Cock Inn, Luddesdowneback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A friend and I happened upon a beer and cider festival held in a small outhouse of the Cock one Saturday evening in December. The conviviality here carried over to the lower bar of the pub itself, which is decorated with memorabilia of local interest. The 'no children' policy is welcome and unusual; this is a warm and friendly pub serving real ales and ciders for adult palates.
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This public house continues to set extremely high standards & both the quality and the range of real ales/lagers remains as exceptional as ever.
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Good quality ales in a decent boozer. Drank proper job and Sheps Masterbrew, both good.
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This is one of my favourite pubs. The choice of beers is good with about half a dozen real ales on at any time. The beers are invariably well kept and I've never had any problem with the staff as I've always found them attentive, polite and helpful. The no children rule could be a problem for some but it's a traditional pub and a no children rule works for them. It obviously doesn't adversely affect custom. If you like good beer and plenty of choice leave the kids at home and enjoy your visit.
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Great pub, excellent beer and I like the fact that there is no music or kids. Always found the staff very good but maybe i've just been in at the right time.
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Yes, if this barmaid is the one I'm thinking of, her surly attitude spoils what is a truly fantastic pub, one of the best in Kent. It's a shame as she simply doesn't appear to enjoy her job.
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If you are going to a pub for exceptional real ale - look no further. The ales are all exceedingly well kept. The landlord needs to appply the same amount of attention to detail to his bar staff's version of customer care, however. An afternoon's enjoyment quaffing the splendid ale was marred by the hostile and unfriendly attitude of the female bar tender Maybe she'd a bad night the night before - admittedly she did look a little rough. In this day and age, you'd think people would be a little more pleasant, when they are relying on customers coming through the doors for their living.
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I love this pub, good ales (especially Adnams), good food, friendly staff and an interesting interior. I like the fact children aren't allowed and that they're dog friendly (he even got a bone of the landlord), but this won't suit everyone.
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This is an excellent pub. Reasonable prices for beer, a great selection of ales which are in perfect condition. Add to that comfortable seating (welcome after a long walk), friendly staff and a pleasant location.
Floyd - 15 Aug 2011 20:57 |
Excellent local pub. The ales and cider are spectacular. It's cosy and atmospheric and boasts lots of war time pictures and photographs on the walls. It's 18+, which is perfect, simply because screaming kids and children running around is not what you want if you want a quiet cosy drink! It's great in the summer and it's gorgeous in the winter. Definitely have to visit.
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Anyone planning a visit here should be advised that families are unwelcome. While the inn makes no pretensions to being child friendly, I was not prepared for the downright hostility we received. Our well-behaved seven year old daughter was banned not only from the bars (fair enough) but also the garden and the conservatory. I had to take her outside into the car park where there were a couple of stone tables and benches adjacent to the road; we weren�t even permitted inside to choose our meal - a far cry from the pleasant lunch we anticipated from the Good Beer Guide. In spite of the excellent range of high quality beers and cider, we shall not be returning.
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Beautiful, classic country pub with a "No kids" policy. About six real-ales on, they seem to focus on Adnams but I had a fine pint of Masterbrew and there was also Tribute & Goachers on. Food is cheap & cheerful to the extreme, only five cooked items on the menu: max price �8.50. We went for the submarine rolls which were just what we needed. I like this place a lot, shame it's so far from my home patch.
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visited after despicable prices & service at the Golden Lion - no comparison good honest pub - we'll be back
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Paid my second visit to this pub 4 weekends ago.
Couldn't believe that I didn't fully appreciate it just how stunning it is on my first visit.
Really is a fantastic country pub and a lovely old builing (see Trainman's review of 10.9.09 for more extensive details)
This place has rocketed straight into the best 10 pubs I've been to in the UK.
They've got Camra awards on the wall for 3 years in a row. Also noticed they had a Times top 50 places to eat in the countryside award (number 15).
The food is good honest normal pub food. I had the soup which was delicious, as was the roast beef sandwich.
To top if all of, they have a "No Children" policy, which I thought was superb.
I've given up daytime weekend drinking in some of my local pubs, because you can't move for kids and pushchairs and the lunch brigade.
