please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
After a period of closure following flood damage caused by Storm Desmond this nice little local was reopened a year ago by a couple from London who made a great effort to make a go of it. Unfortunately it was reported in this week's Gazette that they are calling it a day, hinting that people would rather patronise the likes of Wetherspoon's than support a friendly community local and pay a bit more for their beer. It will only reopen if and when a new licensee can be found.
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Ale was okay but I did feel like I was intruding in the breakfast room of a B & B rather than having a pint in a pub.
anonymous - 13 Jun 2016 20:06 |
Castle re-opened after floods .
Reported to be back to normal , thank the Lord.
Next time I'm in Kendal The Castle is a MUST.
Brilliant managers, great staff, grand beer and best Sunday Lunch in Westmorland.
Darts,pool, doms, patrons who talk about any and everything.
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Bustling on Tuesday night when I called - dominoes being played in one room, a ladies' darts match ongoing in the bar and a large table of rather posh people having a private quiz in the lounge. Obviously a popular local, with a good atmosphere. I was rather surprised to be charged �2.90 for a pint of locally brewed Jennings ordinary bitter (3.5%) which, whilst the beer was perfectly drinkable, is what I would expect to pay in central London where ales of this strength are often considerably cheaper.
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Ok, good craic. Barmaid was rude and quite dour however.
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I bought a pint of Ennerdale Blonde here which turned out to be cloudy and tasted tart, quite unlike the pints of it I have enjoyed elsewhere. The Landlord refused to exchange it, however, on the grounds that he could not improve its condition. This was just how it was for him. It is a pity that he hadn't pointed that out when he accepted our order in the first place, however.
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Agree with sooty's comments. A while ago the beer was nothing special. Tried three different ales one night and all were average if that. Recently though there appears to be more effort made to look after them. Have enjoyed pints of Ennerdale Blonde and a brew from Brysons on different visits in the past few months. Which is more than enough reason to call in but this is also one of Kendal's few traditional community pubs with a friendly atmosphere and people drinking here to enjoy themselves. Food is also good and the staff friendly. If i lived closer i would certainly have this as my local.
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I was back in the other night and things seemed to back to normal and the beer quite good. Probably just a temporary blip.
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I'm quite regularly in the Castle and I think the beer is not being as well kept as it use to be.
Also I feel that it�s starting to loose its friendly atmosphere.
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This is a little out of the way but makes a welcome change to the high street pubs in Kendal. We enjoyed a relaxed Good Friday quaffing ale and sheltering from the rain.
Even one of the local's personal hygeine issues didn't cause us to move.
Heartily recommended!
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visit this pub quite regularly. beer always well kept. but dent has gone? bar staff always friendly, but price of beer has crept up recently.
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Late comment, but we enjoyed our Dent and Black Sheep beers here in August.
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been here many times this is a wow pub all should visit
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Further to my previous review of the Castle, I can now heartily recommend the food as well - especially the giant Yorkshire Puddings. And I can add a further endorsement of the ale. Marvellous!
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A very nice pub with friendly staff and well kept ale. Excellent!!
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Cracking pub just outside the town centre serving well kept real ale. Has a proper pubby type feel to it, which helps to create a good atmosphere, even when it's busy.
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A very good pub indeed. By far the best of the traditional kind in Kendal. It always seems calm in here, even when it's packed everyone seems happy, and when there are few in, mid-afternoon it is serene.
The beer is excellent as they always have a selection of usually local real ale guest beers, although the splendid Timothy Taylors Landlord does occasionally play. As far as pub food goes the homemade stuff here is top notch.
I've never in all the time i've been in here seen any sign of trouble, there again I always leave pubs if I notice that there's a wake on.
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This is a proper pub with Black Sheep Bitter, Tetleys (spit, spit!), Jennings Cumberland and a Dent brewery beer (the one to have). The food is amazingly cheap and, for the price, very good (in a scampi, sausages, pie kind of way). Unlike some Kendal pubs, it has lots of atmosphere (although the downside of this is that a near fight at a funeral wake didn't seem so surprising). The only real problem is that it can be very very smokey.
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