There are plenty of “best pubs in Chester” lists. They tend to read like estate agent copy and they all recommend the same six places. Useful if you’ve never been to Chester. Less useful if you’ve got a specific evening in mind.
This is a different kind of list. Below, twelve pubs sorted by what they’re best at. Pick the one that fits the night, not the one with the highest TripAdvisor rating.
A note on what’s not here: chain pubs, the racecourse-day specials, and the bars that are really restaurants. Nothing wrong with any of those, but they belong in a different guide.
The Pub for a Quiet Pint After Work
Ye Olde Boot Inn, Eastgate Row
Up the steps from Eastgate Street and into the Rows. No phones, no music, no electronic devices, just Samuel Smith beers and people having actual conversations. The lighting is dim. The wood is old. You can hear yourself think. The beer is cheap because it’s a Sam Smith’s pub, which is a Yorkshire brewery with strong views about prices and even stronger views about background music.
If you want a pint and a bit of peace, this is the one.
Ye Olde Boot Inn Best for a quiet pint in the Rows, especially when you want to hear the person opposite you.The Pub for a Sunday Roast
The Jolly Gardener, Boughton
A short walk or shorter taxi from the centre. The Porta brothers, the same pair behind the tapas bar on Northgate Street, took it on a couple of years ago and made it the proper neighbourhood pub the area had been missing. George Prole, of Covino, runs the upstairs kitchen, and the pub combines proper pub snacks with serious cooking. The roast is what a roast should be: huge, hot, and not trying to do anything clever.
The Pub for Taking Your In-Laws
The Architect, Nicholas Street
Light, airy, a garden overlooking the racecourse and the river, and a menu that won’t frighten anyone. Particularly busy on race days, but on a normal afternoon it’s the kind of place that makes a good first impression. Big enough that you’ll always get a table. Polished enough that nobody will complain about the carpets.
If your mother-in-law is coming for Sunday lunch and you want a quiet life, this is the answer.
The Architect Useful for Sunday lunch, in-laws, and anyone who wants the racecourse nearby without the race-day chaos.The Pub for When It’s Raining
The Pied Bull, Northgate Street
Chester’s oldest coaching inn, dating back to 1155, with the longest continuous alcohol licence in the city. Multiple rooms, real fires in winter, and its own micro-brewery in the cellar. The kind of pub where you can sit down at four and look up and find it’s somehow seven and you’ve eaten dinner without meaning to.
It’s also a hotel, so on the worst nights you can technically just check in.
The Pied Bull The wet-weather pub choice: old rooms, fires in winter, and no need to rush.The Pub for Proper Beer
The Brewery Tap, Lower Bridge Street
Set in the historic Gamul House, with a wide range of Spitting Feathers beers, the local Chester brewery, and rotating guest ales. The building is a Jacobean great hall with the original fireplace and the original beams. Access is up a steep set of stairs, which is the only thing keeping it from being permanently full.
If you actually care about cask ale, this is the one in town that takes it seriously.
The Brewery Tap, Chester For cask ale, local beer, and one of the better pub rooms in the centre.The Pub by the Canal
Old Harkers Arms, Russell Street
A converted Victorian warehouse on the canal towpath, ten minutes from the centre. Same ownership as The Architect, but more of a drinking pub, with an extensive food menu and an extremely popular following among locals. Long bar, high ceilings, and the canal views from the windows. In summer you can sit out on the towpath itself.
Worth the walk from the station even if you’ve only got an hour to kill before your train.
The Old Harkers Arms The canal pub that works before a train, after work, or when the weather is doing something interesting.The Pub for Live Music
Telford’s Warehouse, Tower Wharf
Another canal-side warehouse conversion. The downstairs is a pub. Upstairs is a music venue that has been booking bands for thirty-odd years and has hosted most of the touring acts you can think of, on the way up or on the way down. The acoustics are surprisingly good for a building that started life storing flour.
