Latest reviews from Portsmouth
| 56 /100 Mary Rose Gift Shop (Grocery Store) HM NAVAL BASE “While visiting the 16th century Tudor warship I was delighted to find in the gift shop a number of local beers, 3 of which were formed of a gift pack from Powder Monkey, all were new to me despite having visited the brewery 15 months ago. Entry fee to this warship and the others ships is pricey but it's worth it, there are combination tickets available, 1, 3 or all ships.“ |
| 56 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “A reasonable B & K let down by not having a single dark beer on over the 2 nights I visited. The beers I tried were passably ok. The food was excellent and the highlight“ |
| 58 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “While it may not be as good as other JDW's, I did visit twice on a recent visit, once because of the decent food & cask ale combo. The beer was Bowman Black Drop. Lovely mild. Good enough for me to return the following evening for a half.“ |
| 46 /100 The Old Customs House (Bar) VERNON BUILDING, GUNWHARF QUAYS “This pub takes up all of the magnificent Edwardian? Customs building. There are benches to the front with views to the quay, then inside the building has been saved from major alterations, presumably under instructions from the local planning authority. It is multi roomed with further seating upstairs. The main bar is jammed into one of the rooms, it's quite small meaning that the queues for it are extensive, also they do have the slowest bar staff I have ever encountered I reckon. There is a cocktail bar by the entrance that never received a customer that we could see. The magnificent building is worth visiting just for itself, thank the Lord it hasn't been Spooned! The reception staff work manfully to make it all work, they really need to rethink the bars.“ |
| 68 /100 Dolphin (Bar) 41 HIGH STREET “Comfortable pub opposite the cathedral and in Old Portsmouth with the working harbour close by. One of the few free house's around. They have a house cask by Urban Island & a keg by Laine.“ |
| 56 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Large Spoons, full of knobheads last Friday eve. A Covid outbreak waiting to happen. As per usual all of the pump-clips were facing the punters even though not all of the beers were pouring. Why Spoons do this is fucking beyond me. One quick half and I moved on. I'll not be rushing back.“ |
| 58 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Another stop with Grumbo, this time for dinner. Very busy and very unorganized for COVID restrictions TBH. The beers were alright nothing stellar from this location.“ |
| 58 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Visited 9/10/2020. Attractive looking B&K, the first of the chain to open in March 2013. Busy Friday evening, with covid modifications making the ambience a little less enjoyable, which the service and staff did little to improve (not just because it was busy) and neither did the beer quality really. Food was also only ok. I do generally like B&K's but for lots of reasons this was not one of the better experiences.“ |
| 62 /100 Guildhall Village (Bar) 25 GUILDHALL WALK, LANDPORT “Recommended by the Dockyard staff, and it's indeed a lovely pub, and a solid spot for beer. 4 hand-pulls, 6 craft key, and then 12 also-ran macro taps, but alas only one of those was ticky, as several locals had been ticked earlier in the trip. Lots of wood and parquet floor keeps the eyeballs happy, mellow morning music soothes the ears. Had a proper pub grub food menu at decent prices, but didn't eat. Worth popping in, as you're definitely going to be in this part of town.“ |
| 68 /100 Dockyard (Stonegate) (Bar) 13 GUILDHALL WALK, LANDPORT “Brewhouse and Kitchen wasn't quite open yet, as we were keen to get a second visit in before we left, so we popped our head round the door here, and were very pleasantly surprised. Nice and spacious, lots of wood, very pleasant. Got a hearty full english, and several ticks, for a very reasonable price. With 6 real ale engines, 6 craft keg, and 3 bag-in-a-box ciders - we could have ticked more without even resorting to the fridge which was chock full of a wide range of craft beers. Staff were excellent, really personable, and happy to give recommendations that alas we didn't have much opportunity to investigate. Location perfect for the station - absolute must-visit venue for tickers, I'd say.“ |
| 64 /100 Dolphin (Bar) 41 HIGH STREET “Unassuming exterior, but a lovely quiet and relaxing interior. Large pub, extends way out back, where some absolutely wonderful woodwork graces the walls - looks like the whole wall's made from barrel staves. With the open terrace further back it remeinded me of the Cambridge Blue, if it had been done up all fancy, that is. 6 real ales on - traditional and modern both represented, 3 bag-in-box ciders, so it was easy to find a couple of ticks. Competent staff served efficiently. Seems to have a wide range of events, music, comedy, etc.. Nice gaff.“ |
| 62 /100 Fleet (Bar) 1 KING HENRY I STREET “Large, and fairly roomy pub in a lovely old building bedecked with copius dark stained wood. Lighting kept restrained too, apart from in the section with the pool table, but it's sectioned off enough that you can pretend that bit doesn't exist easily. A couple of tellies play the news silently with subtitles. Large range of real ciders available (12?), but not from my favourite makers, so we stuck to real ales, as there were 6 taps offering 3 ticks, including new breweries. They were fine, but not exceptional. Staff was friendly.As we walked to our seats beers in hand I audibly declared "this is my kind of pub", but that might be in part the contrast with the JDW's round the corner showing. Would have liked to to revisit, but alas that wasn't possible. Very worthy stop on a Portsmouth crawl.“ |
