Drakes in Maidstone

Came here for a wedding reception didn't eat anything from bbq but I heard was lovely

Pets friendly and the staff is really nice 🙂

Very nice pub has everything you want in a pub

Really sad to see that the food has gone so down hill at Drakes!! Usually love going to this pub, there’s loads of choice for drinks and staff are great. We visited recently though and the mains menu is now literally a choice of 2 burgers. There’s not even a veggie burger option and when they came out the quality was appalling. At least if there’s so few options you would hope they were good quality. I had the beef burger and it tasted so cheap and just had a cheese slice and really wilted lettuce in it. My husband had the chicken burger and that was no better put together. They both came with a tiny handful of chips, so we ended up ordering some of the loaded fries after, as we were still hungry. These were even worse. It was a soup bowl full of salad dressing with chips and a cut up chicken burger soaking in there. The cheese was just the cheese slices from the burgers and hot sauce on top. It felt like food for a hungover teenager, it was just awful! Such a shame as it’s a lovely pub and they used to do great food! Probably won’t return now unless there’s a menu change.

Didn't eat here. We enjoyed ourselves. Good value for money. Lovely atmosphere. Would definitely recommend it to family and friends.

We went there for a community meeting. Pleasently surprised. A 200 year old stable converted to drink places out the back and a lovely old world pub inside the main building. Nice staff and happened to have a live band. "i'm just a teenage dirt bag baby" Great find. Aspall cider too. My fav. Didnt eat so cannot comment on food. Pool table and darts. 😃

This pub is the best in Maidstone in my opinion. Good beer, friendly staff, random bands, good atmosphere, and the building is old but homely. Worth a visit

Update May 2024 Had a pleasant couple of hours drinking a few pints of Harvey's. Nice bar staff. Update December 2023 Had to remove 1 star as there was no draught real ale available. Had a couple of beers with friends. Close to the river Medway.

Love this place, they have a great selection of food and drinks. Also they embrace live music. We need more venues like this.

Thank you to all at Drakes, especially Jenna, for making my 30th birthday party so amazingly memorable!! Great drinks, great food, great service - definitely recommending and definitely returning!!

Nice old pub with a 600 year old cobblestone outdoor area at the back, along with the old stables. Pleasant atmosphere and quite busy when i went as there was the Maidstone fringe festival on. Definitely worth a visit.

Great local place with great music

Happened upon another open mic night with some familiar performers from the mic night circuit. Great atmosphere and the pub has a good layout too.

the soul hextech needs to do this buff she is useless ptn

Just gets better and better. Excellent Ales, wide range of drinks, friendly staff, great bands, popular with all ages, well done Ollie the landlord. Due to its popularity it can sometimes be a bit of a wait at the bar. Well worth it as ales served in tip top condition. Band of Rogues inside this evening. What a jolly mix of music enjoyed by a jolly mix enjoying it.

Good size pub with a large outdoor area and covered section for a live band to play. Great atmosphere and large selection of drinks.

Friendly staff and great atmosphere. Also we went on a Tuesday night and they had live music 👍🏻

Only popped in for 1, didn't eat. Nice place. Good bands I hear.

What a beautiful little gem of a pub I've driven past many times and never knew it was there. Well worth a visit and the Guinness is just perfect. Staff, service and atmosphere is second to none👍

We went New Years Eve, staff were great, good variety of beers and lively place to watch bands

Small pub, nice for drinking beers

I visited this pub in summer of this year, the staff were all very polite and attentive when someone walked in. The food was very nice and filled me up I would definitely come here again, the atmosphere of the place is good but it would be nice to have more seating area inside although there is more seating outside, for winter time I can image it gets very full inside. Overall, a good time would recommend to anyone local or not!

Cracking pub, happy, friendly staff, a great atmosphere and a top notch service right across the board. Would highly recommend to anyone👌💯👍✌👊😁

Lovely traditional pub with a great atmosphere

Great atmosphere, great live band, our food was great, our friends meal however was cold ,but they did resolve the issue quickly which is fab..

Bike nights always a good night 👍

Good sized beer garden, frequent live music and good range of drinks

Great, Ambience, l haven't tried their food yet, but my daughter has, and it looked delicious. Will probably change my rating of the food to 5 stars 🌟 after l lunch there.

Went for their new menu food tasting, the food was incredible! Bill, the chef was on fire as usual and Mia, our waitress for the evening was incredibly attentive and nothing was too much for her even when dealing with a fair few customers at once. Aside from tonight I've been a few times to their events and BBQs and they are always top notch with a great friendly crowd - get yourself down.

Best pub in Maidstone by far - amazing staff, incredible food and an even better atmosphere - the new menu is a must to try!!