Just to make things even better they have a choice of 2 draught Ciders ... neither of which being Wrongbow.
They have Weston's Stowford Press and one I'd never seen before called Hogans ... which tasted very similar to Weston's Organic.
A must visit pub.
Brilliant.
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Fab pub, with a great range and a very decent pint of Goachers Mild and perfectly good food. I'm not a regular and I'm sure it's very much a locals pub (it would have to be, given the location) but the staff were all exceedingly friendly. My nostalgic side could have kept me gawping at all the memorabilia for hours, and I can't help thinking it would have been a fantastic place to get snowed in a few weeks ago....will definitely be going out of my way to take more people there, one of Kent's best....
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vERY NICE PUB , EXCELLENT BAR STAFF, EXPERIENCED FRIENDLY LANDLORD AND WITHOUT DOUBT THE BEST PINT OF ADNAMS BROADSIDE MONEY CAN BUY! WELL DONE!
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Lovely country pub.
I won't go into detail as Trainman has written a six page document on it, 2 comments below mine.
I must say though that our visit was a bit soured by the unfreindly/cold approach of the 2 barmaids. The short plump one was verging on just plain old rude.
Got the impression that it's very much a locals pub, as I noticed the barmaid was much more talkative/smiley with the regulars as we were leaving.
Maybe she was having a bad day, and it wouldn't put me off a return visit.
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Always does great beer, excellent selection. Food may be limited these days, but what is on offer is always good. Staff are great - a pint that seemed perfectly ok to the drinker and had been half finished, was taken away by staff who thought it looked cloudy, and a fresh pint was brought. That's real service. Great outdoor areas, cosy bars and atmostphere. No loud music, fruit machines, or noisy children - absolute heaven in a real country pub.
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Instantly impressive; low beamed ceiling, gleaming brass handpumps, polished wood floor, quality rugs, friendly welcome. The pumps are unclipped, but the beers are listed on a chalkboard at the bar � mostly mainstream, but a decent selection � Black Sheep, Goachers Dark Mild, Adnams Bitter & Broadside, Hogs Back Best, Doombar, Sheps Masterbrew, 3or4 of which will rotate. Your fussy correspondent thought his Hogs Back was ok on Saturday & had raised no complaint, but a new barrel was pulled thru in a trice, unbidden, and my pint removed to be replaced afresh. The public has a few barstools, a bar billiard table in very good nick, a dartboard with polished brass oche and other board versions stored nearby, incl Yorkshire board (standard layout but no trebles), what looks to be called an Ipswich Fives, or Wide 5s (20,5,15,10 repeated thrice to form just 12 segments), Lincolnshire Board (like the Yorkshire but no outer bull, & all black face), but I didn�t see a Manchester Log-End (smaller, different number layout, no treble, tiny doubles, and the Elm wood needs soaking overnight to make soft enough to play!). We did have a game, and the guv showed us the sensible chain which links over to prevent accidental access from the conservatory. The bar room also features a photo of �Camer & Redwood Shoot�s Beaters� Day 2006�, wall mounted heads of stags & foxes, decoy ducks, a log pile, a mounted replica of a 32lb salmon produced from a cast (haha) of the original fish, and another (trout?) caught, in Ireland, by a Cock regular who unfortunately turned up his toes the following day - something of Hemingway�s Old Man & the Sea about that.
The conservatory (with suspended wood ceiling) is nicely wood furnished, with each table supplied with games sets (eg doms, crib, backgammon), singer sewing machines sit atop a display case of model motorbikes, a portrait of Winston Churchill presides above the wood-stove (central, also, to the bar-room, where hang assorted polished copper skillets), a wood barrel supports an old typewriter, above which another case displays model cars (pre-Matchbox?). Out to the prettily planted fenced garden, concrete replica tree-trunk tables with proper canvas umbrellas which can be wound up or down. Split between a small lawn, stone tiles, & gravel (not Roger�s petanque piste, which I missed), there is even a covered trellis (smokers allowed) with seating, heat lamps, a pot-bellied stove, a dartboard (hung v low), and a small section of immitation bar-top, complete with bar stools! Hanging bags of nuts were proving very popular with the birds (stop that tittering at the back Watson!).
