Medway Pubs: The Best Pubs and Where to Drink

1. The Who’d Ha’ Thought It, Baker Street

A back-street local just off the Maidstone Road, voted Medway CAMRA Pub of the Year 2026 by the branch’s members. Its own site says it is in the Good Beer Guide 2026 “for the twelfth year running”, with three handpumps pouring ales from Kent breweries and further afield, a wood-panelled bar with an open fire, a snug, and a garden it calls “a real sun trap”. It shows Sky Sports and TNT Sports, holds a monthly quiz and runs its own beer festival, Who’d Ha Fest.

Children and dogs are welcome; CAMRA notes children in the garden until 8pm.

Open Mon to Thu 3pm to 10pm; Fri and Sat 12pm to 11pm; Sun 12pm to 9pm
Call 01634 830144
Address 9 Baker Street, ME1 3DN
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 22 September 2026
Website whodha.com
Listing Our listing
Good for open fire, sun-trap garden, children welcome, dogs welcome, monthly quiz, Who'd Ha Fest

2. The Coopers Arms, St Margaret’s Street

The Coopers Arms says it was built in the reign of Richard I (1189 to 1199), first housed monks from St Andrew’s Priory, and opened as an inn in 1543; it also tells the legend of a walled-up cooper whose ghost appears every November. The building is listed at Grade II (Kent Historic Environment Record), and the Medway branch of CAMRA made it Pub of the Year in 2023 and 2024.

It has a Good Beer Guide entry on its CAMRA listing. It publishes a price list and a lunch menu.

Quiz every other Tuesday at 8.30pm, £1 a head. CAMRA lists it as dog friendly, with one shallow step at the front door and no accessible toilet.

Open Sun to Thu 12pm to 11pm; Fri and Sat 12pm to midnight
Food lunch only; the menu page says Thu and Fri, the contact page Fri and Sat, so ring first
Price Coopers Ale £5.20 a pint; Timothy Taylor £5.70; guest ales from £5.50; lunch mains £10.50 to £15.95
Call 01634 404298
Address 10 St Margaret's Street, ME1 1TL
Hygiene Food Standards Agency, awaiting publication on the FSA register
Website thecoopersarms.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for Grade II listed, real ale, dogs welcome, quiz every other Tuesday

3. The Man of Kent Ale House, John Street

A real ale pub whose 11 handpumps pour only beers from Kent breweries, according to CAMRA, with a long list of real ciders, Kent wines and German and Belgian beers on draught and in bottles. The licensee has told CAMRA that all the ales are vegan and there is always a gluten-free option.

It has a Good Beer Guide entry on its CAMRA listing. There is live music on Thursdays, a Sunday jam session, a quiz, and an enclosed garden.

Over-18s only; well-behaved dogs on leads are allowed. It has no website, only a Facebook page, and CAMRA lists it as open evenings only.

Open Mon and Wed 6pm to 10pm; Thu to Sun 6pm to 11pm; closed Tue
Address 6 to 8 John Street, ME1 1YN
Hygiene rating 3, Food Standards Agency, 3 July 2026
Facebook facebook.com/1466694163565335
Good for Kent ales only, real cider, live music Thursdays, Sunday jam session, enclosed garden, dogs on leads

4. 12 Degrees, High Street

A micropub in a former shop on the High Street, open since 15 September 2018. CAMRA describes seven chilled racks behind the bar, with real ales, ciders and perries all poured straight from the cask, a quiet snug upstairs and a basement for 25 to 30 people that hosts a weekly open mic night.

It has a Good Beer Guide entry on its CAMRA listing. Its theme, RAMS, stands for “Real Ale Makes Sense”, and its Facebook page uses the name.

Under its licence children are not admitted, and dogs are not allowed.

Open Mon to Thu 6pm to 10pm; Fri 6pm to 11pm; Sat 2pm to 11pm; Sun 2pm to 8pm (CAMRA, last checked 22 September 2026)
Address 352 High Street, ME1 1DJ
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 23 June 2026
Facebook facebook.com/ramsinrochester
Good for real ale from the cask, cider and perry, upstairs snug, weekly open mic

5. The Two Brewers, High Street

The Two Brewers calls itself “Rochester’s Smallest Pub” and says it has served drinks since 1683. It pours Shepherd Neame cask ales alongside international and local beers, and keeps a long list of malt whiskies and gins.

