Click map for full image Deal has a wide selection of pubs to cater for most tastes - from CAMRA Good Beer Guide (2008) entries - the Bohemian, Deal Hoy, Prince Albert and Ship - to your lads Friday night on the town. There's also a sprinkling of pool tables - the Alma and the Saracens Head; and It Boxes - Kings Head, Alma, Hole in the Roof and Walmer Castle. A wide range of food is available, with the Port Arms and Kings Head offering traditional pub fare at a reasonable price; and the likes of the Oyster Bar and Bohemian offering separate restaurants with more formal eating.

1) Port Arms - After being closed in 2008, this was reopened under new management. Small but traditional looking pub with dark oak beams throughout. Small bar area; partly divided from the restaurant. It shares a patio area with the Kings Head outside, which is immensely popular in the summer as the pub has a seafront location. Although not visited since the refurb, it appears to still sells traditional pub grub but the pool table has now been removed.

2) Kings Head - An excellent, traditional local divided into 3-4 areas - all sharing a small, square bar. With the seafront location and shared patio, it's also hugely popular in the summer. This - combined with reasonably priced traditional pub food (Friday is steak night) - can make service quite slow during peak periods. Entertainment includes dartboard (with an active darts team), It Box and TV for sports. Occasional live bands, quiz and theme nights add to its popularity. Around 3 ales on tap - Abbot, Masterbrew and London Pride at last visit.

3) Dunkerley’s Hotel - Excellent seafood restaurant with a small bar room at the entrance. Tribute appears to be the regular brew, which is kept very well indeed.

4) Bohemian - Another seafront pub, just opposite the pier - offering spectacular views during the storms. The widest selection of beers in Deal, with 5-6 ales on pump, real cider and a good range of European beers bottled and on tap. An imaginative menu which, although looking relatively pricey, is generous on size and flavour. A small garden out the back is a suntrap in the summer, and the inside has undergone a recent refurbishment - with the quirky, more traditional decor being replaced by a clean, modern paint job (after about a year of being a dazzling stark white). Despite this it's still good for a quiet pint, but moreso now for a smarter night out.

5) Three Compasses - restaurant that also has a small bar serving a couple of traditional ales. Beer kept well, and food is of a very high standard.

6) New Inn - On the High Street, this is quite a locals pub, but with a friendly atmosphere and chatty bar staff. 1-2 beers on handpump.

7) Strand - Next to the New Inn, this catered for a much younger crowd with loud music on the TV; pool table and It Box. Closed in 2008, and has reopened as yet another amusement arcade)

8) Ship Inn - Nice, quieter, old pub, with dark wood furnishing and traditional fittings throughout. Four, very well kept ales on tap - including Gadds as regular - giving it a deserved entry in the Good Beer Guide. Plenty of seating and bar space, and a nice garden for catching the sun in summer. Probably the real ale enthusiast's pub of choice in Deal, and can get very busy in the evening.

9) Prince Albert - Sporting short opening hours, this has only been visited once on a Sunday lunchtime, when a mostly older clientele were enjoying their roasts. Couple of ales, served well.

10) Hole in the Roof - Quite a large pub with plenty of seating, a restaurant area and a patio out the front. Couple of beers on tap, regular live music and It Box.

12) Foresters Inn - An unusual place - small enough that it feels like someone's front room. Pool table, but no proper beer.

13) Royal Hotel - Shepard Neame pub which really feels like the chain-pub it is. Large lower bar and terraced area outside facing the sea. SN beers on tap, but fairly lackluster food. Family friendly.

14) Saracens Head - A decent local that has a couple of well-kept ales and Mild on tap. Participated in the Shepherd Neame beer festival, where a couple of guest ales were brought in. Pool table and darts available.

15) Deal Hoy - Nice, friendly local with 3-4 beers on tap. Decent bar at the front for the locals, and large seating area at the back for food. Recently changed hands (2009?)

18) Walmer Castle - The main pub for the younger end of Deal - sparse decor but cheap drinks. Darts and It Box in the front bar, and a garden out the back. Live music and jukebox means it's rarely quiet (and now sports a Wii in the front bar)

19) Oyster Bar and Restaurant - Nice small bar which leads into the larger restaurant. The friendly, ever-present host makes you feel welcome, as do the professional waiting and bar staff. No ales on handpump, but a couple of decent European beers including Weisbeer (although not cheap). At last pass it was hosting Champagne Friday and Sundays, with half prize bubbly. The restaurant is very popular, and booking is recommended Thurs-Sat - not surprisingly, the food is very good.

20) The Alma - Feels like a locals pub, and hosts a lot of younger drinkers. Friendly enough atmosphere though, and serves 1-2 ales (Sharp's Doom Bar is on regularly) - although quality can be hit or miss depending on how popular the ale is that night - can be very good, can be less so. It Box available.

< Pubs still to be visited>

11) Eagle Tavern, 16) Jolly Gardener, 17) Rose Hotel

 

 

Disclaimer: Some of these guides are years out of date, and are for entertainment or reminiscent value only. It's likely a number of the pubs included have since closed, changed hands, or are now completely different. Some of them I've only visited once, and hence may be misrepresented. These reviews are my opinion at the time of writing, and no accuracy in claimed in their description - for those of a sensitive nature, please take no offence.