The Lifeboat - Margate (Under New Management)

Really nice inviting pub right in the centre of Margate. Supporting my favourite charity, the R.N.L.I.Went on a quiet afternoon. The person on the bar was friendly and helpful.Prices were reasonable.The only downside was the ABK lager wasn't great,I've had it elsewhere and it tasted and looked completely different,a pity since the rest of my visit was faultless.

The pub has a good atmosphere but serves the worst drinks I've ever tasted . No diet coke only bottles of the worst tasting full fat coke I've ever had . My mates berry cider tasted like a pint of dishwater with a thimblefull of ribena in it . The whiskey was poor as was the vodka . The staff were just kids who didnt have a clue what they were doing.

Loved this place. Didn't have food. Very friendly place to chill out with friends or people you've just met. Would defo go back.

Truly absolutely huge selection of beers, ciders and ales and more than willing to let you try a sip etc... . Lovely log fire that had a selection is stools in front of it so you could get close and warm music on both nights we were there, dog friendly relaxed place, actual sawdust on the floor. Looked like they had cable tv / sky too but wasn't being used. Frieldly staff, lovely pub.

Great night in the Lifeboat: Amy Jo Moh and The Spangles were on top form. Drinks are a bit pricey though 🙁

Didn't eat but had a fantastic evening bar staff are lovely. Great choice on tap. Lovely atmosphere i will definitely return x

Great small pub on the corner, fine selection of beers, well kept real ale.

Brilliant little place although after the evening we visited it changed hands. If they keep it as it was then well worth a visit for a drink.

The lifeboat is a pub in Margate Old Town, near the "Main Sands" area. It is affiliated with Brewdog and offers a fairly comprehensive selection of their real ales, all on tap and in great condition. Prices however are steep(!), and for beers above 6% ABV you can't even get a full pint - instead you can order a 2/3 pint, but the price is higher than for a "regular" full pint elsewhere. It's true though that Brewdog ales aren't cheap anywhere. Definitely not a place to binge. ;) There is a small outside seating area, but the benches are so creaky I had to change my position twice because I was afraid that I would break them.

Margate can be bewildering for the first-time visitor arriving by train. The blurb on Margate all trades off its past as the premier sea resort of Kent (apparently it was the first 'bathing beach' in England, launched in 1736). The picture on Margate's Wikipedia entry, with its old clock tower in the foreground and sandy beach in the background is vaguely evocative of the Dunkirk beaches from the film Atonement. The sight that greets rail arrivals brutally exposes the camera's lie. A grey, imposing tower block is the first thing that catches your eye. Then, a little further back, the jaw-droppingly old, recently reopened, theme park rather disbelievably called 'Dreamland', housed in sixties red brick. When one reaches the beach, one is bluntly told "Do not bathe here" while the tackiness of the shops on the sea front itself suggest that Margate has fallen a long way from its past glories. One might conclude that the Margate experience is awash with encroaching tat and tack. Head for the Lifeboat! No, really, head for the Lifeboat. The first reason to head to the Lifeboat is that it's located in Margate's Old Town. Rather like in Hastings, Margate's Old Town is filled with interesting old buildings (including a Tudor house.. right next to a demolished building. Only in Margate) and classier restaurants, cafes, shops and pubs. In short, enough to discover the cooler and classier side to Margate. The second reason is the atmosphere of the Lifeboat itself. Unlike the seafront bars, there's no Carling or Sky Sports here, just an excellent range of local, dirt-cheap (3 pounds a pint!) ale and cider. Sure, there's Meantime too, but it's noticeably more expensive and let's be honest, inferior. The interior is wooden, with sawdust on the floor. The service is friendly and one might say earthy. And, best of all, they were playing Bohemian Rhapsody for most of my time there. Class. I'm not a fan of painful punnery, but it's no exaggeration to say that the Lifeboat saved my Margate experience.

Came to Margate for the weekend, walk passed this place seemed really nice from the outside, so decided to pop in to order some food, have been told they only serve one thing(mash and steak pie)not sure how long it was going to take for them prepare. (Fine we will wait) The drinks order was also messed up. When we were making payments apparently the math didn't add up additional drinks were put onto our bill, no apologies or explanations. Not sure how they keep their business running by telling customers they are busy(very short staffed) so the service level was kept to a minimum? This place seems like a total disaster. After 36 mins finally the food has arrived, as they did not give numbers to tables so we had to chase their staff for our food ! If you fancy some frozen pie from the oven, stale mash and an 2 hours to kill then come in and enjoy!

We loved the beer and the cider but oh how we needed something to eat!! In the end we moved on to the chippy on the front but we would have preferred to stop a while longer.

Well its small , place is dominated by the free standing stillage of barrels as you would get at a beer festival . So they half a dozen real ales and cider on . Its very quirky full of character . Lots of bare wood and odd bits of furniture . Beer quality was good and the locals friendly .