| 42 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Large spoons. Scumbag chavs apparently like it. Doesn't do thirds, which is kinda unsurprising, that that wasn't such a big deal as 2 of the 3 apparent ticks weren't even on. Turning pumpclips round is clearly to tricky a task. Was a nice building, but it's what goes on inside that is more important. And don't ask what goes on outside, in particular in the alleyway round the back, again, I blame the chavs.“ |
| 68 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Lovely tudor building, quite compact with some separated seating areas, but not crampt. Lovely atmosphere, hasa good vibe, my kind of music, and the staff - including the brewer - are friendly. 4 real ales, 8 kegs. Prices are good, sample plate made things easier, and the quality of the real ales also good, in particular the BIPA Black Swan. Solid venue, conveniently located too for train arrivals. Or departures - we popped in again just before we left town, in fact.“ |
| 64 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Medium sized, corner place in a monumental building. Nine of their own beers on at our stay, four on cask and the rest on keg. Not all of them in its best condition. Polite service, fair prices. (Visited with Finn 23.10.2019).“ |
| 50 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Open-plan, large JDW with 12 hand-pumps over two rows. Lots of guests early on a Wednesday, mostly students since the place is located close to the University area. Polite service, and, as always, a decent traditional English breakfast. (Visited with Finn 23.10.2019).“ |
| 68 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Cozy place with a lot of their own beers - and some guests.“ |
| 56 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Large typical ´spoons.“ |
| 62 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “One of a brewpub chain, the brewkit is in the corner. The place was very quiet for a Friday night, nearly as many staff as customers. Four cask (all B&K's own) plus around eight keg including some guest options. I find the B&K house beers quite hit & miss“ |
| 52 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Visited on tour to 22 southern counties 05.01.19. A stanard Spoons. 12 handpumps with six different ales, mostly the usual suspects, ie Doom Bar, Abbot Ale and so on.“ |
| 66 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Visited on trip to 22 southern counties with OGJ and EE 05.01.19. Brewpub with three of their ales on cask, all served with sparklers. There was an additional handpump that was not on a our visit. Food was decent enough.“ |
| 58 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Large spoons on the corner...some local beers on.“ |
| 66 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Good fast friendly service and a pretty good range on ...4 of there beers on offer“ |
| 70 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “The usual well used Wetherspoons look and feel: meaning it’s getting a bit tired around the edges with faded carpets and worn upholstery on the furniture. Large place, single room, toilets upstairs, long almost full length bar with two banks of cask pulls and plenty of keg pumps. Liked the pictures on the walls and staircase. Fairly quiet at 19:00 on Sunday 12th March 2017. Mostly students, female ones in little groups seemed to be the main clientele. Beer quality was fine and I got two new rates, staff friendly and plentiful: cheap as is the case with Wetherspoons and our food was as advertised. In short ’a regular Wetherspoons with no dramas’.“ |
| 70 /100 Bridge Tavern (Fuller’s) (Bar) 54 EAST STREET “Visited on Sunday evening, 12th March 2017. Large Quayside pub in Old Portsmouth. Multi roomed, foodie place with tables outside for sunny days. Just Fullers on cask, but an interesting bottle selection, I had a Yeastie Boys one. Expensive, but pleasant bar with loads of nautical stuff on the walls. Wife liked it more than me.“ |
| 58 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “This JDW is very close to Brewhouse&Kitchen brewpub. Very large hall with some smaller rooms. Old pub feeling but same time gives kind of pseudo 19th century feeling. Typical wide JDW selection with low prices. Customers present the full scale of British pub customers. Certainly a place to stop to check pumps while visiting at B&K. Cheap food, a good place for the early breakfast.“ |
| 60 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “The original place of this now chain brewpub. Located just less than 100 yards from our place to stay (ibis). Mix of modern craft beer place and old pub feeling. Table seating, orders from bar. They had 5 of their own beers on pump but also varitety of big names on tap. Food was ok, nothing spectacular. Service was friendly and quick. Their own beers were not very interesting.“ |
| 74 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Short walk from the station. Open and kind of modern decor but also warm with wooden floor and furniture. Pretty comfortable and open. Large bar in the middle of the place offers a handful of their own beers on cask which were worth trying and also available to take away on mini cask, which is cool. A couple of uninteresting things on keg and bottle. Fair prices and the food was ok. Worth to pay a visit when in the area.“ |
| 70 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Visited on the IOW Jolly, Sun 24/08/14.
