please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The Alexandra Arms was my favourite pub in Kettering and also my favourite in the county of Northamptonshire on a Sunday afternoon visit. This comes fairly close to ticking most of the boxes I'm looking for in a town pub. There is a front bar, which is fairly cosy and another room at the rear where Northamptonshire skittles was being played. Ales are different in each bar. This is a Marston's pub. So there was Wychwood Hobgoblin Gold, Marston's Pedigree New World & Banks's Bitter. But in addition, there was Church End Folka Cola, Hopback Summer Lightning, Castle Rock Screech Owl & Nobby's Swift Nick on. Ciders were Farmer Jim's Rhubarb Bob & Mango Cider & Lilley's Rum Cider. A number of handpulls were unclipped. So the range can obviously get better. The array of pumpclips on the walls is certainly impressive. Locals seemed friendly. My only slight negative was a perceived frosty reception from the barman. But otherwise, definitely recommended.
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Still the best selection of ales in Kettering though no longer in the GBG for some reason - maybe a dispute with the local camra people? By far the busiest of pubs visited in Kettering on Saturday night which must say something.
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Excellent boozer, friendly guv behind bar.
Beers top notch (all 14 of them)
Handled a group of us on Saturday afternoon brilliantly with no warning.
Next time in Kettering this is the only pub to visit.
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Cracking pub with a fantastic range of ales. Friendly barman.
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An Absolute Cracker. Pub as a pub Should be. Thirteen real ales on, Yep thirteen. one brewed in the cellar no less. Lived in Ketteringshire for nearly 3 years now and this is the best pub i have come across by far. wish i had found it sooner. Will be comin back as much as she allows. Yee Ha!
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Absolute belter of a pub - excellent range of well-kept beers, and wonderful atmosphere. Mine host was a dour man of very few words, but I can live with that when the pub is so good!
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Points made by all the recent reviewers are accurate. I've been using this pub as a regular but sadly infrequent patron over five years or so and it is easily the best pub in Kettering and district, especially if interesting and varied beers are your criterion. My only reservation refers to the landlords who run an excellent pub with very friendly clientele, but who are not themselves very welcoming to "out-of-town" visitors.
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Fantastic range of very well kept beer, and a friendly clientele. Would strongly recommend this pub.
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I have to agree. The Alex is a traditional,cosy little pub with an impressive selection of ales and everyone is ever so friendly!
The wee dog freaks me out a little tho! ;-)
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THE best pub in Kettering - no contest.
Fantastic range of ales (10 during the week and 14 at the weekend) all in top condition and from all over the country.
The cellar is home to J Chruch Brewery whose brews are available in the pub.
Great decor - pump clips covering most of the walls, a paradise for real ale fans.
Watch out for George the pub dog, he is so small you may sit on him.
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Agree with all the positive comments! This place is off the beaten track, but it's a real treasure!
Quite small, but once you've squeezed in it's well worthwhile.. quality ales, and a HUGE choice!
Won many an award, and pretty sure it features in the Good pub guide.
anonymous - 29 Jul 2009 19:26 |
Best pub i've visited for a long time, the sea of pump clips everywhere is just outstanding and the choose of beers in something else, will go a long way to find a better pub than this in the area.
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Kettering's best pub by far. Increasingly it seems that there is only one pub in a town that not only serves a decent ale but is also a decent pub.- this one is Kettering's.
anonymous - 9 Mar 2009 18:50 |
Great pub with a terrific range of Ale. Friendly & well worth a visit if you're going to the football, just a 10/15 minute walk away.
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visited on a Saturday lunchtime. football on Sky..certainly an excellent selection of beers and an unspoilt pub...only criticisms is that it could have been more welcoming to a stranger and the back was dominated by (landlord's) family with prams, kids and dogs and a little too much "effing".
But if I am ever back in Kettering then a must for the beer..in the evening!
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The best place in Kettering town centre for a belly full of well kept,proper beer. More varieties than you can shake a stick at. Friendly place, front bar non smoking. A fine drinking emporium.
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What a pub!! 10 Hand pumps have pulled nearly 3000 different real ales in the current landlord's short tenure. Great atmosphere & a warm welcome..CAMRA pub of the year for 2006 in the county. Also has Nobby's brewery brewing on the premises providing one of his beers always on tap. No smoking bar at the front withale memorabilia all over the walls.
Can't recommend it enough
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I came from Nottingham on Saturday to meet a friend from London and we chose to meet in Kettering as it was about half way (by train). I used this website to select a pub to visit and thought this one looked good. I needed to use a map to find it as it is slightly off the main street in the town centre. It was one of the best pubs I have ever visited, a quiet front room whose walls are covered with beer mats from all over the country. The back room was busier, with a TV to keep up to date with the football scores. I had a beer from the Belvoir brewery which was of excellent condition and temperature. We visited four other pubs in Kettering town centre afterwards and all were decent in their way, but only one (a nice pub opposite the church) had real ale. But the Alexandra Arms is worth commending on this website.
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Super pub with an amazing turnover of real ales. Even better now that the front bar is non-smoking.
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The pub has just had brewing equipment installed in the cellar so in the near future this will become operational increasing the range of beers still further, and also means that it has something none of the other real ale pubs in Kettering and Northampton do not have, so hopefully it will get the deserved pub of the year title for 05
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Only decent real ale pub in town centre, beers change every 4-5 days as there are now 10 handpumps. At time of post 1327 different ales had been through the pub since the present landlord had taken over, he trys to cater for everyones tastes by occasionly having milds,porters, stouts and wheat beers when available.The pub has recently gone non smoking in one side. The pub was runner up in the pub of the year 2004.
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Very good ever changing selection of real ales kept in very good condition. Does get very smokey though.
Martyn - 2 Jul 2004 15:28 |
Wonderful place for real-ale drinkers, locals very friendly. Definitely looking forward to re-visiting when next in the area.
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Excellent free-house, good range of real ales (normally 8 on), keen prices, sourced direct from micros throughout country.
Only minor downside is can get smokey.
Karl - 7 Jan 2004 22:22 |
quite a pleasant suprise, excellent quiet ale house, defintately a local but very friendly none the less - well worth the hike from the railway station
Steve - 19 Nov 2003 19:22 |