The corridor to the lounge has more display models, and showcases of old beer cans. The saloon bar has a sewing machine table opposite a leather sofa and settle library corner, which is homely with a rug on wooden floor, and works nicely (unlike most sofas in pubs). More books crowd a ceiling shelf near the bar which, itself, sports prints of the hunt. Both bars have ceiling covered in old (& very old) beer mats and both have wooden pillars decorated with brasses (I�ve warned you Watson!). Air & rail memorabilia are also present, in fact the friendly guv, who even showed me his amazing organisation of the small cellar, commented that the collection of diverse sundries had built up over his 25yrs at the pub. The pub is dog-friendly and a troop of happy Springers were wagging around on Sat. Apparently there is an owned cricket pitch next door(?), didn�t see that.
The lounge bar is the original build (1713) with the public added later that century. If you are walking from Sole Street stn, as we did, you can take the footpath around or across the field to save the much longer walk around Sole St and Gold St (see google satellite map above). And with this on the same line as Farningham Road stn (for Horton Kirby�s Bull), there�s really no excuse not to head out this way.
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Almost faultless. We came across this superb pub only a few months ago when we discovered the local branch of 2CVGB (The Citroen 2CV Owners Club) meet there on the 2nd Monday of each month. So far the beer has been excellent especially the Goachers Mild. The friendly landlord welcomed us when we arrived. As he was sitting on the public side of the bar we thought he was a local. Modest food but really tasty ciabattas. Dominoes and Poker Dice on the tables, and a rare bar billards table. The place is a credit to the owner and an example that country pubs don't need to close down when they are run properly.
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This quintessential 300 year old rural pub is tucked away down some small country lanes but is well worth digging out the satnav to locate. The current owners have been there 25 years and created a pub with a very good and long established local reputation that attracts several local community organizations including the cricket club, walking groups, bike enthusiasts (you can always expect to see a few lovingly restored Triumphs and Nortons pulling up in the car park), Morris Dancers and all manor of obscure sporting groups.
The interior is divided into similar sized 2 bars that lead from a flagstoned corridor that contains collections of beer cans, bottles, model cars and wartime charts and posters. The saloon bar at the front has bare floors with rugs, old beams, exposed brickwork and a couple of enticing fireplaces. Brasses, cigarette cards, old World War 2 posters and memorabelia are dotted about with various bits of Bric a Brac including an old fashioned telephone. The ceiling is littered with fading beer mats and there are several bulging bookshelves if you fancy a quiet read. To the rear is the public bar with more collectables, old local photosa nd a few stuffed animals as well as dart board and bar billiards table. A dining area stretches into the picturesque and partly covered beer garden complete with water feature and a Petanque pitch (they have a league team based here).
7 Ales generally available including a mild (Goachers), Adnams, Adnams Extra and 4 rotating guest beers (Master Brew, Doom Bar, Bass and Burton Bridge on my recent visit). Quality is excellent and prices very reasonable (between �2.70 and �2.90 - CAMRA members receive 10p off with their Membership Card). The hand pumps are all located in the public bar but the ales are listed in the saloon bar on a blackboard.
There is no music, TV�s or fruit machines and entertainment is of the traditional kind. It must be said that the Tuesday quiz is not pitched at the average pub goer although it does appear to be immensely popular so take along a few local Einsteins if you plan to have a go. It should be noted that the place is dog friendly but children are a no-no (which is a blessing to some, a burden to others).
A very civilised, friendly and well run place with quality beers a great deal of appeal.
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If you've got visitors from foreign parts, and you want to take them to a proper country pub, this is just the sort of place you need to take them to. Although they do food, the emphasis is, quite rightly, on providing excellent beer in pleasant and interesting surroundings. Thoroughly recommended.
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We go there late on a Sunday afternoon for a couple of pints of Goachers mild. The front bar is always warm and welcoming with a lovely open fire and a very relaxed atmosphere, dogs appear welcome and books abound for the avid reader.
The choice of beers is excellent and the staff polite.
The rear bar does tend to be very cliquey and we have only ventured in there twice, on both occasions we shuffled around a bit feeling out of place then mooched round to the other bar.
