The heart of the packet resides within its bar, open all day for a morning coffee through to an evening nightcap. The public bar is at the heart of village life. A veritable hot bed of gossip, opinions and very occasionally, factual information. Don’t be afraid of the locals though they are a friendly bunch! We also have our lounge bar and seating on the harbour itself. Quality beer and real ale have always been central to the drinks we offer. We have been in the Good Beer Guide for over 20 years, are Cask Marque accredited and have won multiple CAMRA awards. As well as stocking a broad choice of mainstream brands we have 8 cask ale lines, four of which are always from our own, in-house brewery alongside four guest ales.

Since 2015 we have had our own microbrewery Five Kingdoms. It has now expanded to supplying outlets all over Dumfries & Galloway, Ayrshire and now even across the border. We also offer our ales in bottle and can which we sell online as well as The Steam Packet. Feel free to ask any of the staff for details or catch Alastair when he’s behind the bar, he’s always happy to talk beer and is more than happy to show anyone around the brewery. We hope to be developing organised brewery tours soon.

Alongside the beer we have an extensive collection of malt whisky, including the local Bladnoch malt. We also have an equally large collection of artisan gins, also including the local Hills and Harbour gin from Newton Stewart. Our wine list is comprehensive, and we pride ourselves in choosing them all personally as they have all been tasted by us.

From first thing in the morning to late at night our coffee machine never stops. All of our coffees are made from fresh beans, and we have a loyal band of coffee lovers that come each day for their “fix”, which is a testament to its quality. We also stock a range of different teas and do a quality hot chocolate for when the temperature drops!