It’s a rare day when you happen upon a 400 year old banqueting hall offering a baker’s dozen of locally brewed ales and hearty lunches, served by obliging and welcoming hosts. It’s rarer too when said hosts are to be found in Chester. The Brewery Tap, by rights, should be a cynical tourist honeytrap, all Ye Olde Roman Baguettes and watered down Fosters. But it’s not. It’s quite a stunning discovery - just a five minute stroll, in either direction, from the River Dee, or the screaming Crier. It’s got a fireplace bigger than some city centre apartments, and it’s our new favouritest place in Chester.

The Brewery Tap is the ale house front of store for Cheshire’s superb Spitting Feathers Brewery: a Waverton-based family brewery, bottling and cask conditioning a range of hoppy, fruity and zesty beers (our favourite is the summery Thirstquencher) and selling them at a handful of local outlets.

But this is the place to sample them at their finest, accompanied by Award winning pork and apple sausages, mash and onion gravy (£8.95), Smoked haddock bubble and squeak with poached egg (£9.50), a bowl of crispy whitebait (£4.50) or a chunky Cheshire cheese sandwich with fruit chutney and home made coleslaw (£5.25) and perfectly cooked chips (£2.50).

We’ve always known Chester’s got the walls, but now we’ve found the filling, too.

The Brewery Tap, Gamul House
Lower Bridge Street, Chester