Still one of our favourite pubs on a Sunday more so during the winter months.
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Splendid - all you could wish for in a country pub. Top marks for the devotion to real ale and getting beers in from all over the country.
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very nice pub nice female staff and good fun to go to and cool dart borad
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have to say when i first saw this pub i was not excited about it at all but once inside all i could think of was the old curiosity shop beers were great staff friendly and best still its the only pub i know of that really welcomes dogs wish i had brought mine instead of the old man !
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Strangely, part of what makes this a great pub is what it doesn't have - no children in the bars, no fruit machines, no TVs. What it does have is fantastic beer, both in choice and quality.
Contrary to a couple of other reviews, I've always found the place very friendly and welcoming too.
Never eaten more than a sandwich there, but the hot food always looks good.
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the previous reviewer has knock it on the head.its the most cliquey pub ive ever used.this pub is in a very small community and tends to serve that,its just doesnt feel comfy.we have been using the pub since the owner had cards on the table telling visitors that it was a pub for ales sake and not a resturant.they ended up doing food and a number of chefs have come and gone.the best being graham,as far as im aware is now at fawkham green.the beers at this pub are among the best in kent.ive peeked at the cellar through the open doors while a delivery was taking place and its amazing how good a job is done with such a small celler.the pub remains a free house and beers from all over are found.the owner would certainly never sell his sole to interbrew no matter how large the carrot to do so.i imagine that this could be the best pub in kent for an assignation.its dead most lunchtimes.again i can see last reviewers point,but i cant resist the occasional trip to this lovely pub for a pint of goachers mild,a drink virtually extinct now.its still worth a visit but be prepared to enter a world thats similar to a scene from "a league of gentlemen"
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I don't know what it is - I've been in this very highly regarded pub a good few times now, and I just can't really warm to it.
The beer's good, it's not unfriendly, the (admittedly limited) food I've had there's been OK- so what is? Maybe a bit cliquey? Perhaps, but that's something you only complain about when you're not one of the clique. So it remains a mystery, and fortunately I seem to be in a minority of one. So good luck to the place.
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Visited this pub with a couple of mates all the way from Portsmouth, we weren't disappointed. What a great pub with lovely real ales... And we tried them all!!!! Well worth the trip and we'll certainly go back.
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Visited last year- enjoyed the food very much. Nice atmosphere.
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One of the cosiest, most enveloping pubs I have ever been to. Walking into the Cock is a bit like puuting on your favourite lambswool jumper, warming, strangely familiar, comforting... A superb range of expertly kept beers. There is always something interestting and different on. Battersea beers a favourite. Go there and remind yourself what a country pub should be about.
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never had a bad pint here the land lord knows his stuff , a good selection of ales,well kept.
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A great place well worth finding � good selection of beers that are well served � always a friendly welcome and a nice place to relax
nigit - 23 Aug 2006 15:35 |
We visited some months back, so the cider was still on. A dank winter's day was brightened considerably by an afternoon spent in front of the fire with some great real ale from Westerham Brewery, followed by a careful tasting of the cider. Real cider is such a rare thing these days. If it has gone, that is a real shame.
As we are of a certain age, we spent much time, and amusement looking at the collection of toy cars.
Really nice pub, friendly locals, and an eclectic mix of walkers.
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Bad news - the Cock has been forced to stop selling its real ciders & perry. Some nutters were getting hammered on the 8% stuff and causing a nuisance - so, no more Old Rose, Biddenden etc.
The beers still great , , , ,
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The Cock continues to maintain its high standard.
I recently attended a "Meet the Brewer" evening at the Cock - the head brewer from Adnams gave a talk about the brewing process and broached a firkin of Adnams bitter which has glass ends. You could see the impact on the beer - a great night.
Put this one on your list !
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this pub is renowned for its quality for service and ales. the knowledgable and friendly staff make the pub experience more enjoyable. a true english pub at its best!
larry - 27 Sep 2004 13:51 |
This is a pub for beer - at least six real ales (Adnams Best a constant feature) and up to four real ciders. Limited food - but this pub is a about beer. Rural location, outside seating areas - a classic !
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