Despite its size it has live music on Sunday afternoons from 3pm; the site carries a monthly gig list. The pub is strictly over-18s.

Open Tue 4pm to 11pm; Wed to Sat 12pm to 11pm; Sun 12pm to 6pm; closed Mon
Call 01634 812448
Address 113 High Street, ME1 1JS
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 27 May 2026
Website twobrewersrochester.com
Listing Our listing
Good for Shepherd Neame ales, malt whiskies, gins, live music Sundays from 3pm, over-18s only

6. The Royal Crown, High Street

A Shepherd Neame pub with a curved frontage by Rochester Bridge. Its site describes a Grade II listed building near the castle and station, serving light bites and “traditional pub classics with a contemporary twist” every day, and takes table bookings online. CAMRA records that it reopened on 25 November 2023 after a full refurbishment and a change of name, with a first-floor bar and dining area looking over the Medway, a private dining room for eight called the Kings Room, eight TV screens and live music on Saturdays.

It is family friendly.

Open Mon to Thu 11am to 11pm; Fri and Sat 11am to 1am; Sun 11am to 10.30pm (CAMRA)
Food 12pm to 9pm, to 8pm on Sunday
Booking tables bookable online
Call 01634 814874
Address 2 High Street, ME1 1PT
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, listed as The Crown, 11 July 2025
Website royalcrownrochester.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for Grade II listed, river views, private dining room for eight, live music Saturdays, sports on TV, family friendly

7. The Golden Lion, High Street

Rochester’s Wetherspoon fills two old buildings. Wetherspoon’s history says 147 High Street was the Golden Lion from the early 19th century until the 1920s, and 149 was the Rochester, Chatham and Gillingham Savings Bank before the late 1940s. CAMRA counts 10 handpumps on a bar set over several levels.

It has hotel rooms, step-free access, baby changing and an outside area, and it is family friendly.

Open daily 8am to midnight; Fri and Sat to 1am
Call 01634 880521
Address 147 to 151 High Street, ME1 1EL
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 24 September 2025
Website jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/the-golden-lion-rochester
Good for hotel rooms, step-free access, baby changing, outside area, family friendly

8. Three Sheets to the Wind, High Street

An “Anglo Austrian family pub” that opened on 12 April 2021 in a former shop, CAMRA records, in a late 18th-century building listed at Grade II. It sells a mix of British and Austrian beers and Kent cider, and has a secluded, shaded garden.

One handpump serves Pig and Porter cask ale from Friday to Sunday, though CAMRA notes customers have found it on only some days. Children are allowed until 7pm, dogs are welcome, and it puts on ticketed evening events, listed on its Facebook page.

Open Tue and Wed 4pm to 11pm; Thu to Sat 1pm to 11pm; Sun 1pm to 10pm; closed Mon (CAMRA, last checked 16 October 2026)
Address 173 High Street, ME1 1EH
Hygiene rating 4, Food Standards Agency, 24 October 2024
Facebook facebook.com/threesheetspub
Listing Our listing
Good for Austrian beers, Kent cider, shaded garden, dogs welcome, ticketed evening events, Grade II listed

9. The 10:50 From Victoria, North Street, Strood

A micropub in a railway arch, opened in March 2015 and fitted out to feel like a station waiting room, with railway memorabilia on the walls and a wood stove. CAMRA lists at least six real ales and six ciders, all poured from the cask in a back room, and a large decked garden with beach huts.

It was Medway CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2019 and 2022. It has a Good Beer Guide entry on its CAMRA listing.

No one under 18 is admitted, phones are for outside, and it takes cash only. You reach it through a signed wooden gate on North Street.

Details are on its Facebook page. It serves no food.

Open Mon to Thu 3.30pm to 9pm; Fri 3.30pm to 10pm; Sat 12pm to 10pm; closed Sun (CAMRA)
Call 07717 530118
Address Rear of 37 to 39 North Street, ME2 4SJ
Hygiene rating exempt, Food Standards Agency, ); no food served
Facebook facebook.com/The1050FromVictoria
Good for cash only, dogs welcome, step-free access by ramp, decked garden with beach huts, wood stove, over-18s only

10. The Crafty Fox, Wainscott

The Crafty Fox opened in June 2021 in part of the old Wainscott Institute, at the corner of Wainscott Road and Hollywood Lane, sharing the building with a Co-op. CAMRA describes two bar rooms, three handpumps “concentrating on Kentish local brews”, Biddenden cider, and a menu of sandwiches, ploughman’s and platters.

