...but before I get to the final liszt (enters Ronnie Corbett ‘monologue’ mode)… I was only speaking to the producer the other day… and he suggested it would be a good idea, if prior to announcing the top 5 pubs, I listed the best, ie. the funniest postings. Who am I to argue, I thought. So here they are…
…voted for by a random selection of people in the street who’s
cats prefer Whiskas and who can’t believe margarine isn’t butter… and not by
me, I hasten to add… I think they’re all rubbish, [Enough Corbett] here is…
…the best of the CBP:
- The Piper (No. 9)
- Carriages Café Bar (No. 27)
- Bar 69 (No. 35)
- Off the Wall (No. 54)
- The Brewery Arms (No. 57)
- The City Arms (No. 58)
- The Anchor (No. 59)
- Revolution (No. 79)
- The Chester Bells (No. 92)
- The Falcon (No. 93)
- The Shropshire Arms (No. 97)
- Rheum (No. 101)
- The Waikiki Bar (No. 103)
- Watergates (No. 106)
- The Living Room (No. 109)
- Missoulla (No. 110)
- The Rectory (No. 111)
Tres drole, I’m sure you’ll
agree, but now to the main event. In reverse order, from five down to one, here
are the CBP top five pubs:
5. The Royal Oak (No. 20)
It’s a rare event these days
to find a traditional pub that’s still in its original state with all the small
rooms and snugs intact. It’s even rarer to find such a place which is also a
healthy thriving business, but that’s exactly what we have here. And it’s not
hard to see why. Despite being tied to a brewery, a wide selection of real ales
is always on offer and the landlord and landlady are usually behind the bar
themselves, ensuring the atmosphere is both friendly and lively, due to the
happy way they go about their work and their clear enthusiasm for the job. Add
to the mix the fact that there’s bagatelle - the Chester game, and a really
nice outdoor covered seating area - and what you end up with is a superb
community boozer that’s always busy. It’s a great local pub.
4. The Old Harkers Arms (No. 36)
What Brunning & Price
tried to do with a derelict old canalside warehouse a number of years ago was
to create a ‘city of London’ pub in the heart of Chester. What they’ve actually
created is better than that – primarily because it’s not full of bankers !
Unless of course you count crumply-suited provincial mortgage consultants and
pensions advisors, who along with estate agents, solicitors and various other
‘professional’ types seem to have made this place their second home. This is
Chester’s busiest pub for a reason though. It’s very well run, the wide range
of real ales is always in excellent condition and the atmosphere is usually
lively. It can even be full on a Monday or Tuesday night. Downsides are the
‘aloof’ disposition of some of the staff, the draconian policy on closing
(you’re often forced out of the door by 11:30 !) and the high prices. Still a
fantastic boozer though.
3. The Carlton Tavern (No. 5)
Quite simply, this is
Chester’s best community pub – a street corner boozer that’s been brought into
the 21st century by a dynamic, hard working landlord who’s been
given the freedom to develop the business by a brewery (Hyde’s of Manchester)
which is perhaps a little more forward thinking than most. It’s a pub that’s
popular with the locals but good enough to draw customers from a much wider
area as well. This is particularly the case when one their famous twice-yearly
beer festivals is being held. Excellent real ales from Hyde’s (naturally) and
other Manchester brewers such as Marble and Allgate’s are usually available, as
are beers from ‘Chester Ales’ – a Saltney based micro-brewer in which the
Carlton has an interest. Across the river and up the hill – it’s well worth the
short walk from the town centre, people.
2. The Cellar (No. 45)
We’re now in the realms of
pub perfection and we had a very difficult job separating these last two. I was
trying to find a word that best describes the Cellar – and I think the word is
modern. This place represents evolution – maybe it’s even the forerunner of the
next generation of Chester pubs. Whether or not the craft beer revolution will
ever completely eclipse the traditional brewers is open for debate, but the
Cellar certainly has more in common with a Brewdog bar for instance than the
‘Olde Dog & Duck’,* for here you will find beer heaven. On one side of the
bar, there are three constantly changing cask ales, usually from local micro-brewers,
which are always in perfect condition. These are complimented by an array of
keg fonts across the rest of the bar carrying a wide range of imported German
and Belgian beers, from black lagers and wheat beers to strawberry lambics**
and unusual ciders. In addition, the fridges are well stocked with more Belgian
beers and some quite frankly ‘wacky’ offerings from the rest of the world and
beyond. Add to the equation, some high quality live music and late opening at
the weekends and what you get is the perfect city centre pub. This is the
future. Others will follow their lead.
* this place doesn’t exist – it’s a cipher – a stereotypical
‘traditional English pub’ reference point. Don’t look for it in the list. It’s
not there !
** I’m making this up.
1. The Pied Bull (No. 86) & (Beer Festival)
And finally ! If Harkers
(No. 36) is a ‘City of London’ pub in the heart of Chester, then the Pied Bull
is a ‘City of Chester’ pub in the heart of Chester ! If that makes any sense. I
guess what I’m trying to say is that it epitomises Chester – ancient
architecture within the famous city walls, staffed by friendly local people and
it epitomises a modern English pub – focus very much on the traditional pint
rather than, ahem ‘poncey’ beers, but with the net cast wider than the
traditional brewers. The place was wrestled from the grip of the appalling
PubCo, Punch Taverns a few years ago and the business has steadily been
developed since then by focusing on providing quality real ales. This
philosophy even extends to brewing beer on the premises. A small micro-brewery
is in operation in the cellar, producing a range of ‘Pied Bull’ brews, one or
more of which is usually available at the bar – and they’re not afraid to
experiment either. For example, I think their ‘Raging Bull’ is the hoppiest ale
I’ve ever drunk ! Apart from the micro-brewery, the other thing the Pied Bull
is famous for is organising it’s own twice yearly beer festival at which there
is usually a ‘meet the brewer’ event. These are not to be missed for any
Chester based real ale fan – and for anyone who isn’t, attending one of these
events is likely to convert you. The Pied Bull is still a work in progress – it
could do with a refurbishment for instance, but we sort of like the rough edges
to be honest. The fact that they brew their own beer is what swung the decision
in the great Cellar vs. Pied Bull debate. Best of luck to them anyhow. Long may
they continue to serve fantastic ale and long may they continue to brew.
Right then, that’s it. It’s
been a lot of fun. I hope we’ve provided a few laughs – that’s been the main
objective of chronicling this odyssey to be honest. I hope nobody feels
offended in any way at the comments made – that certainly wasn’t our intention,
although neither was it our intention to offer a flaccid uninteresting story.
Maybe we’ve been a bit controversial at times, but we just walk into pubs on a
Thursday night and ‘say it how it is’ ! I hope we’ve managed to stimulate some
interest in the pubs of the great city of Chesterville anyhow – viewing figures
for this site would indicate that we’ve been successful in that respect and
hopefully that’s to the benefit of the Chester pub and beer drinking community
in general.