Excursion

 I was working in Hastings yesterday so, despite the cold, I coaxed the Best Beer Buddy out of the house to meet me afterwards.

I finished in St Leonards but it was seriously cold and I doubted that either Heist or Collected Fictions would have the cosy atmosphere we were after.  Having been in two freezing pubs last week, I wasn't in the mood for that again after a busy day.

So instead, we co-ordinated trains and I jumped back on the train at Warrior Square and we hiked up to the Imperial.

We hadn't been there for ages.

It was good to see it already buzzing when we arrived (just before 5pm) but faffed around a bit to get a seat we were both happy with.

It is a lovely place and the staff are universally engaging but we were a little taken aback at the prices.  They seem to have suffered a real hike since our last visit to one of their venues.

£7 a pint for a 6% beer is more than we'd (almost) ever pay in Bristol (LHG is possibly the only exception) so to see that price point in Hastings gave us a pause.

The cask beer (Pig and Porter) was a little more than Harveys in the Lamb for roughly the same ABV.

A really excellent Marguerrita pizza on the other hand was a jolly £9.50 and was enough for two of us.

Dunno whether this is a wider trend, a reflection on conmtinued pressures on hospitality or Brewing Brothers setting out their stall.

I'll be interesting to compare when I go to the Seadog to meet with work colleagues next week...