Neston, Cheshire:
Related to Elephant Lounge, this is a bar in the centre of Neston, and was a handy place to wait for our Uber. Pleasant staff, similar coffee and craft beer offering to the lounge. Inside is again almost industrial decor, but with a few giveaways of the building’s origin (a NatWest bank, unsurprisingly).
One for the hifi nerds: both Elephant places we visit have sound provided by very nice Monitor Audio Bronze 2 speakers: unusual for a bar to invest in proper hifi gear.
Neston, Chesire:
Community pub in the middle of Neston. Pleasant enough if unexceptional. My pint (Theakston’s Summit) was foul at first try, but pulling through the lines properly changed that without fuss.
Not bad inside, but far too many high seats, which left us moving back alongside the pool table.
Heswall, Chesire:
Really pleasant traditional pub on the way down to the lower town. I was drinking lager, but cask is available. Nice decor- modernised but not stripped out.
Really, really friendly, pleasant landlady and a nice seating area outside in the sun.
Heswall, Chesire:
This is a hotel, really, but it’s on Whatpub.
Perhaps it being a hotel is why is didn’t click for us, the first problem being approached by a member of staff as we walked through the door: it felt un-pubby.
There was a lot to like here: the beer was great, the food was good, the staff were pleasant, the decor classy and traditional. It just felt like it was missing a bit of soul.
Parkgate, Cheshire:
The only remaining actual hotel in Parkgate. Downstairs, though, is gastropub, and the food fits as well, being a sizeable step above pub food.
As a pub, it’s pretty good too. Opened out, but with zones, so one area feels more pubby, others are clearly intended for eating. Traditional decor. Decent beer, great staff, and the aforementioned food is great too.
There’s outdoor space too, but it fills up quickly on a sunny day.
Parkside, Wirral:
A 1926 cafe that became a pub, though there was a pub here previously, t the opposite end to The Old Quay.
A Hydes pub, this pub is multi-area- there’s no actual doors but there’s clearly defined areas- with the conservatory at the back being very much dining focused. There’s a load of outside space too, which made a great place to sit on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Decent beer, and decent staff, though the one chap (the manager?) seemed a bit full-on, shall we say. Great food, too- a step above average pub food.
Marton, Macclesfield, Chesire:
Nice looking, slightly upmarket pub by the side of the A34. We were going to have lunch here, but the hordes of children put us off.
The pub itself wasn’t bad though: a bit upmarket in pitch for me, but this was in leafy Chesire, after all. Good choice of beer, wine, and cider, pleasant staff, extensive menu, and a very nice beer garden (with chickens as well).