Canterbury – Eight Bells

Located a little outside of the city centre, this is probably a pub which isn’t visited by many visitors to Canterbury. However, the exterior looks welcoming and it’s clean and well maintained. WhatPub notes that the pub is owned by Admiral Taverns, which doesn’t fill me with high expectations though.

I’m not over-whelmed by choices here, it’s Young’s Bitter or Young’s Special. I’m OK with both, although these aren’t fascinating choices for such a well reviewed pub. However, my choice of Young’s Special tasted fine, although I’d have preferred for the pint to have been allowed to settle before it was served.

A cluttered back bar, although I like the items randomly placed above the bar. The service missed some of the elements I like, such as being acknowledged whilst waiting and conversation beyond the minimum needed, but it was efficient and customers were served in turn. The music from the 1980s is at an acceptable volume to me, which is very quiet, but I don’t really see it as necessary.

There is though a lovely little garden area, and it’s rare to see a pub still with outside toilets. Although the pub didn’t burden themselves with providing soap or a hand dryer…

Clean and comfortable, this is a traditional pub which apparently offers some exceptional food (I say apparently only because I’m not here to try it). Does it offer anything which makes it worth the walk from the city centre? Probably not….