Prince Consort, Netley

We've come here several times over the years, and each time we come we like it more and more. 

Date: Sept 2020    Score: 9

Ambience

Generally offers two cask beers

Clean and tidy. Lacks atmosphere and charm but serves beer and food. Job done. We had a very tasty nut roast with fresh veg. Veg was crisp to the point of being underdone, but Chrissie was happy. I have a preference for cooked (soft) veg. Place is popular on a Sunday, and tables were soon all reserved around us, and the bar area was rapidly filling up. This is a decent local which offers decent food and a selection of cask beers. One of the beers on our visit wasn't as fresh as it could have been, but was just shy of refusing.  An ok place I'd be ok with returning to. And we liked it more than the nearby Dancing Goose.

Date: Nov 2019    Score: 6

This place tries hard to do well, but it doesn't work for me. Nothing wrong with it, just that it's not my style. The original Victorian pub has been modernised with cool greys and pale wood furniture into an IKEA cafe. There are four casks, but they are national standards like Doom Bar. And four is too many, as I rejected two as undrinkable before settling on a wa werm and out of condition but drinkable Atlantic. It was an awkward and embarrassing moment. Fair play the barmaid didn't quibble, but also didn't quite understand as she "doesn't drink beer".
My baguette was tasty, though came with chips and salad as standard. All of which was very tasty - but were the chips really necessary? I'd prefer that to be an optional extra rather than be put on my plate.

I was also put off by being told to sit at the table and the barmaid would come to take my order. I said I would be quick so no need, and then was asked if she could take my drink order while I was deciding! Good intentions, no doubt, but I was now feeling somewhat out of sorts with the pub as we were clearly operating on different time scales and perceptions of considerate and discrete service. Then, when I did order she said she'd start a tab, and I was now fed up with fighting her decisions. But really I prefer to pay upfront in a cafe or pub because I don't see the value in going to the bar twice. When I'm finished I just want to leave, not wait at the bar to be served!

Date: Jan 2018   Score: 5

71 Victoria Road
Netley
SO31 5DQ

Monday-Saturday 11am-11pm; Sunday 12-10.30pm 

Food 12-2.30 then 6-9.00  All day Sat and Sunday (until 6pm)

Children welcomed 

* WhatPub 

* TripAdvisor 

* BITE 
* Daily Echo 

The Mailmans Arms, Lyndhurst

An unpretentious down to earth Greene King pub next door to the Ferrari showroom at the eastern end of Lyndhurst. Three GK cask ales, including the GK house ale which here is labelled as Forest Bitter. Attractive from the outside, it's a bit disappointing on many levels when you get inside.

Meals offered, all at £9.50. Piped music. Single L shaped bar. Huge plasma TV showing sport. Rear beer garden, and a front courtyard where you can watch the cars go by while breathing in the fumes of cars and smokers.

A red sign behind the bar suggests that customers don't ask for a straw, as plastic straws are bad for the environment. We agree and are in support of that, but Chrissie didn't see the sign when she asked for a straw for Popsy. Then felt bad about it because the barmaid glowered at her. But why did they give us a plastic straw instead of a paper one? Instead of putting up a sign asking people not to ask for straws, and then making them feel awkward when they do ask, simply stock paper straws. Seems more socially as well as environmentally friendly. While we were drinking a barmaid came up and told us she was taking two chairs at our table which we were using to hold our bags. I'm not sure what's wrong with being polite and asking, rather than demanding. 10 minutes later as we left, the chairs she had taken were still not being used.  These are small details perhaps, but it's often these small things that matter, and make the difference between a great pub and a poor one.

All in all the Mailman's Arms is a bit drab, plain, and down market for our taste, but seems popular with locals, and those who like an unpretentious pub with blunt service. Each to their own.


* Website
* Facebook
* TripAdvisor  (as restaurant)
* TripAdvisor (as pub)
* BITE
* WhatPub

Sir Joseph Paxton, Locksheath

Beer selection

Family friendly pub in a semi-rural location on the edge of Lockheath. Does food lunch times and evenings. Its clean and tidy, but furnishings are cheap and worn. Four casks from Fuller's and Sharp portfolio. My HSB was drinkable but not fresh. Mash was instant powder, but - to be fair - the meal was modestly priced, and we sometimes use instant powder at home when in a hurry. So, a modest, homely, and down to earth pub with a real fire in the front bar.

Christmas ambiance

White Swan, Swaythling / Bitterne

Useful family pub on the Itchen river near the popular pool by Mansbridge. Two standard cask beers. Pub grub, including cheesy chips.  Building is old. Had problems with flooding, so the delightful beer garden alongside the river has a slightly higher wall than one would expect or like.

Beer selection

Beer garden, possibly 2017

 

After canoeing in 2021

We've been here many times, and always sit outside by the river (or, rather, by the flood wall by the river). It is usefully split into smoking and non-smoking areas.  We always enjoy coming here, usually after swimming/paddling/splashing/canoeing by Mansbridge, or sometimes after a walk along the river. There's always plenty of room inside and out, and we've always managed to get a table, even though it can get busy on a sunny weekend. 



Date: 2017-2021    Score: 7 

Open 9am to 10pm (11am to 10pm on Wednesdays)
Food  11.30am to 9pm 

Family friendly

Mansbridge Road
Southampton
SO18 3HW

* Trip Advisor 

* WhatPub 

***

Pubs in Bitterne

Tipsy Pig, Romsey

Modern craftbeer pub opened in December 2016 in the old William IV pub by a father and son team. It's clean, trendy, and cool. Aims to do food. Mix of keg and cask beers. It's OK. Doesn't offer beers by traditional local brewery Flack Manor, preferring breweries that follow the trendy American BJCP school of brewing. The bearded son is engaging and good to chat with.

