The Crown & Thistle - Pubs In Gravesend - Country Pubs In Kent

The Crown & Thistle - Pubs In Gravesend - Country Pubs In Kent

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The Crown & Thistle - Pubs In Gravesend - Country Pubs In Kent

The Crown & Thistle's ambition is to provide its customers with great beer in a traditional pub atmosphere free from blaring music, games machines and wall to wall TVs. They generally offer five real ales and hand-pumped Weston's draught cider, with three lagers, including Czech-brewed Budvar and Stowford Press Cider.

The pub is set in a terrace house built in 1707 as one of three cottages that was converted into a beerhouse in 1838. The first record of the pub being called the Crown and Thistle was in 1889, and it was named to commemorate the Treaty of Union between England and Scotland signed in 1707, the year the cottages were built. The Crown & Thistle situated next to the River Thames, has not always enjoyed such success and was closed in 2000. However the phoenix rose from the flames and opened under new ownership on Easter Saturday 2001.

Since reopening over 1,000 different ales have been drunk at the Crown & Thistle. At the time of our visit Gravesend Shrimpers Bitter and Body Warmer were just two of the real ales on offer. If you can't make up your mind don't worry, the bar staff generally allow you to try before you buy.

There is a small secluded beer garden to the rear and the pub overlooks the Thames to the front. The building is small and narrow but really comfortable inside with a fairly tradition Kentish pub interior (hops and nautical memorabilia).

Winner of The CAMRA Pub Of The Year 2003. The National Pub of the Year competition, which has been running since 1988, analyses all the criteria that makes up a good pub including the quality of the beer, atmosphere, décor, service and welcome and value for money It is one of the most prestigious awards available to pubs in the countryBob Stukins, CAMRA’s Pubs Director and one of the final judges said, “The Crown and Thistle is a superb pub that excelled in all of the areas that CAMRA takes into consideration when judging this award. On behalf of CAMRA, I would like to congratulate them on this success and hope the award benefits their future business as it has done for many previous winners."

The pub is open all day and serves snacks. If you want something more substantial you can order a; Thai, Chinese or Indian meal and eat it in the non smoking restaurant area at the rear of the pub using the pub's plates and cutlery. There is limited street parking in the vicinity.

The Crown & Thistle is worthy of the accolades that have recently been bestowed upon it. The beer is exceptional, the atmosphere warm but unintrusive, the staff helpful and the mixture of local and visiting customers friendly. It's definitely a beer drinkers pub so it's not going to appeal to pool players, or Karaoke fanatics. In our opinion it's well worth going out of your way to visit and is at this moment in time one of the best pubs in Kent.

The Crown & Thistle

• 44 The Terrace
  Gravesend
  Kent
• 01474 326049

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