The Thatch & Thistle

The Thatch & Thistle

The Thatch & Thistle in Southport is something of a local landmark, being the only thatched building in the Blowick area. It might look like an ancient pub but it's not; it was built in the 1990s on the site of the old Blowick pub. In 2008, its future looked bleak for a while when its owners, Cains Brewery, went bust and the pub closed. A few years ago it was renamed the Carvery Grill and then the Thatched Pub & Grill, so I'm pleased to see the original name restored after these various ups and downs.

Outside there is a large car park and an open air seating area. The inside, like the exterior, is designed in the style of an old country pub and was tastefully refurbished to a good standard last year. You are faced with a long single bar as you enter and there are several separate drinking areas. When I was there, four of the five handpumps on the front of the bar were in use serving Thwaites Wainwright, Marstons New World Pale Ale, Weetwood Cheshire Cat and Flipside Farthing Mild. These beers are constantly changing, although I was told that Black Sheep Bitter is usually on and is very popular. If you can't decide, you can buy three different beers in third of a pint glasses for £3.50. I noticed a Cask Marque certificate on the wall, and the two beers I had were fine.

The Thatch has always been known for food, and I've had enjoyable meals there in the past. There is a varied, reasonably priced standard menu, plus a specials board and a two-course evening special menu. However, the Thatch retains its pub atmosphere and is not just a restaurant with beer.

They have live music every alternate Saturday, although they are thinking of increasing this to weekly. They advertise disco and karaoke on Fridays and hold a fun quiz night on Sundays. Sometimes you can watch big sports events on TV. The pub also is the home venue for a pool team and a darts team, so overall you can see there's quite a lot going on here. 

The Thatch and Thistle is at 147 Norwood Road; for more information, phone them on 01704 501825.

This is part of a series of articles that I am writing for the CAMRA column in our local paper, the Southport Visiter. Previous reviews are here.