As a travel writer who irregularly reports on the Kent coast, I’ve long been a fan of the “micropub” phenomenon that has taken hold in the last decade.
The story dates back to a change in licensing laws that made selling alcohol easier: what’s generally considered the first of its kind, the Butcher’s Arms, opened in Herne, near Whitstable, back in 2005.
But what exactly is the definition of a micropub? Simple: a living room, real ale, no music, no hot food, no telly. Hardly revolutionary, of course, but still uniquely different in offer from many intimidatingly bawdy coastal pubs. The official micropub website (yes there is one) describes the service as “a small freehouse which listens to its customers, mainly serves cask ales, promotes conversation, shuns all forms of electronic entertainment and dabbles in traditional pub snack.”
Following the success of the Butcher’s, if you set foot in most coastal Kentish towns now you’ll stumble across a tiny room packed with chatty punters all sipping a decent pint. Good examples are the Lifeboat in Margate, the 39 Steps in Broadstairs and the Just Reproach in Deal, although I recently discovered two more in Folkestone, Kipp’s Alehouse and the Firkin, while covering the Triennial for a Guardian story.
Although some neighbourhood pubs round here, most noticeably the Southampton Arms, are very similar in spirit to a micropub, the trend has not quite hit north London – until now.
A local thespian couple, James Duddy and Jessie Braviner, have applied to the council for planning permission to turn the old Hellenic bookshop on Fortess into – you guessed it – the quirkily named Pickled Polecat, named after their pint-sized pet (who may become the pub’s mascot). Why? They, like many people, have been inspired by an ale-fuelled trip to the Kent coast, in their case, the Conqueror in Ramsgate.
The pair don’t plan to brew on the premises, like some micropubs do, and will instead serve rotating London ales, a cider or two, but no lager, hot food or spirits. And for those concerned about booze-crazed punters running riot along Fortess Road, which has seen a slew of new openings this year, fear not: the emphasis will be on conversation and meeting people, with a notable absence of music, quizzes or other distractions.
Even more civilised is that the capacity is a miniscule 25 punters. The room will open at lunchtimes and in the evening only till around 930pm, with customers allowed to buy take-home containers.
17 thoughts on “So what exactly is a micropub?”
What’s happening to the Hellenic Book Service?
Don’t worry: it’s just moved a few doors down.
They’ll need a lot of luck in that location. Even the Junction closes during the day Monday through Thursday.
Kinda cool but I stall at No lager or food!!? No joy. 🙁
No music??? What? I hope you mean no live music. You have to play background music otherwise it would be kinda weird.
This has a lot of rules, I think a few too many for a lot of people and sounds pretty boring really.
Sorry.
as a micropub owner, I can assure you, no lager and no food, no gaming machines, no TV and no spirits is the very thing that keeps our micropub filled every evening.
This is great news. Have been to a few similar places in Margate and Broadstairs. The Door Hinge in Welling is worth checking out if you are in the area as well.
It is not to be situated at 89 but 49. The application makes it sound all terribly chic and genteel but lots of residents are not at all happy about the proposal.
I’m not surprised by that, there are lots of flats above and the building wasn’t built to house a noisy pub. It might have been a better idea for them to take over an existing pub.
a micropub has no noise, just friendly banter where new friends are made everyday.
25 people talking can be very loud upstairs when the noise insulation is non existent. The more they drink the louder they get too!
And right outside some poor soul’s living room or bedroom window! Nice.
Exactly.
I lived in one of the flats upstairs for 6 years so I know just how bad the sound proofing is.
Noise would certainly be an issue the proprietors have to control, but won’t it help if it opens only until 9:30pm, as mentioned in the article?
Who wants to come home to noise for several hours each night, or noise throughout the weekend.
Aside from noise disturbing the neighbours, Fortess Road is already very noisy at night due to the existing pubs and bars here.
I live around the corner and wish the venture the best of the luck. I’d certainly visit — a pub with a changing selection of local ales and no music appeals a great deal. There are lots of places where you can get lager and background music, so good for them for trying something that appeals to those who fancy neither.
As for Kentish pubs, I loved the Black Dog micropub in Whitstable.
An interesting concept, but not a particularly new one to some of us ‘up north’! In fact, my local is an old terraced house!