What it's like
Ye Olde Custom House is a Watergate Street pub serving Marston’s-style pub food, cask ales, sport, family facilities and beer-garden seating near the racecourse route.
Ye Olde Custom House has the old Chester look from the street, but the visitor experience is mostly dependable chain-pub territory. That is not a crime. Sometimes the useful answer is pub classics, space, sport, a beer garden and food that keeps a group moving.
It is strongest as a practical Watergate Street fallback: before racing, after shopping, with children, with a mixed-age group or when nobody wants to gamble on a tiny independent kitchen.
Worth knowing
Ye Olde Custom House is a chain pub in a useful old Chester wrapper. That makes it dependable for groups, food and race-day pints, but not the place to chase independent food or specialist beer.
Plan your visit
- Address
- 65-67 Watergate Street, Chester CH1 2LB.
- Hours
- Current official hours show daily opening 12:00-23:00.
- Food times
- Food service is listed as Monday-Saturday 12:00-20:00 and Sunday 12:00-18:00.
- Food
- Pub classics, lighter bites, Sunday roast and offers rather than independent restaurant cooking.
- What to order
- Use it for burgers, pies, fish and chips, Sunday roast, sharers, kids meals or a race-day pint.
- Outdoor seating
- Beer garden is listed.
- Dogs
- Dog-friendly and dogs outdoor are both listed. Assume outdoor dog seating unless the pub confirms otherwise.
- Kids
- High chairs and family-friendly use are part of the offer.
- Access
- Accessible access is listed.
- Price feel
- ££. Standard city-centre chain pub spend.
How to use it
- Use it for straightforward pub food before a racecourse or Watergate Street plan.
- Book for sport, family meals, race days and bigger groups.
- Check food times because closing time and kitchen time are not the same thing.
- If bringing a dog, confirm whether you can sit inside or need the beer garden.
What's on and practical notes
Sport, seasonal pub offers and race-day use can make it busier than the normal pub-food plan. Check the current whats-on and offers pages before building a group visit around them.
No checked TTDC event listings for this place right now. Check its own listings before building a visit around an event.
Nearby plan
Nearby pubs and bars
Nearby food
Nearby attractions
FAQ
Where is Ye Olde Custom House in Chester?
It is on Watergate Street, handy for the Rows and the racecourse side of the city.
Does Ye Olde Custom House serve food?
Yes. Food service is listed daily, with shorter Sunday food hours.
Is Ye Olde Custom House dog-friendly?
Dog-friendly and dogs outdoor are listed, so confirm indoor seating before arriving with a dog.
Does Ye Olde Custom House have a beer garden?
Yes. A beer garden is listed.
Is Ye Olde Custom House good for families?
Yes for a practical pub meal. High chairs are listed.
Nearby alternatives and add-ons.
Chalk Coffee Chalk Coffee is a modern independent coffee shop on Watergate Street, built around speciality coffee, filter, brunch, cakes and light daytime food. It works for a proper flat white, a slower brunch, a dog-friendly coffee stop, or a central pause between the Rows, the shops and the Cathedral side of town. 
Assembly Bar & Tapas Assembly Bar & Tapas sits on Watergate Street - independent, all-day, and properly committed to the food side of bar food. Coffee and brunch by day, cocktails, natural wine and Spanish-leaning small plates by evening. Useful when one person wants cocktails, another wants wine, somebody wants to eat, and nobody wants to surrender to the loudest option immediately. Grown-up enough for a quieter start; lively enough by Friday night to hold the room. 
Barlounge Barlounge sits on Watergate Street and has been Chester's most-watched bar since March 2000 - arguably the city's original proper cocktail bar, now twenty-five years in. The terrace has a retractable roof and serious heaters, the small plates kitchen is better than it needs to be, and the room runs hot from Friday afternoon through to a busy Sunday lunch. Reliably busy, occasionally a bit of a scene, almost always worth it.