The Osborne, Shirley (closed)

The Osborne is a "Meet & Eat" Greene King pub. It's been cleanly refurbished, though in the process removing some of the original character. It's a pleasant enough pub offering two Greene King cask beers and decent value food. It seems quite relaxed, but there is a an odd tension about the place, and there has been at least one violent incident in the recent past. The pub is nothing special, but quite acceptable.

Date: March 2017    Score:  4


  

Closed down with weeds taking over. No idea what'll happen to it, but I somehow doubt it'll reopen as a pub. 

Date: Aug 2022  Score: N/A


  

It did open in August 2023, with uncertain opening hours, and it doesn't appear to have been a success. I jumped off the bus in late August 2024 to go visit, but it wasn't open. Handwritten signs in the window saying £2 a pint and £2 a bottle, suggest that whoever reopened it was having a closing down sale.  According to CAMRA the place closed in mid to late Aug, so I obviously just missed out on the cheap beer. 


Date: Aug 2024   Score: N/A 


Greene King

54 Shirley Road
SO15 3EX

Monday to Saturday: 11am to 11pm  Food: Noon to 8pm
Sunday: Noon to 11pm   Food:  Noon to 6pm

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Greene King pubs 
in Southampton

• Pubs in Shirley

The Bold Forester, Swanwick

Large pub set back from the A27. This looks quite appealing from outside, so I have been curious to stop for a while. We popped in today, and the interior is pleasant, with wood all around. The bulk of the interior is dining area, though there is a pub corner to the right as you enter. Stained glass partitions and comfy leather armchairs give a cosy ambiance. Four casks on offer - main national brands, though a Ringwood and Gales HSB are among those, so there is some local feel.

The beer selection

The ambiance

The fake bookshelf - though right at the end,
and slightly hidden, are two real books!

We quite liked it, though felt it lacked authenticity and character. A wall consisting of book shelf wallpaper rather than real books gives the flavour of the place.


Date: March 2017   Score: 6 


Bridge Road
Sarisbury Green
SO31 7EL

Open: 11 - 11

Serves food

Child friendly 


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Shooting Star, Bevois Valley

Updated sign and paint job. 


Date: March 2023   Score: N/A 

A little rough and ready. A pool table dominates the space. High chairs. Line of men at the bar. Three pumps - Doom Bar, Red Cat, and an unavailable Otter. Pictures of cocktails behind the bar. Energy bombs advertised. No food. I wouldn't bring a child here (tolerated at weekends before 6 - but what they would do here, I don't know). Three dogs sniffing about and barking. A scruffy place that I am struggling to like. I don't understand why children are not welcome, but intrusive and noisy dogs are. But that's the sort of place this is.

Ambience

Date: Feb 2017    Score: 2

Star Pubs & Bars (previously Scottish & Newcastle)

42-44 Bevois Valley Road
Southampton
SO14 0JR

Mon to Thurs: 3pm to Midnight
Fri to Sun: Noon to late.



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Big Cheese, Bitterne (Closed)

The Big Cheese was a Greene King Hungry Horse pub in a prominent location on a roundabout just north of Bitterne town centre. 

We went in last year for a meal, but didn't have a good experience. The place was big, crowded and noisy, We wanted seats for the three of us so we could sit down to eat. We found a table, but it only had two seats. I went into the second bar where I found a vacant seat. Out of politeness I asked if I could take the chair into the next bar, and the barman said no. I explained that we had a family of three, and only two chairs, so if we couldn't sit down we wouldn't be able to have a meal. The barman insisted that the chair stay in that bar. Obviously we had to leave. 

Just passed it today and it is closed and boarded up. The place was always popular, just poorly managed, so Greene King would have been making money on it. Perhaps the company was concerned about its poor reputation reflecting badly on the Hungry Horse brand, but I would have though the better solution would have been to get a decent management team in. Anyway, I understand that it has been sold, though Greene King haven't said who bought it. I know that McDonald's wanted to buy The Bittern pub in order to build a drive through, so perhaps it is McDonald's who have bought it.

