peterborough pubs: the best bars in peterborough

Welcome to the Drink in the Sights guide to the best bars and pubs in Peterborough. Peterborough is a hugely underrated town for beer drinkers looking to try some new ales and craft beers. It's also a celiac's dream as thanks to the excellent Nene Valley brewery just a few miles away from the town you'll nearly always find a gluten free option in most Peterborough pubs. I enjoyed their Egyptian Cream Stout while my lighter drinking friends tell me Big Bang Theory is a very good pale ale. The other local brewery is Oakham Ales so you wont struggle to find a pint of Citra, JHB or Inferno at a reasonable price. Right now I've introduced you to the breweries it's time to talk about The Best Pubs in Peterborough. All in pubs on this list are within walking distance of the train station.

Peterborough Pubs

The Ostrich Inn
I was never going to begin my guide to the best bars in Peterborough anywhere other than The Ostrich Inn, it's just wonderful. For a start its got history as the original Ostrich Inn pub was built on this site nearly 200 years ago and everyone loves a pub with a past. More importantly though The Ostrich Inn is a proper pub with a U shaped wooden bar, wooden floors, and wooden seats, it just looks exactly like a proper good old pub should. The walls are adorned with historical information about the pub, pictures of ostriches and music memorabilia, including a poster relating to the greatest band of them all, Pulp.
While all the aesthetics are very pleasing The Ostrich Inn isn't just a pretty face with 12 beers available including local brews from Nene Valley and Oakham ales to choose from you'll be spilt for choice and the prices are seriously reasonable. Just to make things perfect there's also a really nice beer garden round the back, bar staff who know their stuff, live music at the weekend and just an all round friendly welcoming atmosphere. As the pub is only 5-10 minutes walk from the station it's also ideal if you're just passing through and have time for a quick pint between trains.
Bumble Inn
Just round the corner from The Ostrich Inn you'll find the excellent Bumble Inn micro pub. Any regular readers of my pub guides will know I love a micro pub, and this is a seriously good one. You'll find 5 beers on tap at very reasonable prices as well as a huge selection of craft cans and bottles which will give you more than enough options for a few days solid drinking. The pub opened in 2016 and has become a stalwart of any Peterborough pub crawl thanks in no small part to the bar staff who make you feel very welcome and are more than happy to offer beer suggestions to anyone happy to listen. 
As with most my favourite pubs the Bumble Inn has a cool little wooden bar, wooden floor boards and comfy seating, plus there's a couple of nicely painted bumble bees on the walls, which is a nice touch. If you want to sit outside there's a small seating area at the front, but as it's on a fairly busy road and the inside is so nice why would you want to do that? Beyond any doubt the Bumble Inn Micro Pub is one of the best pubs in Peterborough.
Charters
Everyone loves a bar on a boat don't they? OK maybe not if you get really badly seasick but that really shouldn't be an issue on Charters which is happily docked on the River Nene. I've been to a few pubs on boats in my time and I really think this is my favourite. One of the best things about Charters is that it has loads of local beers on tap including Nene Valley's Egyptian Cream and all the usual Oakham ales goodness. In total there's 12 beers on tap plus a decent array of bottles. There really is a lot to love about this floating pub.
The bar area is spacious and has the look of a proper pub despite its less than orthodox location, plus the staff were nice and friendly. Outside on dry land you'll find an absolutely ginormous beer garden which is absolutely full of life especially when Peterborough UTD are at home. Finally though just to make things just about perfect you'll also find some cool street art around the garden, and I do love a good bit of street art with my pint.
The Palmerston Arms
Coming from Lincoln I always enjoy a good Batemans pub, and this is one of their best. The Palmerston Arms features an impressive selection of 14 beers on tap including the ever popular Bateman's XXXB. The pub is always welcoming and feels like a proper throwback to the best days of pub life with the carpeted floors and beer related merchandise all over the place. Sorry about the lack of photos on the inside this is one of the last pubs I visited on my first trip to Peterborough since starting the website a year ago and I seem to have forgotten to take any, trust me though the Palmerston Arms is a beauty for a proper pub lover.
The Wonky Donkey
The Wonky Donkey is the furthest pub from the city center on this list of the best bars in Peterborough, but I think this lovely little micro pub is worth the trek. You'll find 8 beers on tap topped up by a fridge full of crafty goodness, a friendly atmosphere, beer tap pins on the walls, well priced beers, a nice wooden bar and everything else you'd expect from a proper nice little pub, there's even a small toy wonky donkey in the back. One small word of warning here as they still haven't invested in a card machine the pub remains cash only which is a shame as I rarely carry any these days. Regardless of the lack of card payments I really like The Wonky Donkey and I can assure you it's worth the walk.

Peterborough Bars

Yard Of Ale
I've never actually tried to drink a yard of ale but at least now I can say I've drank in The Yard Of Ale so that's a step in the right direction. This feels very much like another proper pub with possibly the comfiest leather seats in Peterborough making it the perfect place for a session. There's all the usual essentials such as a wooden bar, wooden floorboards, a dart board, pool table, some beer pins on the wall and most importantly of all a good selection of 8 ales. On top of all this there's a beer garden with its own pizza oven so you wont ever have to go hungry at the Yard of Ale. Certainly one of the best pubs in Peterborough.
Coalheavers Arms
When it comes to Peterborough pubs with a proper locals pub feel look no further than the Coalheavers Arms. With a mixture of comfy upholstered chairs, wooden floorboards, knowledgeable staff and 8 beers on tap what more could you want from a local pub? This really is a proper ale drinkers boozer, the type of which seems to be dying out a little these days, which is a real shame. The Coalheavers certainly deserves its place in any list of the best bars in Peterborough.
Blind Tiger
The Blind Tiger is another Peterborough Micro Pub only this one looks much more modern and slick. If craft beer is your thing Blind Tiger is the Peterborough bar for you with 25 taps all serving high quality keg beers and an abundance of craft cans. As I'm sure you'll have come to expect these premium beers do come at premium prices, but you know what it's good to treat yourself occasionally. The bars decor is quite minimalistic with an almost coffee shop vibe to it but the guy behind the bar knows his stuff and once you settle in it starts to feel like a bar again.
The Queens Head
The Queens Head is possibly the quirkiest bar in Peterborough which isn't a huge surprise given that it's a Charles Wells pub and they tend to be a little bit mad, I do love the weirdness though. While clearly done up to look like a seriously old pub The Queens Head features all kinds of mock royal merchandise, tiny rooms, a pizza oven, and a general eclectic madness which I enjoyed. You'll find 4 ales on tap and only one cider which is a bit of an issue as it left my celiac friend with nothing to drink when the cider was off one day. If you enjoy walking around a really weird pub you'll agree that the Queens Head is one of the best pubs in Peterborough.
The Brewery Tap
If huge pubs selling Thai food are more to your taste then look no further than The Brewery Tap. In terms of sheer scale this pub is a monster and the brewing equipment (not in use anymore) on show is always a nice touch in any pub. As this is an Oakham Ales bar you'll find plenty of their beers available including Citra and Inferno but while there used to be 12 beers on in total you'll be lucky to find 6 these days. Nevertheless The Brewery Tap is a hugely impressive building and still one of the best bars in Peterborough.
Thanks for reading my guide to the best bars and pubs in Peterborough I hope you found it useful. Peterborough is only half an hour from Newark by train so why not try these Newark Bars or visit these Lincoln Pubs only 50 minutes away.