The West Gate

Stopped into the West Gate per our tour guide’s recommendation. Pub style décor and you seat yourself after ordering at the bar.
We had their delicious pear cider on tap along with the seafood platter (fish fry sliders, fried scampi, fried baby squid, pickles & chips) fish’n’chips, meat pie.
All the food was good, pastry of the pie was a bit undercooked and the breading on the scampi (shrimp) was a tad much.
Why three stars? because we waited a little over an hour for our food. So try it out if you’ve got the time for a few pints before getting got food.

4 stars depending on what you’re looking for. We went for dinner in a Saturday night. The bar was very noisy with two bachelorette parties. The local bar crowd was very nice and friendly. Food was delicious. We had fish and chips, Mac and cheese and doughnuts (fantastic!). Don’t expect a quiet atmosphere. More suited to those wanting to drink heavily while surrounded by good food! Ordering at the bar took a bit of time as it was crowded as well.

A few steps from the shops and the Pump Room is this discreet looking pub. I peeped into the windows to avoid a joint full of shaved heads wearing soccer shirts. The coast is clear. There are plenty of comfy chairs and bar stools with tables here. The décor is a little contrived with the mixed light shades, white tile walls mixed with funky big print wallpaper. If you haven’t seen it before this will be novel.
Down to the important things. Service was pretty good. You order at the bar and can even get a taster sampler of the beers on tap. The food was brought quickly and was pretty good. My haddock fish and chips was a little overdone as the batter was darker than normal; the mushy peas were cold so I sent those back for reheating. The chips came in a chip bag and the fish was speared with a traditional wooden chip fork. A+ for presentation! Sam’s roast chicken chasseur was not so good. I thought it would be saucy like a stew, but it came out a bit dry with mash, spinach, gravy with onions and mushrooms.
We had half a pint of ale and then a bit of a snooze before we headed back to the car.