Architect, Chester

The Architect, which opened just before Christmas 2012, lies in landscaped grounds between Nicholas Street and Nuns Road in Chester close by the city walls and Roodee racecourse. It is a conversion of St Martin's Lodge which had originally been the two storey regency home of famous architect and bridge designer Thomas Harrison but had been boarded up ever since the police vacated their headquarters next door to make way for the new HQ building. As we've come to expect off Brunning & Price, they've made an exemplary job of restoration with the pub basically comprising of two halves. Making full use of the rambling original interior of the listed Georgian building, to the right you'll find several rooms of varying size and intimacy given over to dining with table service. For something less formal and more pub-like head into a sympathetic brick extension where the bar looks down on an impressive spacious lower level seating area. If you're a devotee of B&P pubs you'll be familiar with the decor, fixtures and furnishings. There's the usual frame-to-frame prints (of varying topicality), the tall bookshelves, wood floors, carpets and rugs, fresh flowers, blackboards, chunky furniture and lots of glass and window. Outside there's a patio with sloping lawns which we can expect to be mobbed particularly when the horse racing season resumes in May. Regarding CAMRA's raison d'etre, the real ale, expect Phoenix B&P Bitter and Weetwood Cheshire Cat as standard backed up by guest beers from Beartown, Tatton and Titanic.