“A REAL PUB FOR LOCAL PEOPLE”
Reviewed 13 March 2013
Well hidden, a few miles from Plaxtol in a dell with a small brook running at the bottom of its beer garden, is the rare find that is the Golding Hop. Check out any beer site and you will see that the real ale brigade champion this place as the best pub in Kent and they do so with good reason! Like most really great real pubs its not for everyone so if you're expecting a classy gastro pub stay away and go to the Chaser of Papermakers Arms a few miles away! However, if you want to find a piece of lost England read on.....
On the front door there's a sign telling you that children are not allowed in the bar area - a good start in my book! Enter and there's a real fire to welcome you into the small bar area and you'll no doubt see the same old local faces propping up the bar in the middle of a lively debate, which might pause for a moment as you approach the bar but take it as a compliment - you're a novelty; a fresh face amongst locals who've been drinking here for years!
The place looks like its not been touched for decades and that's the beauty. Pickled eggs can be bought from behind the bar and
there's the best home made cider (called Rough, 7.3% vol) taken straight from the barrel in addition to casks of Adnams Old Ale and other bitters kept behind the bar.There's no taps and no draught beer here. It's either from the keg or from the bottle here and your choice of drinks for the ladies are limited! There are more ciders to choose from but in my opinion the Rough takes some beating. One pint of Rough and you'll be bantering with the locals and landlord like they've been your friends for some time and its then that you really get the Golding Hop.
Food during the day is served until 1:30pm and don't be a minute late and expect to be served because you won't be, for Eddie and Sonya are busy custodians. They're both part of the furniture, have probably been at the pub since the 50s and they're lovely people to talk to . Sonya serves the legendary Gammon, Eggs, beans & chips for about £7 which draws locals from miles around. Its a must but ensure you have a large appetite as the gammon spills over the plate and the chips for a small mountain.
Come to this pub, over any other of the many top class eateries in the area, if you want to go back in time, meet real and ever so friendly people, eat great home cooked food and drink beer and cider as it was meant to be drank; straight from the barrel.
