Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Cheers to beers in the great outdoors
Lockdown has given pub owners the perfect opportunity to spruce up their beer gardens. Joe Wright looks at some of the district’s best...
With their doors locked and taps idle for months, landlords have been busy preparing their outdoor spaces for the long-awaited return of customers.
And while some have made just minor tweaks, others have gone for a full-blown redesign as they attempt to make their venues as attractive as possible. In Whitstable, for those basking in the sunny garden at the Rose in Bloom, it’d be easy to think they were enjoying a drink on a Mediterranean island. A revamp during lockdown has seen the Seasalter pub’s owners invest heavily in making the garden a drinker’s paradise. Landlord Steve Prigg - who has run the pub for 25 years - has installed a newly-built pathway lined with eye-catching plants leading customers to their tables, which enjoy views over the Swale estuary, out towards Sheppey.
New furniture sits on freshly-varnished decking, with lights hanging from verandas twinkling overhead.
And if the weather turns and the heavens open, punters will still be kept dry as the pub has installed a retractable roof after securing planning permission from the council.
“It really is beautiful,” said manageress Maureen Mitchell, who has worked at the pub for 19 years.
“With the Covid rules coming in, Steve knew we’d have more people wanting to eat and drink outside, so he’s invested a lot in making it as nice as it can be. “There’s definitely a Mediterranean influence to it, and when the sun’s shining it feels like you could be abroad.
“The feedback we’ve had so far has been brilliant.
“After a miserable year we’re just hoping for a long, hot summer.”
The garden seats about 350 people.
Over in Canterbury, the White Hart Inn has benefitted from a significant revamp of its garden area, and the outdoor dining area at The Dolphin has undergone a major overhaul in the past few months.
Pub magnate Charles Smythe - who also runs the Old City Bar, Black Griffin, Seven Stars and Thomas Becket - took on The Doplhin last March.
He has pumped £62,000 into redesigning the massive garden at the St Radigunds venue and is now beginning to at last reap the rewards.
“Originally we put a patio and decking area down as it was very difficult to get into the garden down four steep steps,” he said.
“Then when we were open for the few months after the first lockdown, we realised the grass turned into a big dust bowl. So we’ve patioed all of it to make sure no one will slip over.” A huge tent cover has now been installed, allowing drinkers and diners to enjoy their stay, protected from spring showers.
“We’ve increased the seating from 54 to 280,” Charles said. “About 180 can fit under the big stretched tent with heating, and of course be socially distanced. “The tent is 10x12 metres and that only covers a third of the garden - so we’ve got a massive space.
“One thing we’ve taken on board during all of this is waiter and waitress service and how everyone loves going to Europe sitting on tables and being served outside.
“So we’re going to carry that on even after all the restrictions are over.
“We have a minimum of 10, usually 15 staff outside, and we’ll have an outside bar operating when we’re allowed. I’m not going to say people won’t have to ever wait for drinks but we’ve reduced it as much as possible.” Mr Smythe is planning on taking down the large cover at the end of June to allow all drinkers to bask in the summer sunshine. He says the pub, which opened at 10am last Monday and was full by midday, is proving to be immensely popular. Outside the city, the Old Coach and Horses in Harbledown has an outdoor lounge bar complete with u-shaped sofas - along with a revamped garden. Landlord Eddie Sargeant has transformed the large space he has available to create new
areas with varying styles. The pub can now cater for about 200 people outside. Discussing his new lounge bar last summer, Mr Sargeant said: “This is going to be something where customers literally say ‘wow’ when they see it. “There’s nothing else like it in Canterbury - it’s going to be a very cool and chilled place. “It’s really got that Mediterranean feel to it, it definitely looks the part.”
Back over in Whitstable, the East Kent now boasts an outdoor pizza kitchen complete with a wood-burning oven. With their Oxford Street pub now also sporting a renovated garden, licensees Natalie and Andrew Wickham have also introduced a covered seating area.
Mrs Wickham said: “It’s a small kitchen in the pub itself and we are producing a huge amount of freshly cooked food from it. We were unable to make the kitchen bigger, so the introduction of the pizza kitchen outside means we now have two cooking areas.
“The whole team is super excited to show off the new additions to the pub.”
‘There’s definitely a Mediterranean feel and when the sun’s shining it feels like you could be abroad. The feedback so far has been brilliant’