Secret Drinker reviews The Monument pub in St Dunstans Street, Canterbury

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Published: 00:50, 16 February 2024 | Updated: 18:02, 19 February 2024

I suspect this pub is enough of a walk out of the city to deter too many tourists from darkening its door, which probably suits the regulars just fine.

The Monument is also right on a roundabout and parking in this part of Canterbury has always been at a premium.

The Monument, on St Dunstans in Canterbury, has been a free house since 1803 but the building is a good deal older than that

The sign on the door said it didn’t open until 3pm on a Friday so at a minute past we were there with our boots blacked. Somehow one pair of fellas had managed to sneak in ahead of us and were already occupying a high table with half-empty pints, they must have been in like Flynn.

There are stacks of buildings that can boast a proud historical past in this cathedral city and this place, dating back more than 400 years, is no exception. However, following a period of closure, The Monument reopened after a full refreshment in 2021.

The guys enjoying each other’s company, who’d beaten us through the door, were supping jars of Dark Star’s Hophead at an impressive rate but I decided to start with a pint of 4.8% Longman Inn Keeper.

The Monument closed for a considerable period and only reopened in June 2021

My fruity winter warmer from the Long Man Brewery was the right side of a fiver at £4.50 but Mrs SD’s wine was far too close to a tenner for my liking – £9.90

As it was poured Elbow’s One Day Like This (It’s looking like a beautiful day) struck up on the sound system and, from a first taste, I couldn’t disagree.

In general terms, I fully understand the appeal of this very tastefully decorated pub with a strong selection of decent real ales and a well-kept garden at the back.

But, and here’s the rub, it just felt a bit boring.

There was a decent selection of ales available but I decided to start with a pint of Inn Keeper from the Long Man Brewery in East Sussex

Sure, the tiling on the floor around the bar is great and some of the items of furniture are fascinating but there’s not much going on.

Dribs and drabs of people began to drift in but they were as reserved as the surroundings and, whilst I understand the reasons for the lack of a dartboard, pool table and jukebox I began to miss them.

A slightly louder Irishman, who popped in for a swift Guinness, lifted the spirits momentarily and then we were joined by a couple I recognised. Now, I’m not sure who’s stalking who but we last saw this pair four weeks ago in the Shipwright’s Arms and here they were in The Monument.

When it comes to decoration it’s all about the details – there are plenty of trendy lightbulbs dotted around the pub

Designed as a room in its own right, you’ll find this table, reserved when we were in, at the back of the pub

A gentle first hour had allowed the barmaid to finish her late lunch at the far side of the bar and she was now ready to chat with the regulars.

Two were playing cards, two were meeting an American friend, two were discussing decorating tips and one was quizzing the barmaid about a degree she was about to start.

Such excitement led us to more drinks and I changed to the regular house ale, Hophead, with Mrs SD switching to a large Malbec.

The pub is all about serving decent ales and encouraging folks to chat, but I did spot this small screen

There’s a pub noticeboard displaying future events at the Monument – a weekly pub quiz, an open mic night and a live piano night every Thursday

There are certainly some seriously interesting items of furniture at The Monument. This table has been fashioned out of an old hop press.

The atmosphere may have been decidedly downbeat, but the drinks were excellent – both beers were first class, and very reasonable, both wines were great, and much less reasonable.

I suspect Friday, particularly early doors, maybe a bit of a down day, caught as it is between a live piano day and the best day of the weekend so I’m sure the pub gets livelier later.

There was background music playing but, as I say, no darts, jukebox, pool or machines of any kind, although I did spy a large selection of board games and several shelves of books.

Through a light and airy glass-roofed room at the back of the building, there are steps leading to the pub garden. I’m sure this looks much the same as many back gardens do round here, although not many will contain so many stacked picnic tables.

think Hophead’s Dark Star is probably a regular ale here and it was a few pence cheaper than my previous pint at £4.20. Mrs SD shifting to Malbec represented a saving too as it was only £9.50.

This light and airy conservatory room at the back of the pub leads straight into the garden

A swift visit to the gents revealed a superb tiling job which lives up to the rest of the high-spec decoration throughout the pub. Tidy, clean and fresh, there were also several interesting limited edition artworks.

Returning to my seat I thought I’d caught Mrs SD sifting through an ashtray of nub ends but was pleased when I realised it was in fact a jar containing small pieces of broken clay pipe, just another interesting item of decoration on display.

As we left The Monument we couldn’t help reflect there must be better, more lively days to visit, but just as I thought we’d missed any possible excitement we walked across the pub’s wooden cellar doors on the pavement outside. Walking on anything like this makes Mrs SD clench slightly and leaves her with a strange sensation in her nether regions. She assures me this is a perfectly normal reaction and affects quite a few people – I doubt this, but I do accept it made our departure the liveliest part of our visit!

The garden of the pub looked exactly how I expect all the other back gardens up and down the road look like, with the addition of half a dozen picnic tables

It was a quiet afternoon in the pub. One couple was playing cards but I didn’t see anyone reaching for one of these board games.

The cellar doors look in good nick and may well have been replaced fairly recently. Mind you, that didn’t help Mrs SD, who always gets a strange feeling in her nether region when she walks over such things.

THE MONUMENT, ST DUNSTANS STREET, CANTERBURY CT2 8BZ

Decor: It’s all been carefully done up with real attention to detail. From specially designed furniture, the floor tiling around the bar, the wall tiling in the gents, to the limited edition artwork it looks great. *****

Drink: I can report both beers I sampled were superb. Both were kept well and expertly poured. I favoured the Inn Keeper, but as a session ale the Hophead is perfect. The wine was also declared ‘an absolute delight’. *****

Price: To be fair, the beers were all well-priced. A pint of the guest Longman Inn Keeper was £4.50, a Hophead from Dark Star £4.20 and even the ‘usually extortionate’ Neck Oil was £5.70. But, with large wines at £9.50 and £9.90 stars were always going to be lost. ***

Staff: The barmaid was efficient and effective. She did find time for lunch and managed to check her phone, but certainly not at the expense of serving customers. She was also happy to chat with regulars. ****