It has a Good Beer Guide entry on its CAMRA listing. It holds quizzes, and it is family and dog friendly; there is a deep step at the front door.

Updates go on its Facebook page.

Open daily 1pm to 10pm (CAMRA)
Call 01634 921088
Address 1 Hollywood Lane, ME3 8AG
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 16 November 2024
Facebook facebook.com/thecraftyfoxwainscott
Good for real fire, front patio, function room, quizzes, family friendly, dogs welcome

11. The Thomas Waghorn, Railway Street

Chatham’s Wetherspoon opened in July 2016 in the former post office on the pedestrianised part of Railway Street, CAMRA records. It counts 12 handpumps in two banks, plus a paved courtyard through an archway, with a rooftop balcony and wooden huts. Wetherspoon’s page explains the name: Thomas Fletcher Waghorn, the Chatham-born naval officer whose overland mail route cut the journey to India from around three months to 35 to 40 days, and whose 1888 statue stands by the railway bridge.

Under-18s are allowed from 8am to 9pm.

Open daily 8am to midnight; Fri and Sat to 1am
Call 01634 405422
Address 14 Railway Street, ME4 4JL
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 20 August 2025
Website jdwetherspoon.com/pubs/the-thomas-waghorn-chatham
Listing Our listing
Good for courtyard, rooftop balcony, step-free access, under-18s 8am to 9pm

12. The Will Adams, Saxton Street

“A real ale oasis for over 30 years”, CAMRA says. Its listing in the 2024 Good Beer Guide was its 30th year in a row.

It serves two or three guest ales, plus cider and perry. The pub is named after the Gillingham-born mariner who reached Japan and became a samurai, which is the theme of the mural inside.

The owners have run it since 1993 and welcome both home and away fans on Gillingham FC match days, when it opens early, gets very busy and serves food. It is dog friendly.

There is no website.

Open Wed and Thu 7pm to 11pm; Fri 5pm to 9pm; Sun 1pm to 5.30pm; Sat hours change on home match days; closed Mon and Tue (CAMRA)
Call 01634 574651
Address 73 Saxton Street, ME7 5EG
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 30 July 2026
Listing Our listing
Good for guest ales, cider and perry, dogs welcome, home and away fans on match days

13. Past and Present, Canterbury Street

This micropub began on Skinner Street; the couple who ran it moved it to this Canterbury Street shopfront in 2020, CAMRA records. It pours four cask ales straight from the cask in a chilled cellar room, plus two KeyKeg beers, and serves at the table.

It was Medway and Kent CAMRA Cider Pub of the Year in 2023. It has a Good Beer Guide entry on its CAMRA listing.

Children are welcome until 7pm and dogs on leads. The entrance is step free, but there are three steps to the bar and toilets.

No one is let in after 9.30pm on Friday and Saturday unless arranged ahead. Its Facebook page has updates.

Open Thu 12pm to 6.30pm; Fri 12pm to 9pm; Sat 11am to 9pm; Sun 12pm to 4pm; closed Mon to Wed (CAMRA)
Call 07725 072293
Address 15 Canterbury Street, ME7 5TP
Hygiene Food Standards Agency, does not appear on the FSA register
Facebook facebook.com/269039096610948
Good for real ale from the cask, table service, children until 7pm, dogs on leads

14. The Frog and Toad, Burnt Oak Terrace

A back-street corner pub with one bar, and a former Medway CAMRA Pub of the Year. CAMRA describes a large patio and garden with covered tables, and an outside bar used for beer festivals on bank holidays.

There are usually two beers, with the guest often from a West Country brewery. It has a Good Beer Guide entry on its CAMRA listing.

It serves Sunday lunches and puts on occasional weekend entertainment. It is family and dog friendly.

News goes on its Facebook page.

