Dickens Pub

If you’re looking for an inviting location, patio, and building, this will do. But if you’re looking for great beer, avoid at all costs. Despite a name which leads you to believe you’re entering an English style pub, you’ll find nothing but a brain dead beer list. There’s that point when you’re asking «what do you have on tap?» and the server lists Molsons, Coors, and after 3 or 4 utterly forgettable domestic beers brewed by the freight train load, she gets to Rickards Red as if that’s a respect craft beer. Ugh. We asked what they have in bottles, hoping for something a bit more respectable. «Pretty much the same.»
This place doesn’t even have Guinness. You have to make a great effort to keep Guinness off your menu.
We got up and left. The food didn’t seem outrageously priced. I’ll give it a star for that.
Edit: What’s weird is some of the photos posted by users reveal beers that weren’t on the list given to us by the server. It’s possible they have more than Blue, Coors, Rickard’s Red, etc. on the taps or in bottles. If true, it means the servers here are so miserably trained they’re not even aware of what is being offered. This was a 2 star review but I’m docking it down to 1 star because I think this pub needs to improve both their beer list (get with the times, guys) or their server training.
If you’re looking for a better UK pub experience with a great beer list, do head over a couple streets East to The Poacher.

American dude writing a review!
I stopped in pretty late night soon after checking into a hotel nearby. Thank goodness for free Wi-​Fi because that’s how I found out about this pub with live music. Had I stopped to have a conversation with locals or gas station attendants for local hotspots, I may have been sent other places that may not have been as nice.
I don’t get the low star rating which is somewhere around a two star presently. I mean, I do and I don’t. For one thing, it’s got a setup like an English pub mainly because of it’s naming which is after the famous writer Charles Dicken’s. But one wouldn’t guess that by any of their décor within a sole visit, this is a clarification I came across when scoping their website much later after my first visit. The pub has some history dating back to the mid 1800’s. Their website gives tribute and recollection to those that lived within these walls and called it home.
The draw for the pub is nightly live music provided by bands which change up night to night. While they maintain a decent website, it doesn’t seem to contain the most up to date information. So, if you’d like to see a band lineup, it’s best to call in or visit the pub.
Most Americans traveling further than closer to the border would be unaware to the fact that in Canada they consider nineteen years of age an adult with the ability to consume alcohol. For this reason solely explains why in much of Canada you can expect to see far more women than in some bars in the States. Back home in Chicago, I’m all too used to the term «chorizo parties» which has become a label for bars and clubs which are inundated with higher male to female ratios.
Any who. Another note to my American peoples; booze is pricey everywhere in Canada and in some cases the charges are double what we pay back in the States. Service, offering and some very minute difference in cost is what differs from one bar or club to the other. I ordered a shot of Jamo (That’s Jameson’s whiskey) which cost about seven and half Ca dollars. I paid about the same for a Coors light.
The bartender which waited on us, could have been nicer. Despite our good tipping, I’m not sure if she smiled once. Perhaps tourists get a cold shoulder? I don’t know. The door guys seemed nicer. Among looks from the locals, it seemed kind of cold in there. Except for sharing the routine head nods of acknowledgement from other male patrons in the bar.
The bar has a nice setup if in fact the website is correct and the accents of the bar have been the same in place since the time of it’s creation. It’s held up well. I can’t remember the name of the band that played last Friday but I thought they did a good job. They sang popular rock hits from the 1990’s to stuff which is current.
After a couple of beers and shots in the belly, we headed down the street for more touristy exploration. If I were in the area again, I would probably stop by again to hear the music happening. The place is soundproofed pretty well, because one would have to be within a short relative space to hear the music playing live within.

I have been to the Dicken’s on about five occasions, mostly during the summer and once during early spring. During the summer, the patio can get busy and they do have live music outside too so be prepared for higher noise levels then.
For service, it all depends on your waitress, just like anywhere else. I have had some who were super fast and helpful and others who didn’t want to be there.
What keeps me coming back is the food, their wings are fantastic — Big, meaty and with a lot of quality sauce. They have ancho pepper ketchup for their fries which I have yet to have anywhere else and is amazing. I also had a sausage sampler once which was a lot of food and not too bad.
They have decent beer choices but I love their ciders and they have happy hour specials often.
It is my go-​to bar when in the area when I want wings and cider.