Feb 2017   


I have been told that it is a housing company who have bought it. They intend to knock it down and build houses, but their initial plan has been turned down by the council because it had too many houses for the site. The company are revising their plans and trying again.


June 2019 

Pubs in Bitterne

Greene King pubs in Southampton

Master Builder, Bitterne

An excellent Wadworths pub on the outskirts of Southampton. Four different Wadsworth cask beers on offer from two banks of three pumps placed in two separate bars. Family friendly with food available all day weekends but not in the afternoon during the week. Refurbished to a high standard, this is a pub for special occasions as well as the casual drink.

Pubs in Bitterne

Wadworth Pubs in Southampton

West End Brewery, Bitterne

A Greene King pub on the outskirts of Southampton in the little shopping area of West End. Family pub with food deals all day, every day. It's been well over a year since I've been here, and the place has been refurbished and extended. It's a good community pub with a relaxed yet lively atmosphere. I like it. Three Greene King cask beers on offer, with one pump not in use.

Beer selection

The menu has changed since our last visit. On that occasion we had ordered a bucket selection, but on getting back to the table and talking about it we realised there had been an error and a misunderstanding. The staff were polite but unhelpful, and we had to have stuff we didn't want because they didn't want to cancel the order. I brought the menu item to the attention of Greene King who said they would change it on future printings of the menu, but offered no compensation, not even a 10% off your next meal voucher, or a free drink with your next meal voucher. Anyway. They are a very successful company, so clearly don't need to do such things...

The ambiance

Date: Feb 2017   Score: 5


I had done a review for BITE in Feb 2015:

Family friendly Greene King pub. Fairly recent build, though interior has a traditional pub feel. Place appears very popular - on our Friday afternoon half term visit the place was packed. Has a holiday camp social club feel, with a solidly working class clientele. Three Greene King cask ales, and a range of meal deals on offer, including kids meals. Veggie options are very limited. Food is aimed at being filling rather than healthy or tasty, but it is what it is.

Oct 2019 visit with Myles

Popped in for lunch with Myles. I had a tasty veggie pie (mushroom) with mash and gravy. Myles had cod and chips which he found a bit greasy. The two were part of a £9.99 deal. Solid portions. I had a pint of Treacle Stout - a collaboration between Greene King and a Bristol brewery Cocksure (who appear to have changed their name to Tapestry).  The staff had problems with the card machine so everyone had to pay cash. Food took a while (they did warn us). And meals were constantly being offered to the wrong tables! It's a popular place. Clean and tidy and quite sociable with a good feel to the place. There's nothing special about it (there rarely is with Greene King pubs which tend to be popular and functional rather than attractive, unique or interesting), but it serves its purpose well as an old fashioned tavern offering food and drink to locals and passersby.

Date: Oct 2019   Score: 6

59 High Street
West End
SO30 3DQ

Open
11am to 11pm
Meals
Noon to 9pm


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Pubs in Bitterne

Greene King pubs 
in Southampton

Humble Plumb, Bitterne

Wadworth's pub tucked away in a back street. I love this pub. Great beer, great atmosphere, great food. As well as Wadworth's beers they also do guests or "changing beer" as Camra now likes to call them. The original early Victorian building (which appears to have been a residential house, has been extended to create versatile seating areas. Very pleasant. Child friendly. Only drawback is that they don't do food in the afternoons.

On my visit in 2015 I had Hop Kettle Kia Ora, Hop Kettle Solstice, and Okell's MPA.

A couple took over in November 2011, but a different couple are in charge now according to the pub's website.

Meals are around £10. Smaller meals are offered for around £7. Packet if crisps is £1.10.  Pint of 4.4% Farmers Glory cost £3.75 during a visit in Sept 2017. Six different cask beers on offer, one of those a guest.

Humble Plumb
Commercial Street
Bitterne
SO18 6LY

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Wadworth Pubs in Southampton

Pubs in Bitterne