It's a good alternative in Romsey.


Beers drunk here include Electric Bear Drop,



* Trip Advisor
* WhatPub
* Facebook
* Untapp'd

Giddy Bridge, Bedford Place

Gosh, this was our main pub in Southampton for a couple of years. We came here before moving to Southampton, when we visited a friend who lived here. We came here a lot when we were house hunting. We came here on the night we moved in. During our first Christmas we had several Christmas meals here with friends and family. I can't count how many times we've drunk and eaten here. It's conveniently placed, child friendly, clean and tidy, and it's a Wetherspoon so there's always a good selection of cask beers and excellent value food.  The layout is such that there's always natural light. I really like this place. One of my favourite pubs in Southampton. 

August 2014 TripAdvisor review:

We have eaten here with our five year old daughter on three separate occasions. She likes it, and so do we. It is clean, bright, always has spaces, and allows children up to 9pm. It always feels safe here, even on a Friday night. The staff are friendly, happy, welcoming, and give time to our daughter. The food is typical Wetherspoons - good value pub grub, and there's always a range of good value and well kept cask ales.

This is not a place for a special meal, but for a normal night out or a lunch this is ideal.

Date: 2015   Score:  7 

Some of the beers on offer, Nov 2016

This was one of the pubs on the November 2016 beer crawl. We stopped here for something to eat.

A giddy Ian at the Giddy Bridge

A decent pub. 

Date: Nov 2016    Score: 7 


 

Haven't visited for a while. Popped in while waiting to meet my sister for one of our Sibs Who Lunch fortnightly meetups. Regular beers offered - Ringwood was the only local. Everything was very common. However, the Titanic Plum Porter was in cracking condition, and very tasty. Place is looking a bit tired. Could do with a refurb and some new furniture. However, it is still a useful and decent pub. 


Date: Feb 2023   Score: 6 


Beers drunk here include Mosh Pit, Titanic Plum Porter, 

12-16 London Road
Southampton
SO15 2AF

Monday - Sunday: 8am to 11.30pm

Food all day, including breakfast

Children welcomed up to 9pm 

* Wetherspoon 

* TripAdvisor 

* WhatPub 

***

Pubs in Bedford Place

November 2016 Pub Crawl

The Dolphin, St Denys

We've liked the Dolphin since arriving in Southampton back in 2014. Family friendly, relaxed, and offering food all day and every day. Inside has always offered a woody, cosy place to relax with little nooks and crannies - we particularly liked the wood panelled corner room where we could play games with our daughter while waiting for food to arrive. It seems we arrived just as new owners had taken over - an experienced couple with an interest in beer. Occasionally a small farm would turn up in the car park, where for a small fee children could pet sheep or pigs. It's long been one of the pubs on the traditional St Denys - Bevois pub crawl with a decent selection of beers - nothing outrageous or too modern and "crafty", but with something different now and again.

The wood panelled room, March 2016

The last few times we went, the pub was starting to look scruffy, especially outside, and opening hours were starting to be random and uncertain. Unaware to us, the pub closed in May 2018, and new owners took over in time for the World Cup. We came for a France game during the 2018 World Cup, but when we sat at a table outside the people in the next table said that their friends were going to be using it - I asked where their friends were, and they said they were on the way. We looked around, and there were no other tables. It felt rather unfriendly (it was a large table, and their own table was also large with only two people on it). I felt like arguing it out, but that would have created a tension, and we wouldn't have enjoyed the game. It felt to us that the place had changed too much, and we wouldn't come back.

Dolphin mini farm, Spring/Summer 2016 

However, Myles and I are visiting all the Southampton pubs that do lunchtime food. And I thought it was time to revisit The Dolphin. The place is cleaner and tidier than it had been toward the end of 2017, and it has been rejigged inside. The wood panelled snug is now a pool room, and many of the tables and chairs are high stools, with a few low sofas or benches. There are only a couple of tables inside where you can sit comfortably to eat. Some of the laid back, cosy charm has gone. It's difficult to know what sort of vibe the current owners are going for, as there is a mix of bare wood and cheap glitzy lighting with musical instruments and paraphernalia on the walls and ceiling. It lacks focus. It feels unfinished and awkward. It is a bar or is it a pub? Who is the intended clientele?  Probably not middle aged families or beared beer drinkers.

Pub crawl with Ian, Nov 2016

The new owners have a dog who is allowed to roam freely. This has caused a number of complaints on TripAdvisor regarding dog poo on the artificial grass.

Eight casks, but the selection is often seen beers from major
breweries rather than unusual beers from local breweries

We had the cod rarebit from the small lunchtime menu (the table menu appears to be only for the evening - the lunchtime menu is on the specials board, and is about seven items). You can have one of the items plus a pint for £10, which seems reasonable. The food took a while coming, and was served on a cold plate (I don't do that at home - it only takes a moment to heat a plate in the microwave, and putting hot food on a cold plate means the food goes cold quickly); however it was tasty, and we both enjoyed it.

Lunch with Myles, Sept 2019 

I'm keeping an open mind about the place. It's certainly better than it was toward the end of 2017, but I prefer the old cosy, laid back family orientated Dolphin of 2015/2016 which accurately described itself as a country pub in town.

Beers drunk here include Robinsons Trooper Red n Black,
 Langham  Saison, Longdog Lamplight, Marston's 61 Deep. 

Date:  Sept 2019    Score:  5


30 Osborne Road South
St Denys
SO17 2EZ

Enterprise Inns


Open: Noon to 11pm
Food: Noon to 9pm


* WhatPub 
* TripAdvisor 
* Dolphin  

***

Enterprise Inns (Ei Group)