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An exciting venture by tiny Runcorn-based brewers Beer Republic sees one of Chester's most singular premises reincarnated as their first bar and restaurant. This old cocoa house near the railway station has been made over as a showcase for the microbrewery and its products.
The design is modest. With its high beamed ceiling and stone floors, the only improvements necessary were pretty cosmetic. A small bar has been built in the ante-room, where you might expect the coat check girl to be, on your way in. Then there is a pleasant lounge, candle-lit and furnished with leather sofas and a dining area beyond with tables arrayed in orderly rows like in a canteen.
Let's look at the beer. Two handpumps flank a row of five pressurised taps. The hand pulls draw a light beer and a dark from Beer Republic's Blueballs range. The dark was good, the light a little too adventurous for my conservative palate. Both were attractively presented. The five taps also serve real ales, chilled, lightly carbonated, not filtered, not pasteurised: it's an American thing and it's taking off over here. We tried one (called Spank - a name that without my specs I misread, and only narrowly managed to avoid a quite appalling misunderstanding) and found it quite excellent. We would be more than happy for this concept to take off.
There is a simple menu presented on a single sheet which offers an unusual mix of cuisines, to wit burgers, Thai, Moroccan, and so on. A caramelised onion flatbread was lively: fresh and interesting. Red curry spring rolls were evidently home made and tasty. Both complemented the beers well. We have not yet tried the main courses but, on the evidence of the starters, these too should represent pretty good quality at reasonable prices.
The atmosphere is very relaxed - definitely no posing going down here (cf Harkers, Commercial Hotel) - but much less stereotypically 'real-ale'ish than one finds at other brew-driven venues (cf Brewery Tap, Bear & Billet). There is apparently no entertainment, which is fine by us, especially since one feels encouraged to reprise the often neglected art of conversation (or, of course, phone surfing). It seems that the clientele is of a more than averagely discerning type.
The Beer Republic guys have definitely carved out a niche of their own, and a very appealing one it is too.
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