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The Canterbury Tales (Punch Taverns)
| Beer (sort) | Average Score (sort) | No. Samples (sort) |
|---|---|---|
| St Austell - Tribute |  | 2 |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | | 2 |
| Marston's - Young's London Original (was Bitter) - previously brewed in Bedford and at Wychwood then Banks's |  | 1 |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | Not Tried | 0 |
| Timothy Taylor - Boltmaker (formerly Best Bitter) | Not Tried | 0 |
| Rebellion - IPA (was 3.7%) | Not Tried | 0 |
Andrew
Visits Details
28 Feb 2026 (Andrew)
Busy, but then a Shakespeare play was on at the Marlow next door and lots of people were milling about outside. Warm inside and cosy, so we sat on high stalls by the chimney stack.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | It was super frothed-up. The barman had real problems pouring it. As a result it had most of its flavour stripped. |
| Rebellion - IPA (was 3.7%) | 3.40 | Not Tried |
13 Dec 2025 (Jack William)
Recently reopened after a refurbishment. 11:40 Saturday morning, door open but no service until noon (rookie mistake). The landlord let us have a look inside - looks clean and fresh (which in itself is a big improvement on the last knockings here). Two large screens with football on looked rather incongruous.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Timothy Taylor - Boltmaker (formerly Best Bitter) | 4.00 | Not Tried |
29 Jan 2024 (Jack William)
Marlowe interval drinks. Went for red wine as my risk assessment suggested the chances of making the second half performance without a toilet break would have been slim otherwise. Only trade appeared to be the interval drinkers from the theatre - and the pub was shut when we exited at 9:30. Such a shame, this used to be a jolly, thriving boozer in the past.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|
05 Dec 2015 (Jack William)
Late afternoon - quite busy as the Marlowe has something going on. Looked in but with two clips turned round and only Doombar on I decided life was too short and moved on.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried |
14 Jul 2015 (Jack William)
Quite pleased to report that the demise of this pub has been exaggerated (by me) - although it is not a patch on its heyday in the 90s (in my view).
I passed the pub at 1925 - rammed - and then returned at 1935 - almost empty - Jimmy Carr was due on in the Marlowe Theatre across the road - I wasn't sorry that I was outside.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Austell - Tribute | 4.20 | | |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried |
27 Dec 2014 (Jack William)
Seems closed - sign down, no lights, locked.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|
20 Oct 2014 (Philip Pirrip)
Evening. Shortly after arrival a crowd of musicians and theatregoers crowded in. Nice smell of wood fire.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | | £4 pp was the most expensive of a Canterbury evening |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| St Austell - Tribute | 4.20 | Not Tried |
15 Oct 2014 (Jack William)
About 6 pm - empty, real effect fire but cold.
Shame - I was a regular here about 20 years ago and it used to buzz early evening.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| St Austell - Tribute | 4.20 | | Pleasant enough - good condition. |
| Harvey's - Sussex Best Bitter | 4.00 | Not Tried | |
| Sharp's - Doom Bar | 4.00 | Not Tried |
23 Mar 2007 (Brian)
Coming here from the Hobgoblin was a bit of a culture shock, here we had carnations and candlelight on the tables and a young guy playing contemporary tunes on the piano. The bar staff were friendly and it was fairly quiet. However, Debbie was unimpressed as it lacked atmosphere.
| Beer | ABV | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marston's - Young's London Original (was Bitter) - previously brewed in Bedford and at Wychwood then Banks's | 3.70 | | OK, but watery nonsense to be honest. It had some maltiness but nothing else. It was also the only beer on, although I think another was coming on as we left. |
About The Canterbury Tales
Summary of Beer Scores
| Total | |
|---|---|
 | - |
 | - |
| 3 |
| 2 |
 | - |
The pub is found in Canterbury, Kent, CT1 2AS.
Named The Mitre until 1981, this pub red-brick is situated right outside the Marlowe Theatre which can make it quite busy at certain times of the day / evening as it is not very large. There is a central bar with drinking areas to either side. Real fire and comfortable furniture give it a sophisticated feel. "The Dress Circle" upstairs bar is open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 pm until 1.30 am" but you'll need to go downstairs for real ale and cider. 4 handpumps on the downstairs bar counter only. Real fire on the downstairs left hand wall.
We have visited this pub 9 times, seen 6 different beers and tried 3 of them.
Postcode: CT1 2AS