The Malt Shovel, Dartford

The Malt Shovel, Dartford The Malt Shovel is a country pub in the heart of Dartford.
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A lovely traditional pub with a warm welcome, a fine selection of real ales and a range of good, home-cooked food. First built in 1673 - and with parts of that original building still surviving now - the Malt Shovel has been a staple of Dartford for well over 300 years, offering the best of a traditional English pub. The pub boasts two historic bars - the main bar and the tap room - from which we offer a wide range of real ales, lagers, wines and spirits, and a well-stocked kitchen serving quality home-cooked pub food throughout the week. We also have a large heated beer garden at the back of the pub, perfect for sitting outside at any time of the year! We are delighted to be known as a Real Ale Pub, having been voted into CAMRA's Good Beer Guide every year since 2009, and as such, we generally have three regular ales and a guest ale on tap at any given time. We are particularly renowned for Sunday roasts, served with our famous home-made cauliflower cheese, and the excellent buffets which we can lay on for parties and functions. Our conservatory can be used for gatherings of up to 80 people, and for smaller functions or private dining, the tap room can also be reserved. We have a variety of events on throughout the year, including various live music events and parties, our quiz night every Monday, and our jazz jam on the first Wednesday of every month - keep an eye on our website or our social media pages to stay on top of things!

03/09/2026

Thank you to everyone who came along to last nights live jazz and jam, what a great evening!

A really supportive and enthusiastic atmosphere and some great music performances made for a really enjoyable experience. Special mention to Larry on trumpet for his roving commission making the music a really immersive experience for everyone 🎺🎶

Our next jazz night is on Wednesday 7th October and we look forward to welcoming everyone again 🎶🎹🔊🥁🎤🎷🎸🎺🪊🎶🍻🍷🍹

What better way to extend the high of a bank holiday weekend than with some midweek live music…and by happy coincidence ...
31/08/2026

What better way to extend the high of a bank holiday weekend than with some midweek live music…and by happy coincidence this Wednesday 2nd is our live Jazz and Jam night 🎶🍻🍷

The house band plays at 8pm and the jam around 9pm. Do come join us for what is always a great evening of live music. And of course singers and instrumentalists are encouraged to sit in during the jam session 🤗

This months house band are:

Conor Litten: piano 🎹
Allesandro Riccardi: drums 🥁
John Collings: bass ⚓️

Great night last night with Funky Town here at the Malt Shovel!Next up for live music is our jazz jam on Wednesday 🤩
30/08/2026

Great night last night with Funky Town here at the Malt Shovel!

Next up for live music is our jazz jam on Wednesday 🤩

We've got a busy bank holiday weekend coming up, and on Saturday 29th August we'll be hosting the wonderful FunkyTown Ba...
18/08/2026

We've got a busy bank holiday weekend coming up, and on Saturday 29th August we'll be hosting the wonderful FunkyTown Band for a funk-soul-disco-pop BBQ! 🤩

Music will be from 8.30pm - if you want to just catch the show then entry is completely free, and if you want to fuel yourself up for an evening of dancing, then our BBQ is £15 per person (including a complimentary drink)! 😋

Advance booking required for the BBQ.

06/08/2026

August can be a quieter month for the jazz and jam night, with it being summer hols season - but last night was cookin’ 🔥🎶

A fantastic turn out! Thank you all for coming along, and great to see so many newcomers alongside the more seasoned supporters ❤️

Some great music was made and appreciated by all. Wonderful stuff!

Our next live jazz and jam evening is on Wednesday 2nd September and a warm Malt Shovel welcome awaits one and all 🤗

05/08/2026
This coming Wednesday 5th is our August live jazz and jam night, yay 🎶🍻🍷🍹Come join us for the house band set at 8pm. And...
03/08/2026

This coming Wednesday 5th is our August live jazz and jam night, yay 🎶🍻🍷🍹

Come join us for the house band set at 8pm. And if you’ve been honing your jazz voice or instrumental chops and would like to play a song or two, come sit in with the band in the jam session from 9pm.

The weather promises to be pleasantly temperate, ideal for cool drinks and 🔥 jazz.

This months house band are:

Roger Alexander Lewin: piano 🎹
John Ellmer: drums🥁
John Collings: bass🤿

Hope to see you there 🤗

⚽🏆⚽🏆Catch all the action here with us on Sunday night - we'll be staying open until the end of the World Cup final, with...
14/07/2026

⚽🏆⚽🏆

Catch all the action here with us on Sunday night - we'll be staying open until the end of the World Cup final, with coverage in the conservatory and the tap room from 7 o'clock!

There's no charge, but entry is strictly by advance booking only, so please do get in touch with us to reserve a spot!

NORWAY vs ENGLANDSaturday 11th July10pm kickoff, until late⚽⚽⚽Looking for the perfect place to watch the England game on...
07/07/2026

NORWAY vs ENGLAND
Saturday 11th July
10pm kickoff, until late

⚽⚽⚽

Looking for the perfect place to watch the England game on Saturday?

We'll be showing coverage of the match from 8.45pm, and even providing a free buffet for our viewers at 9 o'clock! 😋

Spaces for this evening are by advance booking only, so please do get in touch on 01322 224 381 or email us at [email protected] to reserve a spot! 😊

02/07/2026

Well, after being kept on tenterhooks for most of the match, England finally got the ⚽️ job done, phew!

Which set us up nicely for the live jazz and jam evening which followed the footy. And what a cracking time was had by all. A huge thank you to everyone who came along and contributed to the music making or the appreciative listening 🤗

Special mention to Chris Neill for stepping in to hold down the house band piano chair for the first time and playing amazing keys the entire evening 👏

And it was great to see Ed Mayo back in the UK and playing exceptional music on his trumpet 🎺
(After several years overseas in music higher education Ed is reestablishing back into the UK music scene so if anyone is in need of first class trumpet or services such as arrangements, orchestration, music education and jazz piano please let me know and I’ll pass Ed’s details on).

Once again thanks to everyone who made it such a great evening. Next month’s live jazz and jam is on Wednesday 5th August.

Address

3 Darenth Road
Dartford
DA11LP

Opening Hours

Monday 3pm - 11pm
Tuesday 3pm - 11pm
Wednesday 3pm - 11pm
Thursday 12pm - 11pm
Friday 12pm - 11:30pm
Saturday 12pm - 11:30pm
Sunday 12pm - 8pm

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