Regularly visit Drakes as it is the finest pub in Maidstone by a mile. The atmosphere is great, and the food, by Bill, even better. Fantastic kind service from Mia. If you want a lovely dinner, a few drinks, and live bands, this IS the place to be.

Really friendly crowd and decent pub grub all topped off with brilliant live music set in one of Maidstone's oldest pubs. New menu started this week, hence additional pics. The chef deserves a medal, top notch grub got even more yummy 😋

Sought out this pub after it being my local 45 years ago when it was called a different name. Spoke about it to the barman. If the barman had a bit more personality the pub might be busier…..

I only had one beer there so my comments a bit limited

Drakes is great! Atmosphere is wonderful, especially during music nights. The staff are all lovely and helpful, and the pool table always adds some fun to a great night out!

Lovely atmosphere! Usually very good live music! Staff are great! Currently I’ve only been here an hour, the group I’m with have had three drinks spill because of your incredibly uneven tables outside! Waste of money, sort it out!

A good night live music on Thursday night's.

Great pub. We had a works party here with a BBQ. Great service all round

Really like this traditional pub and a fantastic choice of drinks

Nice pub, lots of seating inside and out. There was a band playing, not my cup of tea but others seemed to enjoy. I would not recommend the Pink Apricot gin. It was horrid, all other drinks are fine

Such a nice, cosy and climatic pub in the heart of Maidstone

Went in to watch a friend have their first time on stage at the jam night. Nice pub, plenty of beers I hadn't seen in a pub before. Looks like a good place for live music as the events board was full. Looks like they do motorcycle shows sometimes, too, so that's a bonus.

I love this old pub, it's been around literally hundreds of years and survived many floodings but it's still one of the nicest places to get a drink, some food and entertainment with friends. There's outdoor seating, plenty of space and nooks inside. You can watch live music, play pool and other bar games too.

Had a nice pint of Guinness in there oldy type pub with dart board and music

Great pub. Good selection of drinks. Lovely cobbled courtyard area out back and plenty of live music. Definitely recommended.

A lovely quirky pub with a decent sized beer garden. Nothing plush here, just good beer and service in a clean and tidy pub with beamed ceiling - butbewarethe"Naughty Corner'. Pool table more or less separate from the rest of the pub.They have regular live music on various evenings.The Guinness was excellent as was the Sussex Best Bitter.

Brilliant bar, relaxed atmosphere; friendly people out for a drink and great music. The venue is fantastic. Great building, loads of space inside and out. Live music was great. Looking forward to going back.

Stables drinking area 600 years old & they have Harvey’s bitter on draft

Drinks and service great Did not eat but will do next time

One of my favourite places to gig, great food, excellent choice of drinks, clean facilities. All in all a great night out x

Fantastic customer service, friendly staff and great atmosphere.

Great old school pub, good beer, good atmosphere, good back garden and teh food is really good too. Bar staff knowledgeable and friendly

Drakes has always been one of the more popular places to drink in Maidstone. Back in the 90's after a couple in the Muggleton we would often go and check out Drakes before moving onto one Maidstone's many clubs. With a pool table, dart board and many board games (my brother turned down a game of Kaplunk) there's plenty inside to entertain - but out in the courtyard there's also a large marque now and also for a more intimate time they've opened some 'stables' that have a nice cosy feel. Those that move with the times - stay with the times I believe and its well worth checking out this above average, long established piece of Maidstones pub culture !

Attended a family birthday here. Everyone was great, venue was busy and live entertainment was spot on. Even my 82 year old mum enjoyed her time. Recommend!

It's a nice old pub by the river.

Great place bar staff very nice ,I would go there again

Brilliant brilliant brilliant!! Choose this venue for a recent 50th birthday party for the old crew and just fantastic, is a great space, great food and the Drakes staff were just amazing, especially Jenna, thanks Jenna, sorted it all out for us, fantastic at talking me through stuff, putting my mind at rest and just worked so hard to make sure the evening went brilliantly! Oh and do try the rum punch....!!

A wonderful old pub with great history.

Nice place! Good food and a nice atmosphere. But if you want to play Justin Bieber on the Jukebox 15 times in a row, they turn down the music even though you paid for it 🥲 we had a great time here.

Great music venue and the Sambuca deal is the nuts.

Best pub in Maidstone. Very friendly staff that make you feel welcome as soon as you come in. Bonus points they have a pool table.

Maidstone's Finest. Just the same as it's been for 35 years (probably time to renew the dart board and pool table cloth) They also serve beer!

