four ales on tap were from Bedfordshire from whence I came (and the other from Scotland). I put that down to bad luck but pub was OK, had a well worn look of a good pub to get away from the missus. Will return hopefully to try some local ale next time.
|
My first visit to The Bull since it was radically refurbed - I was amazed to learn that this was 5 years or more ago; time flies!
In its present incarnation it's a pleasant, relaxed drinkers' pub, run by a friendly and knowledgeable landlord. Youngs Ordinary in good nick, together with Goachers Dark (less frequently found than their Light) - and also the excellent Goachers Gold Star, which is worth travelling a long way to find (so long as you're not driving).
A really nice pub; it certainly won't be another 5 years before I'm back.
|
This Pub has been transformed by the excellent landlord called Trevor. The local oik's have been thrown out and 4 reals ales always on top form putin.
Local CAMRA members drink in this pub which is now the best for decent ale in West Malling.
|
