The Seadog
By Steven Short
Joseph Ryan and Holly Murdoch know a thing or two about running pubs. Twelve years ago, Joseph, originally from Ireland, opened Howl at the Moon in Hackney, East London, followed a few years ago by Dalston’s The Fox. Holly came on board romantically three years ago – their first date was at Howl at the Moon – and started off helping Joseph with his PR and marketing, “Which he didn’t think he needed!”
One pandemic, a campervan and an adventure around Rye and Hastings later, the couple decided to buy what was once Frank’s Front Room on Station Road and open it as a proper pub –The Seadog – saving the site from being redeveloped as flats.
“We removed hideous yellow cladding from the front of the bar and found the original bar behind it,” says Holly showing HIP around a building site work-in-progress, but Holly and Joseph were confident they’d hit their 15 April opening date deadline. Keen to restore the pub to its original glory, period floorboards were sourced from a church to sit alongside the parquet in what will be one of the pub’s two rooms, this one with an open fire. “We want the pub to have a bit of an Irish vibe, because of Joseph’s heritage,” says Holly, “But it’s not an Irish bar!”
Joseph opened his pubs when craft beers were becoming ‘a thing’ so there will be plenty for those in turned-up trousers and fiddly taches to savour, as well as ‘”an excellent selection of wines, including organic and biodynamic,” by the glass and by the bottle. You can also try ‘shrub’ cocktails, which combine fruits, sugar and vinegar with alcohol and which were popular with the Victorians.
The kitchen (still to be installed when we visited) will be a collaboration with Fatso’s Tacos, serving meat and vegan versions of the Mexican favourite. Sunday roasts will also be available in due course, as will the chance to visit ‘Pigeon Alley’, a side return the couple didn’t realise belonged to them and which will be the perfect spot for a quick fag/vape/gossip between pints. “We want to be a pub for everyone; everyone is welcome,” says Holly. “We’ll have live music twice a week, and it’ll hopefully be fun and a bit raucous. But not too raucous!”
• The Seadog is at 32 Station Road, Hastings TN34 3HJ
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