Ale & embers · Since 1888
Good ale, long tables and a fire that never goes out.
Cask ales from the harbour breweries, a cellar of old-world wine, and plates built for sharing. Kitchen till ten, bar till late, music on the weekend.
Pictured: The taproom at last orders
Tonight
Closed · opens 5pmKitchen till 10 · Bar till late
Music & nights
What’s on this week
Quartets in the parlour, quiz on Tuesdays and the odd late lock-in for the regulars.
Tasting
Candlelit Cellar Supper
Six courses in the vaulted cellar, paired with rare Burgundy from the ledger.
Seasonal
Harvest Moon Dinner
A long-table feast of game, orchard fruit and cider under the cathedral windows.
Live music
String quartet in the parlour
Hallowe’en by lamplight with Schubert, Dvořák and a smoked-pumpkin menu.
Bar plates
Plates for the long table
Three things to order with a pint, because nobody has ever regretted them.
Dry-aged duck, two ways
Cherry jus, celeriac, black garlic
Burnt honey custard
Bee pollen, shortbread, candied lemon
Hand-dived scallop
Brown butter, cider, smoked hazelnut
The house
A sailors’ tavern, still open past the last tide
The Wharf poured its first pint in 1888 for crews coming off the evening boats. The long oak table came off a wreck; the fire has been lit every night since.
Today the casks come from three harbour breweries, the cellar from older friends across the water, and the kitchen keeps the same rule as always: nothing on a plate that doesn’t go with a drink.
A tavern is a kitchen with better conversation.
Tom Ellery, landlord
- Established
- 1888
- Houses
- 3
- Seatings nightly
- 2
Reviews & press
Word at the bar
- The Old Town Courier
- Harbour & Hearth
- Coastal Table
- The Night Ledger
The best-kept cask in the Old Town, and a fire you can sit at until they turn the lamps down.
The Old Town Courier ★★★★★ · Pub of the Year 2025
Came for one pint on a Tuesday, left after the quiz with a table of new friends.
Dan R., regular ★★★★★ · Google review
Scotch eggs, a quartet in the corner and a landlord who remembers your name. That is the whole review.
Harbour & Hearth Magazine Critic’s choice
Gallery
Inside the tavern
Hire the snug
Your own corner of the tavern
Birthdays, wakes, leaving dos and the occasional wedding breakfast. A room, a fire, a bar of your own and a menu we agree over a pint.
- The Snug Seats 10
- The Long Table Seats 22
- The Cellar Bar Standing 60