Check who’s on before you go. Pleasant enough for a drink even when there’s nothing booked.
Telford's Warehouse The main Chester pub answer for regular live music.The Pub on the Walls
The Bear and Billet, Lower Bridge Street
A 1664 timber-framed inn just inside the Bridgegate, with three storeys of jettied black-and-white facade and a cellar that goes down further than seems reasonable. Real ales, dog-friendly, and a beer garden round the back that’s a sun trap on the rare hot afternoons.
Easy to combine with a walk along the river or a wander up Lower Bridge Street, which is the prettiest stretch of medieval houses in the city.
Bear & Billet A strong pub stop if you are walking the walls or heading towards the river.The Pub for a Date
Paysan, Bridge Street Row
Technically a wine bar rather than a pub, but it earns its place here. A traditional wine bar with an extensive list, and an upstairs space called the Cavern of the Curious Gnome that serves Belgian beers, German lagers, and British craft. The cheese boards are excellent and the lighting is forgiving.
Sit outside on the Row in summer if you can get a bench. The wonky benches are part of the charm.
The Pub for a Saturday Lunch
The Cross Keys, Lower Bridge Street
A Victorian red brick rebuild from 1894 with stained glass windows, wood panelling, and a Joules Brewery range of cask ales from Shropshire. Pork pies, ploughman’s, the sort of food a proper pub kitchen should be turning out. Big fireplace. Quiet at lunchtime, livelier at night.
The function room upstairs is where half of Chester has held a wake or a christening at some point.
The Cross Keys A proper Saturday lunch pub: cask ale, pork pies, wood panelling, no fuss.The Pub With a View
The Mount, Boughton
A walk out from the centre, but the views over the river Dee and the Welsh mountains in the distance are the best from any beer garden in Chester. Cosy inside, several levels at the back, and good in summer for the same reason it’s good in winter, which is that it’s far enough out to feel like a destination.
Walk along the river to get there. Taxi back.
The Pub That’s Actually Just a Pub
The Marlborough Arms, St John Street
No theme, no concept, no exposed brickwork. Just a normal pub with normal beer, normal carpets, and normal regulars. The barman knows his stuff, the place has been there forever, and on a quiet Tuesday evening it’s exactly what a pub should be.
If the rest of this list feels like work, this is the one to go to.
The Marlborough Arms For when you want a pub that is simply a pub.A Note on Race Days
Chester races run May, July, August, and September. On race days, the pubs near the racecourse, The Architect, the Bear and Billet, and anywhere on Lower Bridge Street, get rammed from about midday onwards. If you want a quiet drink, head to Northgate Street, the canal pubs, or Boughton instead. Local knowledge.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the oldest pub in Chester?
The Pied Bull on Northgate Street claims to be Chester’s oldest coaching inn, dating back to 1155, and holds the longest continuous alcohol licence in the city. The Bear and Billet, from 1664, and Ye Olde Boot Inn are also among the oldest still trading.
Where is the best Sunday roast in Chester?
The Jolly Gardener in Boughton serves one of the best roasts in or around Chester, with a kitchen run by a chef from Covino. Book ahead. The Architect on Nicholas Street is a more central option that’s reliable for traditional Sunday lunch.
What’s the best traditional pub in Chester?
For proper traditional atmosphere, Ye Olde Boot Inn, The Cross Keys, and The Marlborough Arms are the three that lean hardest into the traditional pub feel.
Where can you find live music in Chester pubs?
Telford’s Warehouse on Tower Wharf is the main live music pub in Chester, with regular gigs upstairs from touring bands. Several other pubs put on occasional live music; check listings before you go.
Are Chester pubs busy on race days?
Yes, very. Pubs near the racecourse and along Lower Bridge Street are heavily booked from midday onwards on race days, particularly during the May Festival. If you want a quiet pint, head to Northgate Street, the canal pubs, or Boughton.