Chester Tavern, Kidderminster

Modern town pub with live music. Accredited for beer quality 2023

This pub closed and was feared to have been lost to residential development. Happily, it reopened after a few years in August 2022, completely free-of-tie. It has been transformed into a modern and spacious acoustic music venue and community pub, specialising in sourcing beers from around the country that are not commonly found in the Wyre Forest area.

The ground floor is one large room with an attractive wooden corner bar. A central polished timber staircase leads up to a large room with a separate bar serving keg lines, but no cask ales. Original fireplace recesses have been retained throughout showing evidence of use from a previous age.

Open mic night is the last Tuesday of the month and booked acoustic artists play on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons; see the pub's FaceBook page for details. A regular comedy night is now held in the upstairs room on the first Wednesday of the month, where a Dutch shuffleboard table can be played.

At the back is the large beer garden created in a Mediterranean style with table benches, low walls, up-lit feature trees, a covered area and a bar hatch.

There are four real ales, always one from Bewdley along with Wye Valley HPA, and two changing interesting beers sourced from independent breweries. Keg taps are also eclectic, always including a dark and/or sour beer. Various recipes of pork pies from the local Wyre Pie Company are available as snacks.

Level access to the ground floor, with a separate spacious WC that includes baby-changing facilities, although it's not adapted for disabilities.