Dartford Pubs: The Best Pubs and Where to Drink

The Dartford pubs most people look for are the Malt Shovel on Darenth Road, dating from 1673 and in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide; the Foresters, a Victorian back-street local also in the guide; and the Wat Tyler on the High Street, a Grade II listed building CAMRA dates to the early 15th century. Every entry was checked against the pub’s own website or listing on 24 October 2026.

We have not visited these pubs for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the pub says about itself, what the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) records on its public pub listings, and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) hygiene rating where the pub serves food. Opening hours change often, so check before a special trip.

Town centre

The Malt Shovel, Darenth Road

The Malt Shovel says it dates “back to 1673” and calls itself “the archetype of a classic country pub”, a short walk from the town centre. It says it has been in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide every year since 2009; its regular ales are Young’s Original and St Austell Tribute, with guests from Fuller’s, Timothy Taylor and Wadworth. CAMRA’s listing rates its interior as being of special national historic interest: the small tap bar fills two 17th-century cottages. There is a quiz on Monday nights and a jazz jam on the first Wednesday of the month. Well-behaved dogs are welcome indoors and out. The kitchen relaunches on 26 October 2026. Bar hours: Monday 1pm to 11pm, Tuesday to Thursday 12pm to 11pm, Friday and Saturday 12pm to 1am, Sunday 12pm to 8pm. Call 01322 224381. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 17 September 2025). 3 Darenth Road, DA1 1LP. Our listing.

The Foresters, Great Queen Street

The Foresters is in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide. CAMRA’s listing describes a side-street Victorian local from 1869, five minutes up East Hill from the town centre, with a U-shaped bar, an open wood fire, two regular real ales and a guest. There is a car park for about 15 cars and a large paved garden with a covered, heated smoking area. It plays crib on Tuesdays, has darts and pool teams, and shows live sport. CAMRA notes that the graveyard opposite holds the unmarked grave of the steam pioneer Richard Trevithick. Listed as dog friendly. CAMRA’s hours: Monday to Thursday 2pm to 11pm, Friday and Saturday 12pm to 11.30pm, Sunday 12pm to 11pm. No website; the pub posts on Facebook. Hygiene rating 3 (FSA, 5 December 2024). 15 Great Queen Street, DA1 1TJ. Our listing.

The Wat Tyler, High Street

The Wat Tyler stands next to the parish church at the start of the pedestrian High Street. It is a Grade II listed timber-framed building (Historic England), and CAMRA’s listing calls it an early 15th-century pub that was the Crown and Anchor until 1966. A narrow bar leads to a raised, quieter area at the back. CAMRA says it reopened before Easter 2026 after major repairs, made after a road traffic collision left the structure unsafe. Listed as dog friendly, with cask ale. CAMRA’s hours: 11am to 11pm, until 1am on Friday and Saturday. No website; the pub says to check its Facebook page. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 19 March 2024). 80 High Street, DA1 1DE. Our listing.

The Royal Victoria and Bull Hotel, High Street

The hotel says its current building went up in 1703, that an inn is believed to have stood on the spot since the 14th century, and that it has served as a cattle market and corn exchange. CAMRA notes the early 18th-century gallery and courtyard survive. It is a bar, a restaurant serving what it calls “large portions of classic British fayre”, and a hotel; CAMRA lists 25 en suite rooms and a real ale loyalty card. CAMRA’s hours: 9am to 11pm (10.30pm on Sunday), with food from 9am to 9pm (7pm on Sunday). Call 01322 224415. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 30 April 2025). 1 High Street, DA1 1DU. Our listing.

The Royal Oak, Spital Street

The Royal Oak is a Shepherd Neame pub that describes “centuries-old timber beams, original fireplaces and cosy corners”, a log burner in winter and a beer garden in summer. CAMRA’s listing calls it a 17th-century former coaching inn and the home of Dartford Debating Society. It shows sport and racing, and has darts and a digital jukebox. At weekends, food partners sell seafood, hot dogs and pie and mash in the car park, which you can eat inside. Dogs on leads and children are welcome, but children must leave by early evening under its licence. Hours: Monday 12pm to 11pm, Tuesday to Thursday 2pm to 11pm, Friday 2pm to midnight, Saturday 12pm to midnight, Sunday 12pm to 10.30pm. Call 01322 293687. The pub has no FSA rating of its own. 57 Spital Street, DA1 2DX. Our listing.

