British Oak, Dover Road, Kidbrooke

It is disappointing to walk into a pub and find there are no real ales on sale. But it is heartbreaking to have to leave a boozer which has loads to choose from before I have sampled them all.

This was the position I found myself in during a recent visit to the British Oak, Old Dover Road, Kidbrooke.

I was greeted with a choice of Bombardier, Courage Directors, Courage Best, Young's Special and Young's Bitter but sadly did not have time to drink all of them.

This lack of time was not made any better by the amount of time I had to wait to get my pint of Young's Special. Luckily the drink was worth waiting for, as the friendly drinkers said it would be, but it seems crazy for a pub to expect one barmaid to run two bars at once.

She did her best to keep everyone happy but was rushed off her feet and this situation did not improve until another barmaid started work 30 minutes later.

Supping the Special and a pint of Directors was a very enjoyable way to while away my time in the outdoor area out front.

Both were well kept although if pushed I would say the Young's Special was my beer of choice. Its paler nature and lighter fruity taste made it seem more of a summery drop than the darker, stronger Directors.

Other drinkers seemed to be mostly drinking lagers which I usually frown upon (especially when there are five ales to choose from) but it was nice to see they had the choice of more than the usual suspects, with San Miguel and Kronenbourg Blanc on tap.

It is just a shame the staffing level for the post-work rush lets the boozer down and I urge the landlord to employ more staff as soon as possible.