Open Mon 3pm to 9pm; Tue to Thu 3pm to 11pm; Fri 2pm to 11pm; Sat 12pm to 11pm; Sun 12pm to 7pm (CAMRA)
Booking Sunday lunch must be booked
Address 38 Burnt Oak Terrace, ME7 1DR
Hygiene Food Standards Agency, we could not find it on the FSA register, so ask when you book a Sunday lunch
Facebook facebook.com/thefrogandtoadpub
Listing Our listing
Good for patio and garden, bank holiday beer festivals, Sunday lunch, family friendly, dogs welcome

15. The Prince of Ales, High Street

A micropub on Rainham High Street, next to the post office and opposite Hidsons, which calls itself “Rainham’s Best Kept Secret”. In 2026 it was runner-up in Medway CAMRA’s Pub of the Year vote, Medway Cider Pub of the Year, and CAMRA Kent’s Cider Pub of the Year, and it was the branch’s Pub of the Year in 2025.

It has a Good Beer Guide entry on its CAMRA listing. CAMRA describes ales and ciders poured from the cask in a temperature-controlled room, at least one Kent-brewed ale, takeaway containers and a paved rear garden.

There is a deep step at the entrance and no accessible toilet.

Open Tue and Wed 6pm to 10pm; Thu to Sat 12pm to 10pm; Sun 12pm to 3pm; closed Mon
Call 07982 756412
Address 121 High Street, ME8 8AN
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 12 September 2025
Website princeofales.co.uk
Listing Our listing
Good for real cider, Kent-brewed ale, takeaway containers, rear garden

16. The Mackland Arms, Station Road

A Shepherd Neame community pub with one room, just north of Rainham station and the level crossing. CAMRA notes a large garden, sports on TV, four handpumps with Master Brew as the regular and a guest about once a month, and darts.

It is family and dog friendly, and keeps late hours for the area. Updates go on its Facebook page.

Open Mon to Thu 10am to midnight; Fri and Sat to 1am; Sun 12pm to 11pm (CAMRA)
Address 213 Station Road, ME8 7PS
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 19 May 2026
Facebook facebook.com/themacksarms
Listing Our listing
Good for large garden, sports on TV, darts, family friendly, dogs welcome

17. The King’s Arms, Upper Upnor

The King’s Arms sits at the top of Upper Upnor’s cobbled High Street, which its site says is 100 yards from Upnor Castle. It “specialises in real ales”, changes its local beers regularly, and keeps ciders and Belgian bottled beers.

It describes its food as “freshly made, good, honest pub food” with a specials menu. CAMRA’s historic pub interiors list gives the building one star for its corner public bar, which keeps an old counter with diagonally boarded panels and a mirrored bar-back.

The branch has named it Pub of the Year five times, most recently in 2016. It has a Good Beer Guide entry on its CAMRA listing.

A portable ramp is available for the corner entrance, and there is no accessible toilet.

The Tudor Rose, further down the same street, and the Ship at Lower Upnor are both in our Sunday roast guide.

Open daily 12pm to 11pm; Fri and Sat to midnight
Food 12pm to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 8.30pm (9pm on Fri and Sat); Sunday lunch 12pm to 4.45pm
Call 01634 717490
Address 2 High Street, ME2 4XG
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 11 January 2025
Website kingsarmspub.wixsite.com/upnor/about-us
Listing Our listing
Good for real ale, Belgian bottled beers, very large garden, historic public bar, Sunday lunch

18. The Horseshoe and Castle, Cooling

A free house with bed and breakfast rooms in the quiet village of Cooling. CAMRA points out that the village churchyard is linked to Dickens’s Great Expectations as the place where Pip meets Magwitch, and that the ruined castle is close by.

CAMRA also says the restaurant specialises in seafood on Fridays, and lists Master Brew and Wise Owl cider. Dogs are welcome, though not in the restaurant.

There is a real fire. The pub warns it may close early, so call before a long trip.

Open Mon to Thu 11.30am to 11pm; Fri and Sat 11.30am to 11.30pm; Sun 12pm to 10pm
Food Wed to Sat 12pm to 8.30pm; Sun 12pm to 5pm; no food Mon and Tue
Call 01634 221691
Address Main Road, Cooling, ME3 8DJ
Hygiene rating 5, Food Standards Agency, 29 May 2025
Website horseshoeandcastle.com
Listing Our listing
Good for bed and breakfast rooms, seafood Fridays, real fire, dogs welcome outside the restaurant