The Stage Door, Hythe Street

The Stage Door says it is “just yards from the famous Orchard Theatre”, with old theatre posters and signed photographs on the walls and a fretwork balcony around the front. It is a Shepherd Neame pub with “proper pub grub”, regular live music and a garden. The theatre is due to reopen on 12 December. The pub’s site gives hours of 11am to 11pm Monday to Thursday and 12pm to 10.30pm on Sunday, later on Friday and Saturday, with food Wednesday to Saturday from 12pm to 6.30pm. Call 01322 311200. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 4 September 2024). 37 Hythe Street, DA1 1BE. Our listing.

The Phoenix, Market Street

The Phoenix is a micropub that reopened as a community-led bar in March 2026, CAMRA’s listing says; it previously traded as the Dartford Jug and then the Long Dog. It serves three changing cask beers, for now from mini kegs, and real cider. CAMRA lists it as dog and family friendly, with access to the bar but no accessible toilet. CAMRA’s hours: Monday to Thursday 4pm to 11pm, Friday and Saturday 12pm to 11pm, Sunday 12pm to 10pm. The pub posts updates on Facebook. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 17 June 2026). 8 Market Street, DA1 1ET. Our listing.

Growler Stop, Spital Street

Growler Stop is a craft beer micropub that opened in December 2021 in a former Avis car hire office, according to CAMRA’s listing. It pours up to 30 keg and KeyKeg beers from wall taps and also stocks a large range of bottles and cans. CAMRA’s hours: 3pm to 11pm Monday to Saturday, 3pm to 9pm on Sunday. It posts on Facebook. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 2 July 2025). 7-8 Westgate House, Spital Street, DA1 2EH. Our listing.

The Flying Boat, Spital Street

The Flying Boat is the town-centre Wetherspoon, in what CAMRA says was a Beadle’s car showroom; the name recalls parts for Sunderland flying boats made nearby during the Second World War. CAMRA notes regular meet-the-brewer sessions with small local breweries. It opens at 8am every day and closes at midnight, or 1am on Friday and Saturday. Under-18s may be there between 8am and 8pm only. The pub lists step-free access and a rear patio. Call 01322 421970. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 21 May 2025). 36-42 Spital Street, DA1 2DT. Our listing.

Villages: Wilmington, Darenth, Bean and Southfleet

The Horse and Groom, Wilmington

The Horse and Groom is a Shepherd Neame pub that calls itself “a dog-friendly, traditional pub” serving “classic British dishes with a modern twist”. CAMRA says the site was rebuilt and reopened in November 2015 after standing empty and boarded. Dogs are allowed in the bar and garden but not the restaurant, except service dogs, and children are welcome in the restaurant. It serves Sunday roasts (booking advised). Food times: breakfast 10am to 11.30am on weekdays, then until 9pm Monday to Thursday, 9.30pm Friday; Saturday 9am to 9pm; Sunday 11.30am to 7.15pm. Garden tables cannot be booked. Call 01322 290056. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 19 March 2025). 15 Leyton Cross Road, DA2 7AP. Our listing.

The Chequers, Darenth

CAMRA’s listing describes a 16th-century former coaching inn on a stretch of Darenth Road cut short by the A2, between Darenth and Hawley. It has two restaurant areas, a large garden with an extensive children’s play area, and welcomes families. Dogs are allowed, but not in the restaurant. CAMRA’s entry was last updated in 2020, so check current hours on the pub’s Facebook page. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 15 September 2026). Darenth Road, Darenth, DA2 7QT. Our listing.

The Black Horse, Bean

CAMRA’s listing describes a large former Truman’s pub with a big garden and a separate building that serves food, with barbecues in summer, a range of real ales and Weston’s cider on handpump. It was called the Black Horse and Fruitcart from 1874 to 1930. CAMRA lists live music at least one night a week, darts and pool, and says it is dog and family friendly. The pub’s own website was not loading on 24 October; it posts on Facebook. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 12 August 2025). High Street, Bean, DA2 8AS. Our listing.

The Ship Inn, Southfleet

The Ship Inn describes a building “built from timbers of a Ship that run aground on the river Fleet”, with fireplaces, low ceilings and original beams. CAMRA’s listing dates the building to 1385 and its life as a pub to 1500, and notes an annual beer festival. A grazing menu runs through the day in the bar; there is also a modern Orangery dining room, a private dining room with an open fire and a garden. Food times: Monday 12pm to 2.30pm; Tuesday to Friday 12pm to 3pm and 6pm to 9pm; Saturday 12pm to 9pm; Sunday 12pm to 5.30pm. Call 01474 833238. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 7 August 2025). Red Street, Southfleet, DA13 9NS.

