Mettricks, Woolston

As of Nov 2020, Mettricks is back under the control of the founder, Spencer Bowman

In May 2017, Mettricks, Southampton's very popular coffee house chain run by Spencer Bowman, opened a branch in the troubled Centenary Quay development. This offered three cask beers and a selection of bottled and tinned beer, all from local breweries. By the end of the year, the cask pumps had been removed (due to "lack of interest"), so now offers three keg beers, plus a selection of bottles and cans. 

The beer that used to be offered

Mettricks have secured the prime location on the site. It used to be the sales office for the agency tasked with letting out the commercial units, who quite wisely moved next door to allow Mettricks to have the site. It is a light and airy space with attractive views out over the Itchen and Southampton Water to Ocean Village. The floor is an oak laminate, giving the place a warmth and solidity. Seating is a mix of table and chairs with sofas and armchairs in strategic spots, and high stools at the breakfast bar.  I enjoyed my half of Boon Dongle, which was clean, fresh and fruity.

The ambience

There is a good vibe at this place. It's family friendly, relaxed, yet upmarket. It is very popular with locals, and will draw in customers from other areas of Southampton.

The ice cream

This has become a popular place for me to visit, either with my daughter, or to meet up with a friend for lunch. On a recent visit I tried the Ethiopian coffee, but was somewhat disappointed. Not entirely the fault of Mettricks, but I learned that you can't make a decent filter coffee from beans roasted for espresso machines!


Date: June 2017   Score: 8 1/2

Mettricks has really gone downhill under the new owners. There is no longer any cask beer. The menu needs reprinting - it's old and tatty with things crossed out. It gives such a poor impression. The feel of the place is no longer bright, confident and trendy. It now feels tired and old and a little bit desperate. There are too many mistakes and confusions with the orders. Sometimes they get forgotten. Sometimes they are wrong. And on our last visit we had a meal thrust at us several times that we didn't order, and despite saying that we didn't order it, the member of staff insisted it was ours and put it in front of an empty chair, saying our "friend" had ordered it! I wouldn't be surprised if it closes down this year.

Date: Jan 2020   Score: 4


Dropped in with the Lads Who Lunch after we'd dug up the buddleia stump. Too wet and windy to sit outside, so we socially distanced as best we could around a large table. The food was good. The atmosphere was buzzing. And the menu had been revamped. Things are looking up. I enjoyed my healthy salad and my Revisionist Lager. Yep, nice one.

Date: Aug 2020. Score: 7


8 Centenary Plaza
Woolston
SO19 9UL 

Children accepted. Meals served all day. Keg and bottled beers.

Open 8am to 10pm 


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Pubs in Woolston

The Gardeners Arms, Woolston

Modern and somewhat bleak looking pub on the outskirts of Woolston and Weston, on the middle road leading to Butlocks Heath and on to Hamble. It doesn't do cask beer or food, but serves a purpose as a social focal point for locals. On my visit there were a handful of middle aged men, mostly gazing at the sport on the TV.  There's little here to attract visitors from outside the area, so the pub depends on customers mainly from the nearby ex council-house estate in Weston. Though Weston has a poor reputation locally, my daughter went to the primary school there, and I liked the other parents who all seemed to be decent folk.

Though the building is modern, it appears that there has been a pub here with the same name since at least 1871.

Date: June 2017   Score: 4

118 Newtown Road 

Weston

SO19 9HR

Mon-Wed 3.00-11.30
Thurs-Fri 1.00-11.30
Sat-Sun 12.00-11.30

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Pubs in Woolston

The Swan, Woolston

Bought by the owners of The Yacht in 2014, The Swan was repainted deep purple, and provides a venue for live bands. I reviewed it for BeerInTheEvening in April 2015:

Black and off-putting from the outside, quite light, airy and friendly on the inside. Squashed onto a long narrow stretch of land between the main Southampton to Portsmouth road and the main Southampton to Portsmouth railway line, this is also nicely placed for ending a walk along the Itchen Way. Two cask ales from a local brewery available on our visit. 

Clean and tidy; perhaps lacking a bit in atmosphere and character, but a decent pub with friendly locals. 

I think I meant to say "Dark and off-putting" rather than "Black..."

Local glam band Glitterbugz at The Swan

I don't think I've been back since then, so it is time for a revisit. I recall that the place didn't serve food, but they had crisps, and that they allowed our daughter in. I also remember that the place felt quite open and empty, but we didn't visit when a live band was playing. There are videos of some acts at the Swan on YouTube: Subdued, The Mafia, SO16.

Attractive hanging baskets

Popped back in today, July 2017. The place is quite bare and bleak inside - like a long shed or scouts hut. There's a pool table in the middle. An A-Board outside advertises a "lovely beer garden", so I was keen to try that. The customers were male and middle aged - quite friendly. A significant number appeared to be special needs, and were well treated by the friendly and attractive landlady.

There are two pumps, but only one beer was offered - Bombardier.  It was clearly sour. On pointing it out to the landlady, she went on the defensive. I suggested that perhaps it was just that it hadn't been pulled through, and she could try that. She then said all us ale types were complaining about the beer and suggesting that she pull it through, but she couldn't afford to waste it. I then gently said that if others had complained about it then it sounded like the whole cask was sour and perhaps she should take it off. She replied that the cask was nearly full, and it cost her £125, so "that aint gonna happen".  It seemed odd to me that someone would willingly continue to serve a product that was undrinkable.  I didn't wish to argue with her, but I wondered how she would feel if she bought some milk which was sour, took it back, and the shop keeper moaned that people keep complaining his milk is sour, but he can't afford to throw it away. Anyway, she replaced the Bombardier  with a Guinness. And for the first time in my life I had a sour Guinness. It was very cold, which helped mask it for the first few sips, but then it became apparent. I suspect there had been a refrigeration breakdown in the cellar, and in this heat all the beers had gone sour, but she wasn't insured for the incident, and was now trying to shift the product onto those customers who wouldn't complain.  Given her emotional response to the Bombardier, I suspect she knew it was sour, so I just threw it away in the bushes in the garden.

The "lovely" beer garden, and as much
of the Guinness as I could drink.

Even the best of pubs have occasional bad beers, and I did get offered a replacement, albeit also a sour one.  It is concerning that she knew the Bombardier was sour, and was still selling it, but sometimes desperate circumstances push even the best of people to do inappropriate things.


Date: July 2017   Score: 2


 

New owners, new colour scheme

The place has new owners, who have repainted the outside a lighter colour. They now do accommodation as well. Not revisited yet, but intend to soon. 

Date: 2021   Score: N/A 

219 Portsmouth Road 

SO19 9BG

4-11 Mon-Thu; 4-Midnight Fri; 2-11 Sat; 12-10.30 Sun


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Pubs in Woolston