ALL SHIP SHAPE AT THE SHIP CENTURION

December 2025. Whitstable.

A Proper Day in Whitstable must include oysters and beer and pashmina shops and pebbles on the beach.

Mrs RM fancied something “authentic” but the seafood restaurants were both expensive and fussy looking, and you don’t really come to the Kent coast for curry.

Oh, here’s an idea…

The Ship Centurion is Whitstable, at least to Pub Men, with decades in the Beer Guide and authentic Germanic grub.

A cheery but civilised (I mean it’s not a Chelmsford style swearing pub) locals place, with Old Boys at the bar discussing their mate whose broken leg wasn’t deterring him joining them later.

The German food may have gone, but this is still a rare Adnams Bitter showcase (NBSS 4) stronghold, with an equally good house Goachers a bonus.

No schnitzel, and their own  main menu replaced today by a simpler menu from Gilberts deli a minute away.

Somehow we resist “Huffkins” in favour of excellent jacket potatoes,

which suit the atmosphere in the Centurion well.

Your soundtrack goes uneasily from Simply Red to “Roxanne” to “Mistletoe and Wine“, but Mrs RM only has ears for the blokes discussing botox.

“There’s a blockage out front, John. You need to move your mobility scooter“.

John leaps up, fixes the blockage, and is back to his pint in 30 seconds.

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

14 thoughts on “ALL SHIP SHAPE AT THE SHIP CENTURION”

  1. Oh dear, that title’s a bit of a tongue twister that might risk your readers using a naughty word, especially as it’s about a county where the ancient brewer used to be known as S**t and Scream !

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      1. Oh no, you’ve just reminded me of my second pint of it this year last Monday, so old and stale that the plum essence was hardly detectable.
        And why have you removed the “hi” from my last comment while “HI” is so clearly visible in the last photograph ?

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  2. It used to be called the Ship Centurion Arminius, but they dropped the last word for some reason. Maybe the sign painter started but couldn’t finish?

    It’s always been fine on my several visits. On one occasion there’d been a wake, and despite the mourners being very much the worse for wear, no fight ensued.

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  4. (I feel bad about posting this as I’ve seen the Peter post, but this way I can concentrate tomorrow when I have more time)

    “and you don’t really come to the Kent coast for curry.”

    (slow golf clap)

    “with decades in the Beer Guide and authentic Germanic grub.”

    Germanic? Is that a fancy way to say the cook is from Buckingham Palace (Hapsburgs dontcha know).

    “A cheery but civilised (I mean it’s not a Chelmsford style swearing pub) locals place”

    Is anything like Chelmsford?
    (honestly, I have no idea) 😎

    “but this is still a rare Adnams Bitter showcase (NBSS 4) stronghold”

    Sounds luverly.

    “Somehow we resist “Huffkins” in favour of excellent jacket potatoes,”

    I’d have gone for something besides the “Huffkins”, as I have no idea what that is.

    “John leaps up, fixes the blockage, and is back to his pint in 30 seconds.”

    Blimey. I call shenanigans on John even needing a mobility scooter with quick action like that!

    Cheers

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    1. Huffkins sounds a bit like the Essex huffer, a regional variation by style, not name, of giant filled sandwich.

      “Is anything like Chelmsford ?” may well be the Eternal Question.

      Chelmsford is a modern looking county town, all large offices and shops and night clubs, ringed by a few decent pubs with sweary Essex Blokes. I guess Ashford or Basingstoke off the M3 west of London are comparable towns, but perhaps Chelmsford deserves a proper reevaluation.

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    2. I’m guessing the Ship Neptune was run by a German 20 or so years ago. It’s still got the flag outside and lots of German beer signs. You’d love it.

      Not many German menus in UK pubs, outside our fake Oktoberfest, though we go mad for bratwurst about now.

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    3. I’ll definitely have more to say about Old Mudgie after a period of review. I suspect if you type “Mudgie” or “Pub Curmudgeon” into the search function on my blog you’ll get a hundred references.

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