Longfield, Horton Kirby, Greenhithe and Swanscombe

The Railway Tavern, Longfield

The Railway Tavern says it goes back to the early 19th century, when it was the Longfield Tavern, and is a five-minute walk from Longfield station. It serves Spanish tapas and gourmet burgers in a separate tapas and cocktail bar, the main bar or a covered patio, has a sports lounge with Sky Sports, and puts on live bands and DJs on Saturday nights. CAMRA notes two regular real ales and a changing guest. Bar hours: Monday and Tuesday 12pm to 9.30pm, Wednesday and Thursday 12pm to 10.30pm, Friday and Saturday 11am to 11.30pm, Sunday 12pm to 9.30pm. No food on Mondays. Call 01474 770670. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 4 September 2025). 2 Station Road, DA3 7QD. Our listing.

The Bull, Horton Kirby

The Bull is in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide. CAMRA’s listing describes a one-bar village local with a large garden, an outside bar and views across the Darent Valley, within walking distance of Farningham Road station. It keeps two regular and two rotating guest ales, one often dark. Pizzas are served on Tuesday nights, and booking is recommended for Sunday roasts. There is an open mic night on the first Friday of the month and a quiz on the last Monday. CAMRA warns parking nearby can be difficult. The pub’s old web address now redirects to an unrelated site, so use its Facebook page. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, Sevenoaks District Council, 4 September 2026). Lombard Street, Horton Kirby, DA4 9DF. Our listing.

The Pier Hotel, Greenhithe

CAMRA’s listing, updated in September 2026, describes a former hotel from 1814, first called the Admiral Keppell, with a lot of nautical memorabilia and historical information. It lists live music on the last weekend of the month, darts and dominoes, a garden, and says it is dog and family friendly. Greenhithe station is about 400 metres away, and CAMRA points to a car park in Eagles Road. CAMRA’s hours: 11am to 11pm Monday to Thursday, until 11.30pm on Friday and Saturday, 12pm to 11pm on Sunday. The FSA lists the pub as registered and awaiting its first inspection. 6 High Street, Greenhithe, DA9 9NN. Our listing.

The Rising Sun, Swanscombe

The Rising Sun sits opposite Swanscombe Leisure Centre and Heritage Park. CAMRA’s listing says it opened in 1869, converted from two cottages, and is known locally as the “Top House”, from the days when Craylands Lane also had a Middle House and a Bottom House. It describes a busy locals’ pub with a long-standing landlord, cask ale, darts and a garden with a lawn and two covered smoking shelters. CAMRA’s hours: 11am to 11.30pm Monday to Thursday, until 12.30am on Friday and Saturday, 11.30am to 11pm on Sunday. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 6 October 2026). 16 Craylands Lane, Swanscombe, DA10 0LP.

How we chose

These are the pubs people in Dartford search for and the ones with records anyone can check: Good Beer Guide entries, historic buildings, long-running locals and the village pubs known for food. Chains appear only where they are what the town has. Every pub that serves food has an FSA hygiene rating of 3 or better, or is awaiting its first inspection, and none had posted a closure notice. The facts come from each pub’s own website, CAMRA’s public pub listings (which local volunteers keep up to date, some more recently than others), Historic England and the Food Standards Agency. Run a pub that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@dartfordonline.co.uk.

For eating out, see our guide to Dartford restaurants. For more to do in town, see things to do in Dartford and what’s on in Dartford this month, or browse pubs in our directory and local businesses in Dartford.

Frequently asked questions

Which Dartford pubs are in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide?

CAMRA’s website shows a Good Beer Guide entry for the Malt Shovel on Darenth Road and the Foresters on Great Queen Street in Dartford, and for the Bull at Horton Kirby. The Malt Shovel says it has been in the guide every year since 2009.

What is the oldest pub in Dartford?

CAMRA describes the Wat Tyler on the High Street as an early 15th-century pub, and it is a Grade II listed timber-framed building. The Royal Victoria and Bull Hotel was rebuilt in 1703 on a site the hotel says has held an inn since the 14th century.

Which Dartford pubs allow dogs?

The Malt Shovel welcomes well-behaved dogs indoors and out, and the Royal Oak allows dogs on leads. CAMRA lists the Wat Tyler, the Foresters and the Phoenix as dog friendly. The Horse and Groom in Wilmington allows dogs in the bar and garden but not the restaurant.