Half way between Mill Road and East Road, the Alexandra Arms has been through some refurbishment over the years to finally arrive at the current comfortable incarnation of wooden floors, two levels of bar and an extensive beer garden with semi-covered areas. This came into its own last October for the AlexFest music event, featuring many local bands including the highly regarded Centimes, Fred’s House and Goldstar.  I was impressed with the friendliness of the staff welcome to this event (I remember these things!) and I will be back there when it is repeated later this year.

Back inside there is a well-presented menu with an emphasis on gourmet burgers and the kitchen is a visible and integral part of the pub layout. At the bar  there is an array of real ale from Greene King and its satellite breweries on display, with some intriguing guest ales too. Next to each tap there are small jars of samples of each ale, which seems to be a growing trend so you can assess the shade of goldeness or darkness of your choice. On my last visit this taste guide led me to a pint of Buntingford Golden Drop (4%) which had a bit of bite to it despite its gentle colouring. There is also the option of having your pint in a handled glass or the perfect symmetry of a straight glass, not a difficult choice for most consumers but quite a nice touch.

So it is a pleasant community pub, with space for larger groups to meet and eat together and very importantly to me there is a real commitment to live, local music.

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