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Thursday, 12 March 2020

Trago Lounge, Portswood


 


Lads Who Lunch came in March 2020. Great buzz as soon as we enter. Place is a good mix of men and women of all ages, including children. There are games for children and adults. 



Selection of keg beers

Beer is keg, but there's a reasonable selection. 


Ambiance

We had some pleasant food. Quite crowded, but we found a table. It was a decent place that I'd be happy to visit again. 


 
The Lads having lunch
in the Lounge




Date: March 2020    Score: 7 






Sunday, 8 March 2020

Maritimo Lounge, Ocean Village




Modern cafe/bar in Ocean Village built in 2015 for half a million. No cask beer, but sells "craft" beer from the keg, such as Punk IPA, Goose, and Shipyard - pale lagerish beers with modern citric hops (a bit like the old fashioned "lager and lime").

A selection of drinks at the bar

I love this place. Has a great vibe. Children are welcomed - there are games to play. And every time I come there is a good mix of people, including lots of women. This is not a laddish or loutish place or a CAMRA recommended grumpy old man's pub - this is a modern bar, pointing the way to the future. My one complaint is that cask beers are not available.



It's on three floors, each decorated with framed paintings, and furnished with bohemian mixed wooden tables and chairs, some painted, some not. Some of the lighting comes from the SS France ocean liner.  Music is present, and is a good mix, played gently in the background. The main sound is the pleasant buzz of conversation. No loud voices. No raucous laughter. No swearing. Calm, refined, relaxed, cool.



The views are of the Ocean Village harbour with all the yachts. The walls are all glass, so the views are all around and ever present - unless you happen to face the one wall with no windows. Food is imaginative, exciting, well cooked, healthy, and very veggie aware. The downsides are the lack of cask beer, and that this is more cafe than either bar or pub. It is possible to come here just for a drink, and to look over the water and enjoy the vibe, but the emphasis is clearly on eat and go.

Food porn

I have been here three times - first on my own in late 2019, then with Chrissie and Phocea, also later 2019, and then with Myles as part of our regular Lads Who Lunch meetups.

Date: March 2020  Score: 9


Lounges - being taken over by the owners of Punch Taverns. 

1 Moresby Tower,
Admiral's Quay,
Ocean Way, 
S014 3LG
Mon to Sun: 9am to 11pm   Food: 9am to 10pm

* WhatPub
* Maritimo Lounge
* TripAdvisor


Wednesday, 4 March 2020

Balmoral (Beefeater), Nursling




The Balmoral is a beefeater pub, a family friendly meat focused pub-restaurant chain owned by Whitbread. More upmarket than their Brewers Fayre chain. It's next to a Premier Inn, an upmarket budget hotel chain also owned by Whitbread, so is open in the morning for breakfasts, but not for beer. The pub hours start at Noon.

I've only popped in, during breakfast hours, hoping for a beer with my breakfast, same as Wetherspoons, and it was very crowded. So, as they didn't do beer in the morning, and it was packed, and the menu didn't look cheap, I went elsewhere. I need to come back to do a proper review.

Date: March 2020   Score: N/A

Whitbread

Romsey Road
Nursling
SO16 0XJ

Monday - Saturday: 11.30am - 11pm
Sunday: 12pm - 10.30pm

* Beefeater
* TripAdvisor 
* WhatPub 
***