From the https://www.kentonline.co.uk By Secret Drinker, 6 April 2020.

Secret Drinker looks back at his 10 worst pubs across Kent.

It’s almost a year since I landed the best job in the world and I’ve been travelling around Kent ever since discovering the very best, and worst, pubs right around the county.

Fortunately the majority of boozers I’ve been lucky enough to visit have been great, but some, sadly, have been found wanting.

I can only ever report exactly what I find at a given moment in time and I realise a fly-on-the-wall review can’t possibly take into account everything going on in a pub. - and many of these pubs may well have improved since my visit.

But, I was tasked with discovering the good, the bad and the ugly – and, in my humble opinion on the day, these are the 10 worst boozers I’ve visited...

4. Just missing out on a top three position is The Eagle in Maidstone. Outside it’s received a lick of paint but inside was desperately in need of a little TLC. I started by avoiding a larger lake on the floor before ordering one of the few things that was available on tap. The toilets had to be seen to be believed and I’m still confused why a wet cloth needed rubbing in one woman’s face? The whole night was the second most bizarre visit I’ve ever made to a pub.

The Eagle in Maidstone looked as though it had received a lick of paint outside, but there can’t have been any budget left for the interior.

Kentish Gazette, 20 August 2020.

EAGLE FLYING AGAIN AFTER REFURB.

It’s been a family affair from the very beginning for the owners of The Eagle pub in Maidstone, which recently reopened with a new look post lockdown.

Husband and wife team Adam, 27, and Alex Weeks, 26, took over the pub in Brewer Street together with Alex’s parents, Jo and Wayne Miles, in May last year.

But the family’s association with the pub goes back much further, as Jo and Wayne met outside the pub some 30 years ago and had their first drink together there.

When their daughter Alex and husband Adam, who had both been working in hospitality since leaving school, wanted to get their first step on the pub landlord ladder, The Eagle was the family’s obvious choice.

During lockdown the couple, like many other venues forced to close, completed a dramatic overhaul of the building, including redecoration from top to bottom, with help from family and friends.

The bar which previously included a colour scheme Alex fondly refers to as “nicotine yellow” now has shades of blue, and the exterior has had a lick of paint too.

The revamped outside space has a bar area along the side, which has proved particularly popular both in the recent heat and with regulars missing the chance to sit around the real bar, in line with government restrictions.

Toilet facilities have also been improved and, the piece de resistance is the kitchen, which was completely gutted and refitted, which now means the pub can offer a new menu of “homely pub grub” whipped up by Alex, a trained sous chef, which can also done to takeaway.

“Lockdown gave us the opportunity to do all the extra tilings that we wanted to do," said Adam.

“We have poured our heart and soul into this place and have worked really hard,” said Alex. “Our regulars have been so supportive.”

“It is like a family,” added Adam, who with Alex also has two members of staff, Lisa and Carol. “Everyone helps each other, no-one wants to see anyone struggling.”

The small pub, under the new guidelines, now has seating capacity for 30, with a one way system clearly marked throughout.

The ‘new normal’ has meant a slight downturn in trade as it has for many pubs. Alex said: “Some are waiting because they’re not ready to come out again yet, and some can't, and some are just waiting for the fun to come back!”