October 2026. Lydd-on-Sea. Kent.
Only five new Kent entries to tick in the Beer Guide, but excitingly one of them is out near eerie Dungeness, and so famous it’s got it’s own marker on the OS map.
I reckon we’d been in the Pilot twenty years ago before a family ride on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch light Railway, a ride memorable only for sub-arctic conditions. In May.
Wednesday saw the return to the south coast of drizzle, but that doesn’t deter the gentlefolk here for fish and chips as famous as those at Whitby’s Magpie or any Spoons between 2-5.
Yes, it’s an unashamedly themed diner, but it’s also bright and cheery,
and the house beer from Romney Marsh is a chewy, bitter, 3.5.
Everyone, including the staff, is older than us, so we get an overload of Phil Collins and Tears for Fears.
They’re taking good money, with fish and chips twenty quid and all desserts £8.95,
and good luck to them. It’s a jolly place.
It’s too breezy to take in the beach, but the photos outside the Gents give you the idea.
Outside, the beer garden is a mix of wrought iron,
and multi-coloured elephants.
That’s the most modern elephant slide I’ve seen in decades.
That looks like fun.
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A Bailey family favourite, although the Lydd-on-Sea address always confuses me, as it’s Dungeness as far as I am concerned!
Both Romney Marsh ales are good and, as well as the fish & chips, the fisherman’ pie is highly recommended.
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That’s what I thought, Paul !
I bet I recorded it as being Dungeness 25 years ago. The little village of Lydd-on-Sea feels separate.
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K
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More like a restaurant than a pub. I’ve been outside a few times, but not ventured in.
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Ooh, I genuinely can’t remember the last time I saw Spotted Dick on a menu. One can only hope it’s a proper steamed suet pud and not some baked cake monstrosity.
My late Mum would’ve been thrilled to see a Knickerbocker Glory.
Retro puds… takes me back. I’ve now got Proust dipping a madeleine in tea vibes!
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Although it’s called the Pilot I see that they have a pirate too, presumably to avoid disappointment for Japanese visitors.
It’s all jolly woody inside, I’m curious as to what it looked like from the outside too?
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