Secret Drinker reviews the Drapers Arms pub in Sun Street, Canterbury

whatsoneditor@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 17:00, 10 April 2025 | Updated: 16:53, 23 April 2025

PREMIUM

Is this the perfect tourist pub? What does a foreign visitor to Canterbury want?

To sit outside in the sunshine (tick) within spitting distance of the Cathedral (tick) have a great pint of beer in your hand (oh dear).

The sun was shining but there were still outdoor tables available at the Drapers Arms, on the corner of Sun Street, surely this must be a favourite haunt for tourists visiting Canterbury?

The Drapers Arms on the corner of aptly named Sun Street has history aplenty, stripped floorboards and trendy lightbulbs which appear almost compulsory in this neck of the woods and the most impressive floor-to-ceiling glass windows I’ve ever seen.

With such delights on offer, I wasn’t surprised to find a group of young, suit-wearing men, a mixture of Americans and French, sitting outside to take the afternoon air.

I’d got more than an hour to kill while I waited for The Apprentice, who’d apparently gone off to be locked in a room somewhere before he could then escape, so I turned tourist and pulled back the heavy glass door.

The majority of the pub's outside walls are dominated by historic floor-to-ceiling glass which looks fantastic but must be a right pain to keep clean

Upstaris, an outside terrace gives great views of the street below

Atmosphere and history are all around, but sadly, a decent pint of ale is nowhere to be seen.

The only thing that mentioned beer had peach in it, so I swerved that in favour of a 4.2% Unfiltered Helles from the Battersea Brewery.

There is no dartboard, no pool table, no fruit machines and no jukebox, but background music was playing at a reasonable level and Journey were telling us Don’t Stop Believin’.

There is a wonderful tiled entrance area displaying the name Deakin which has been retained and, I assume, gives away the secret to this place’s past. However, inexplicably for Canterbury city centre, there are pictures of fish and fishermen catching fish on every available wall.

I used a door at the side and I'm not sure if this glass front door was in operation, but as an entrance, it's impressive

This tiled entrance is spectacular and I would have liked to have seen a little more mention of this building's history inside - rather than all the random fish photos

I have no idea if it is still usable but this fireplace with its colourful tiling is impressive

The fellow behind the bar, Will, could shed no light on the fishy goings-on either, though he did say he rated the peach-flavoured ‘beer’.

I’d negotiated the perfectly clear-looking unfiltered lager, which was okay, so emboldened by Will’s endorsement I tackled a Jubel Peach Beer. Beer it is not, sweet it is to the point your teeth will cross, and I began to worry for my host’s sanity.

It was time to visit the facilities which, in the case of the gents, is a single cubicle – this does lead to some confusion as other customers are constantly trying the door when you’re in situ. It also led to some anxiety on my part as the single facility was in a ‘poor condition’ and the drain was clearly blocked. Tricky one this as you don’t really want to say to the next, queuing punter ‘that wasn’t me’.

Fortunately, what talent Will lacks in beer advice he more than makes up for in temporary plumbing because, armed with jugs of water, he soon had the matter resolved.

There was a fairly serious plumbing issue in the downstairs' gents, which fortunately barman Will was able to resolve

Everywhere you look there are pictures of fish and fishermen on the walls but no-one at The Drapers had any idea why they are there?

In an effort to avoid the scene in the loo, I’d wandered upstairs and discovered this pub has far more to offer than I first thought. For a start, there is a big upstairs area, two further gents toilets (again single cubicles) but both flushing correctly.

This upstairs area was pretty much deserted but two student-looking types were nursing a single drink each and battling over an impossible jigsaw puzzle of the night sky.

There is also a wonderful outside terraced area which catches the sun beautifully in the late evening and enough mirrors for even the vainest Italian tourist, or perhaps to create the impression the terrace is twice the size.

The decoration upstairs feels a little more consistent; downstairs there are white tiles, wood panelling painted blue, several types of exposed brickwork, duck egg blue/green-coloured plaster and the unexplained fish pictures.

There are large expanses of floor-to-ceiling glass everywhere and trendy light fittings sitting over each table

The only folks sitting upstairs were concentrating on a jigsaw

I'd only drunk two fingers of my Jubel peach beer before I knew for sure this wasn't something I'd be re-ordering

The star of the show has to be the full-length glass windows, tailor-made for people watching. I also loved the copper patch repairs made to the stripped wooden floorboards and the parquet table tops.

One thing which is important to mention is the fact you can’t spend cash here – somehow I managed to miss the large signs clearly displayed on the bar but was able to use my card.

The pub hosts live music events on a regular basis and also advertises a bottomless brunch for the weekends. On Sundays, it’s from noon to 4pm, with an extra hour 11am to 4pm on Saturdays (£32 for one course, £40 for two with unlimited fizz for 90 minutes).

There is student and blue light discount available – 15% off drinks and 10% off food. Finally, the SD Hound wasn’t with us but this is a dog-friendly pub for friendly dogs.

There is a raised area on one side of the pub which creates a perfect platform for people watching

Cash in king with me but you can't spend folding money here - it's strictly cards only

I'm not sure if this is a traditional way to patch wooden floorboards but I loved the look of these copper plates

DRAPERS ARMS, 1-2 SUN STREET, CANTERBURY CT1 2HX

Décor: A truly eclectic mix of styles and looks – there’s white butcher shop-style tiles, wood panelling painted blue, new-style red brick, plaster cut back to reveal old grey brick and a duck egg coloured plaster elsewhere. The floor-to-ceiling glass windows are the real star. ****

Drink: There’s a decided lack of proper ale (peach beer does not cut it!) but there is a reasonable selection of lagers and other drinks. The Apprentice rated his Beavertown Neck Oil as very decent. ***

Price: I’m not saying it was unexpected in this locale, but all the drinks were closer to £7 than £6 – Neck Oil was £6.90, Jubel Peach Beer (no, it’s not beer) £6.80 and a Battersea Helles lager £6.60. **

Staff: The barmaid was very friendly and pleasant but seemed fairly new to her role, Will is clearly more experienced and an absolute dab hand at clearing a blockage. ****