Pubs and Beer in Southampton: The Muni (formerly Bowlers), Upper Shirley

Southampton's hidden gem they call themselves. Well, hidden it certainly is! Only users of the council gold course would be aware of this place, as it is down a long narrow track that is the only way in and out of the gold course. There is no way that anyone else would be aware of it, and they don't advertise themselves.

Myles with his giant fish and
finger sandwich

My messy looking, but tasty
tuna mayo baked potato

The location, though remote, is attractive, with a pleasant view of the rolling, wooded golf course. The venue itself is rather plain and low key, with more of a feel of a working men's club or factory canteen, than what one would normally expect of a club house at a golf course. The name has recently changed to that of Muni or The Muni - I wasn't sure what it meant, and wondered if it was a golfing term. The warm and friendly girl serving said it was short for The Municipal Golf Course. Ah. Of course.

There were two hand pumps in place, but only one on during our visit - a beer from the local brewery Hop Back. It was a new beer called Rye Tangled - drinkable. The menu isn't exciting, but it does offer standard canteen food or pub grub. I had a decent jacket spud with lashing of moist tuna mayo. Myles had the biggest fish & finger sandwich we've ever encountered. The fish & finger sandwich is one of the staples of Lads Who Lunch - it's a fall back if there's little else of interest, and we often have to fall back on it, so we have eaten bucket loads of the stuff. This was without a doubt a giant sized doorstep portion.

All in all it's an OK place to have a drink and/or some lunch if you're here playing golf, but - to be fair - it's not a place to go out of your way to come to. It is oddly similar to The View, which is nearby at the Sports Centre on Thornhill Road.

Date: Sept 2022 Score: 5