Hastings Forum

Nothing much changes! The Wetherspoon pub is still ok if you want quite decent food at a cheap price, but I wouldn't dream of taking anyone else there. I'm not much of a beer drinker - prefer wine, but the basic red and white wines served up by Wetherspoons seem like fine quality vinegar. I asked for a red Martini ("Rosso") and the young barmaid had never heard of it!

One of my favourites in the Old Town is Porter's - exvellent food and nice atmosphere.

I'll try the Palace some time - was put off by all the changes and the black decor, bit insalubrious looking ..

Whilst there are no 'Harveys'-controlled pubs in Hastings you can get their bitter at The Dolphin and Cinque Port Arms and a few others.
I like 'The Imperial' + 'The Crown' (occasionally) and of course 'Filo' ( for Gold or Ginger Tom)
Their 'Pirate Gold' a couple of years ago was a 'one-off' 6 or 7% strength and really good.
Filo and The Imp are microbreweries and therefore create their own beers but also sell 'outside' (guest) ales, micro or otherwise.
The 'Jenny Lind' is ok for live music - not sure about their selection of beers.

As for wine in pubs, whilst the quality may be improving, the 'mark-up' is unacceptable (to my mind) and therefore I would only drink the beer.
However, If your lady-friend will only drink wine then you don't have much say in the matter!