Bite review of pub under previous owner:
Basic lower working class family pub. Be aware that the food is basic convenience grub, the sort of thing you warm up in the oven during the week when you haven't got time to cook. It is what it is, and while not being good value is cheap enough. There's a reasonable choice for vegetarians with veggie sausage and mash and all day veggie breakfast. Meals are around £7, but there are selected deals as low as £5 if two meals are bought. Geared to families, there is an attractive kids menu, with some choices available for 99p. But as the target clientele is working class families, expect plenty of sugar and stodge and sweeties on the menu. There is a kids play area outside.
Cask ale is offered, such as Doom Bar, but it was all off on our visit. And the veggie sausages were also not available. But the place was clean and tidy with plenty of seating inside and out. Kids run around and music plays, so don't expect a quiet or intimate experience. It is what it is, and it does it reasonably well. My 5 year old daughter liked it, and I can see us returning, especially in the summer. |
Date: Feb 2015 Score: 5
Isolated Badger Brewery pub on the Portsmouth road out of Southampton, next door to
Pickwell's Farm. We've been here many times, and I was sure I'd written at least one review for my blog - but it seems to have vanished!
It's a family orientated pub, with a good play area outside. It is dog friendly with special dog ice-creams. There is a focus on food with a dedicated dining area, but there's plenty of space inside and out for those who just want a drink.
Great place. I'll write more details later.
The pub was bought by Hall & Woodhouse (Badger) in 2015, and they spent over £1 million in refurbishing the place, including replacing the previous children's play area. Our daughter preferred the previous play area as it was larger and more interesting, but she was older when it was reopened, and losing interest in play areas. The brewery own the adjoining fields, and
applied for planning permission in 2017 to build houses on the fields.
Date: July 2019 Score: 7
Been here many times, mainly with family, but also alone, and also just with a friend. Always enjoy it here. Good inside and outside. Good beer. Good service. Good food. Good play area for the younger ones.
Currently open for food and drink in covered outdoor area. Current food service times:
FOOD SERVICE TIMES
MON: CLOSED
TUES-THURS: 12-2.30PM 6-9PM
FRI-SAT: 12PM-9PM
SUN: 12PM-8PM
Date: April 2021
Lads Who Lunch take on The Plough
Lad Who Lunch descend on The Plough in the time of Covid! The Plough has long been a favourite for me. It's a well run family pub. Good seating inside and out. Good quality and decent value for money meals. It's a clean, bright, well run and welcoming place. Difficult to pick out any negative details. Good selection of beers from the Badger brewery, always in excellent condition.
Myles and I have been here before - before Covid, when we were able to sit inside. We are now rteturning shortly after pubs were first allowed to open in 2021, but only outside. I've experienced a few other pubs in this period, and most are struggling. Menus reduced, and seating outside mostly a challenge, with many having no shelter, and some not even offering a no-smoking area, or only a limited one.
The Plough offered a large marque which allowed for plenty of shelter, heaters for chilly days (which is quite often in a British spring), and a large no-smoking area. The non-smoking area being larger than the smoking area, and fully in compliance with the law. Plenty of other pubs could learn a lot from how The Plough do things. Only 14.1% of people in the UK smoke, so it makes much more sense commercially and morally to have a larger non-smoking area, and to make the non-smoking area your main area. Non-smokers are hesitant to book tables in outside areas in case a smoker lights up. It's not just the unpleasant smell and discomfort, it's that cigarette smoke is toxic and kills approximately one million non-smokers every year, mostly children. As we now have restrictions on smoking, and most people have given up, the amount of non-smokers with toxins from cigarette smoke in their blood has declined from 90% in the 1980s to 25%. That's still too much, but at least some pubs, like The Plough, are doing their bit.
The staff are friendly, helpful, and professional. We felt welcomed and secure. The menu was the most generous and varied we have encountered since pre-Covid days. And it was well presented and very tasty. My one quibble is that our sandwich rolls were put in front of us, and then we were asked what condiments we would like. And then we had to wait rather a long time before they were brought. If I was running the place I'd ensure the waiting staff carried a selection of condiments with them - in their pocket, or in a little bag, and so were able to supply people immediately on request. If I was working at a pub as a waiter, that's what I would do without waiting for the management to tell me. For one thing, it saves walking back and forth, and for another it impresses the customers so they are more inclined to leave a tip!
Anyway. That's a tiny issue, and is common to all pubs. So, top marks for what was overall a very pleasant experience.
Date: April 2021 Score: 9
Portsmouth Road
Old Netley
SO31 8BT
Open
11am to 11pm
Food
Noon to 9pm