We arrived around 545pm whilst an inoffensive jazz quarteret finished their set.
The Brewhouse is a brewpub with a modern feel, open, airy, mix of bench and table seating.
Beer wise they had 5 cask offerings from their own stable.
None blew me away but one was decent and none were really found wanting.
In additon to this there was a guest on cask, half a dozen pseudo craft offerings on keg - think Shipyard (Marstons) pale and the like and a few fridges behind the bar carrying decent enough but common offerings from the likes of Brewdog,
Goose Island, various Belgian favourites etc.
Service was fine although the place was pretty dead. I had the Sunday roast - pork, largely due to the crackling factor, decent fayre and vfm.
They also sell 5 litre mini kegs of their own beers to go, in the fridge by the entrance, 3 different offerings none of which were on at the bar - £25 and 20% off next time if you return your keg.
In all a solid venue with a modern approach, approx 5-6 mins walk from southsea station.
The menu makes for a good cheese board ;)“ |
| 74 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Visited during the IoW Jolly Day 2014.This is definitely Portsmouth’s premier beer spot. The Brewhouse & Kitchen is a pretty premium brewpub located a short walk from the Train station. They had a bit of live jazz going on in the background during our visit. They offer a solid range of their own beers - 5 on cask, as well as 1 guest cask. There is also small range of keg stuff and a decent selection of "craft" bottles (BrewDog etc). Two more of their beers were available to takeaway in 5-pint mini-casks. Had a rather tasty Sunday roast as well. Easily the best venue in Portsmouth and our Jolly Day trip!“ |
| 66 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Visited during the IoW Jolly Day 2014. The Isambard Kingdom Brunel is pretty large, cavernous Spoons outpost in Portsmouth. Has a fairly grand feel about, except for the fact its laden with Spoons cheap drink advertisements. This Spoons offers about 10 cask ales/ciders as well as the usual bottle selection. The beers themselves were not too exciting and I didn’t see too much new that I wanted to drink. Perhaps a bad day? Cheap & cheerful as ever. OK.“ |
| 72 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “A large Spoons in downtown Portsmouth. And you took away the fruit machines and ubiquitous advertisements this would be a very attractive pub. They have a decent range, something around 10+ casks holding both beer and cider. Typically low-end prices. High ceilings, lots of natural light. Typically capable JDW service. A good place for a beer if you’re doing the beer circuit in Portsmouth.“ |
| 66 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Visited on the IOW Jolly for a livener between train and hovercraft, 24/08/14.
Large regal looking building near the guildhall and just 2 or 3 minutes from Southsea station.
Typical spoons interior but the high ceilings and regal staircase make for a better look than the usual ex shop conversion.
Service was very good and friendly, although at 1115 on a Sunday morning it was pretty quiet.
Selection not overly impressive for a spoons this size, only 2 guests available plus 2 offerings from the coming soon brewery.