I love this place best warm wine every

We were in the covered courtyard for a band.loads of space there . Popular pub can be crowded inside

We were let down at the last minute for a work Christmas Meal. I called Drakes having been there a few years ago and Will the Chef could not have been more helpful. Not only did he fit us in, he catered for our needs based on the food choices we had already made elsewhere. This was all done with 3 days notice, along with a nicely decorated table, Christmas crackers and fantastic table service. The food was amazing. We will definitely visit again! Thank you.

Excellent olde world pub close to The High Street.

Everything is just right at Drakes. The atmosphere is perfect for drinking nights or morning chats, the drinks selection is great and prices are fair, the food that Will puts out is perfect and better than some restaurants round here, and the staff are some of the best, most warming people around. If you don't leave with at least one new friend or acquaintance, I'll be surprised. Drakes is easily my favourite pub.

Food and bar service were great, and the manager was attentive. Just worth saying that the open Mike night was anything but open! Arrived just after 9, spoke to the staff member who was playing guitar… it was obviously a place for his mates who take their music very seriously. Go there for the food and the bar, but defo don’t expect to get involved in ‘open’ Mike night 😂

Great band last night 'Brothers from another cover '. Nice atmosphere and a unique space to hang out in.

Can't fault this place, it's a lovely pub with friendly staff, great live music and a fantastic jam night every tuesday. The new stable conversion is lovely to sit in and great for groups. The board game selection is pretty good too!

Nice pub at the bottom of Maidstone, friendly staff clean and good beer.

Elusive Festival should be happening here monthly, really refreshing!

Great pub, cosy inside and a very large covered outdoor area with plenty of benches and room for bands to play, not sure how effective the wall heaters would be in the winter months..... the food served seems very popular and from what I saw very appealing, parking is problematic but not impossible, the pub is but a short walk from the town centre and if you're in the vicinity you should definitely check it out.

Fantastic staff, great live music, brilliant atmosphere

Great pub with brilliant atmosphere and superb music and friendly staff

A nice quaint pub located near Maidstone Central. The pub team is very friendly, and there are many pints on tap and events held in abundance.

Pleasant pub. Good for drink or two. Dog friendly which is always a plus. 👍🏼

Can't fault the place or the staff. Always friendly and approachable! Amazing team, amazing pub

Good selection of beers and ales. Food nice at decent prices friendly staff.

Great place, very friendly staff and maybe small but delicious food there's. Good life music brand and highly recommended this place. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Great atmosphere, with great live music, a rarity nowadays

Best pub in Maidstone by a mile

Great boozer with live bands and friendly staff

Went to bike meeting... great atmosphere and we'll run food and drink a bit expensive but all good and great band playing to ....what's not to like.

Had a tasty lunch at Drakes today. I understand it’s a new menu, and everything on it looked good, but we opted for the spicy mac and cheese burger with fries, and the rib roll which came with slaw and seasoned fries. Friendly staff, good beer, and good service, I can recommend Drakes if you’re looking for something a little different

Lovely old public house with large courtyard out back

I went on sunday to c nephew play it was good couple of hours,it was very warm could have done with more table parasols for shade.

A really fantastic pub, have been here for a works do, an open mic, and the recent Bike Night - Really friendly and helpful staff, the owner, Ollie, is often around and always very friendly, the food is delicious, and the Bike Night was a brilliant event with a really good turnout and a fantastic live band. Cannot recommend Drake's enough!

An ancient and lovely pub at the bottom of the High Street. Full of younger folk and loud music.

Best pub in Maidstone, live music great food and good selection of beers

Great bar, happy and friendly staff and fantastic choice of beers etx. really enjoyed the atmosphere. we will be back!

Nice old building never been in there before lived here most of my life remember it being the lamb

Welcoming and vibrant. One drawback were the collection of young lads noisy and over powering around the pool table. Could and would maybe dissuade us older potential customers, from making a decision to come to Drakes over other similar pubs around...

Drakes pub is great place and the staff are good too. The atmosphere is banging, friendly. Highly recomend this place. The live music is great too

Nice pub to have a quiet lunch time drink. Good selection of beers and very pleasant service and environment.

Nice pub, nice pint of Harvey's Best Bitter too

Damn good pub this one. Not the cheapest pint in town, but it's an excellent spot to enjoy decent beer, and soak up the rays in the beer garden which is expansive. The front bar is very traditional and cosy and they have a pool table which is an absolute bonus if you like shooting stick. Live music in the beer garden regularly so it gets lively. And that's a good thing. Definitely worth a stop in here on your local crawl. Staff are friendly and attentive too. And you can get a nice and lively Proper Job off the draw.

Great location. Traditional English pub feel with a great beer garden and live music too. Decent selection of draught beers too. What more could you ask for?

Brilliant place. Great atmosphere, drinks & food. Staff are amazing

great band and i also did a bit of dancing!!