Worth a look but if you only have time for one venue/drink in Portsmouth, skip the IKB for the Brewhouse pub & kitchen just around the corner.“ |
| 82 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “A really nice brewpub, upscale and told world tasteful. Large square bar with lots of tables and comfy seating. A jazz singer was performing and not too loud or annoying. Their own beers with some guest taps. Food is great and well priced, awe ice was also good. Overall a very nice place to visit in the area.“ |
| 78 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “A really nice period building with a huge tap room. Likely the larges I have seen and quite well done. As with all Wetherspoons, divert cheap and decent selection. A must stop if in the area.“ |
| 70 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “We visited here on Friday 13th June as we were catching the ferry from Portsmouth to Santander later in the day. The Brewhouse pub and Kitchen is in the older/nicer part of town and occupies quite a large building. As you enter the bar is in front of you and I think it is pretty much a large square island, to your right is the brewing kit, they seemed to be training a young lad today and appeared to be bottling some of their beers. There is seating and tables all around and just in case you didn’t know what hops and malts look like they seem to be everywhere in glasses and even in a glass covered segmented table where we sat you looked down at the various components that make your beer. We had a Rye IPA and a normal IPA both were good in fact pretty decent and at £3.50 a pint pretty good value until that is I realised you could get a taster selection i.e. any three 1/3rds for £2.50 great value. We had pie of the day and dessert for £7.95 each, it was rather strangely Pork & Leek, I’ve heard of Chicken & Leek as a combination but never have I heard of Pork & Leek other than in a sausage. It was served with what appeared to be bubble & squeak and some wilted/fried cabbage and whilst the pie was in a pie tin the rest was literally plonked on a wooden serving board. The pie wasn’t great small chunks of pork and cheap sausages combined, the bubble & Squeak tasted heavily of vinegar, it wasn’t a great meal at all. Beers by comparison were all fine, we had cheap ice cream for dessert covered as Loz loves the Dutch word in Slagroom (probably spelt wrong) so place and beer good but our experience of the food was that it was pretty poor.“ |
| 68 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “If you want craft beer in a modern setting, then the Brewhouse & Kitchen is the place in Pompey. It’s own range is quite delightful if uninspiring and it’s international/UK bottle collection was pretty top notch however it has gone drastically down hill and is barely worth a glance. Every time I’ve ever visited its hardly got any customers.“ |
| 72 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Huge JDW almost filled to the limit at my lunch visit, still a nice place for a very cheap meal and a beer from Cask, Goddard on cask, was a nice and good tasting surprise. Central location, opposite the railwaystation.“ |
| 72 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Small brewpub with the kettles on display as you enter. 4 of their own beers available at my visit. Large seating area, some reserved for dining, small bottle selection available as well.“ |
| 86 /100 26 GUILDHALL WALK “Modern style brewpub... Central bar... Lots of tables of mixed sizes... Tiled floor... Kit on show... Good service... 5 decent beers on 4 of own 3 cask 1keg but room for 4-5 more cask... Sad to see innes and gunn but otherwise great“ |
| 60 /100 Trafalgar (JDW) (Bar) TRAFALGAR HOUSE, 16 EDINBURGH ROAD “Not such a good selection of ales compared to other Wetherspoon’s pubs, with most of the offerings being from Marston’s and Greene King. Other than that, it’s what you expect from a JDW pub. It’s probably better to visit during the day rather than at night.“ |
| 64 /100 Sir John Baker (JDW) (Bar) 80 LONDON ROAD “On the busy commercial London Road just north of the city centre this pub offers a very traditional Wetherspoon experience and is very much a local bar rather than one that attracts those visiting from a wider area. Nevertheless it is comfortable enough and stretches all the way through the building that runs to the road behind, although on the fire exit doors there is a polite sign for the customers not to use these (as a shortcut back home presumably). Ale is well serviced on two rows of pumps on the bar to the right as you walk in.“ |
| 58 /100 Trafalgar (JDW) (Bar) TRAFALGAR HOUSE, 16 EDINBURGH ROAD “An obvious name for a bar in this city, and this is the city centre Lloyds Bar of the Wetherspoon chain, although the ground floor area isn’t suited for any partying or dancing as it is a collection of doorless areas that offer little scope for maneuver. The decor is quite sparse and durable too but there’s not shortage of people using it during the daytime. There is however an upstairs bar to service the night crowd.“ |
| 68 /100 2 GUILDHALL WALK “Located in the main square where the local civic offices are, this large Wetherspoon runs the length of a period building and is all open plan with high ceilings. It’s an atmospheric place to sit and drink and there’s no shortage of seats, so much so one section might be cordoned off until it gets busy. The bar itself is long although you’ll only find two rows of ale pumps on it. The decor and furnishings are familiar for this chain and there’s a cosy bookshelf area behind one wall.“ |
