please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Conveniently placed pub/eatery/accommodation right opposite the Cathedral. There are plenty of pubs in this area, and this one is more expensive than most and sometimes quite full, but the beers are good and the food menu (though untried) looks good too.
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Very much a gastropub. Squeaky clean and punters were sitting at tables talking in hushed voices. Seemed more of a tourists pub with a fair number going there for pre theatre drinks. As already mentioned, it's seems more of a restaurant with a bar than a pub that does food. However the beer was well kept and the Saxon bronze was good.
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Quick stop in Winchester for a pub tick, after finding the Hyde Tavern annoyingly closed at 12.15 we walked through town to this City centre pub and hotel.
Very nicely decorated in a contemporary style in an old building that still has its original oak beams on the ceiling. To the front on Great Minster Street the bar is retained mainly as a bar but food is served here and in the large dining room to the left with a large open fireplace. On this visit the whole pub was more popular with diners than drinkers, probably being a Saturday lunchtime didn't help.
4 hand pumps, each with a different ale. I opted for a pint of Plain Ales Innocence @ 4.0%, a nice well kept beer but it was London prices here.
To the rear is a conservatory that is more of a dining area for families. Lots of bar staff to deal with food orders, punters wanting beer & those that were checking into the hotel.
A nice pub, good pint but definitely more for food than ale.
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I like this place, but tonight the prices were near criminal.
(Having said that the service was swift & ultra polite as always)
Tim Taylors Landlord: £4.40 per pint
Hoegaarden: £5.50 per pint
Presumably the above will return to realistic levels once the festive season has subsided?
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best pint of the night - an excellent Otter.
I wanted to eat here again, but came in at 5:30pm. They change to the evening menu at 6:30pm, but I had a train to catch.
Shame - as I had a great meal here last time.
I think I may have even been at the same table.
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This pub felt a bit more like a wine bar than a pub. But it served 4 local ales and appeared to be popular for romantic meals for the locals. It has two small rooms (one is a restaurant) and plenty of staff. There also appeared to be an outdoor drinking area. Ales were Alfred's Saxon Bronze, Ringwood Best, Itchen Valley Belgarum & Ballards Golden Bine.
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Texted home to find a recommendation for somehere to eat, and this came up trumps. Excellent food and service. Great location, opposite the cathedral.
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They serve a decent pint in here, though it sometimes has the atmosphere of a slightly poncey restaurant with foodies much in evidence.
Clean & tidy with pleasant staff, an interesting alternative to the Eclipse across the road...
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Good service in this 'trendy' pub/restaurant. Didn't eat here but the food looked excellent. T.T Landlord ok; nice location.7/10.
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Have walked past this place on many occasions thinking it was a restaurant.
Went in with some friends and found that they had four real ales on with one from the Isle of Wight (unusual for this area) the beer was well kept and not too bad a price.
Small outside drinking area.
Seems to concentrate on the food side of things but the beer was good and so was the service.
Close to the eclipse and Wykeham arms pubs and worth a visit.
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I didn't Eat here but my first visit was a very pleasant surprise. The Ale was excellant and derseves it's place in this years GBG. The Old Vine is definately a must on a Winchester pub Crawl.
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Visited lunchtime midweek, one word...disappointing! Lovely surroundings, although a little "done" for my taste. Two menus which provided an unnecessarily large choice and judging by the bought in (we asked the waitress), mushy, bland tart of leek, gruyere and parmesan, too much for the chef to maintain quality. However it was the poor service that really let it down, don't you hate waitresses that make you feel that they are doing you a favour? That expect you to order because they are ready? And then get stroppy when you are ready and they are busy chatting with other staff members behind the bar!
Also thought it expensive...eg. leek, pear and blue cheese tart (yes another leek tart on the other menu) for �12.95! I don't know how big it was but for that price it would need to be the size of a dinner plate. Shame because as I said, lovely rooms, building and situation,
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We were lucky to find a table in here without a reservation one friday evening. The staff were pleasant, the food very nice indeed and a good range of ales. Yes, it's a bit pretentious but the food and ale is good enough to overcome that.
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Quite a pleasant place to sit and wile away a Saturday lunchtime. Very food orientated, but they served a nice pint of 'Timothy Taylor's Landlord' at a not too unreasonable price for the area.
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Very pleasant stop en route to a wedding down in Bournemouth. Pint of Ringwood Best not in the best of nick, but the food offering seems good and they certainly produced a fine ploughmans, which was very nice on a sunny summer day.
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First the architecture bit. 18th century, 2 storeys. Red brick. Old tile roof . with 5 contemporary sash windows in moulded frames on 1st floor. Good doorcase with brackets and moulded open dentil pediment. The 19th century public house frontage has Gothic fenestration. Panelled door with fanlight. Two dormers. Rearwing with lattice casements in gable. OK! It looks great and it's a grade 2 listed building across from the Cathedral Green.
Now lets go inside! It's that 'Gastropub' thing but done in a good way. Don't be afraid! It's split into well defined areas with the restaurant (you'll need to book) to the left as you enter and the bar area to the right with no reservations for the bar or patio, where seating is available on a first come, first served basis only. Sandwich menu (available lunchtimes only. Please note that sandwiches are only available in the bar and on the terrace, and are not available in the restaurant)
Sandwiches on thick-cut granary or white bread, served with a salad garnish. Tuna with chive mayonnaise & salad �4.95 - Warm French brie & grape �5.50 - Premium Hampshire pork sausages, red onion relish �5.75 - Falafel with chickpea houmous, roasted sweet peppers, fresh coriander & salad in a flour tortilla �5.50 - Thinly sliced Hampshire-cured ham, emmental cheese & tomato �5.75 - Cod fillet fish finger sandwich with home-made tartare sauce, sliced tomato and little gem lettuce, garnish of fries �5.50 - Traditional mature Welsh cheddar ploughman�s �5.95 V
Coronation chicken: free-range English chicken in a creamy curry-spiced mayo, mango & sultana dressing �5.75
Pub classics (available lunchtimes only; bar, restaurant and terrace) - Premium Hampshire pork sausages & creamy mashed potato, rich onion gravy �9.50 - Crispy wholetail scampi in breadcrumbs, fries and salad �10.50 - Thickly sliced Hampshire-cured ham, two free-range fried eggs, fries and side salad �11.50 - Home-made pie of the day, mashed potatoes and peas �10.90. Sorry if that's too much detail but it is a 'Gastropub'.
It was the first pub in Winchester to phase out smoking (in March 2005), and now they're delighted to offer non-smoking customers an outdoor glazed space that's 100% smoke-free.
Their policy on children is: "CHILDREN AT LUNCHTIME: Well-behaved children of six and over are welcome in the bar and restaurant at lunchtime, provided they are accompanied by an adult � however, please remember that the Old Vine is first and foremost a space for adults to relax in. We're sorry, but we cannot accommodate pushchairs inside the building � however, pushchairs and kids under six may be accommodated on the patio, weather permitting. CHILDREN IN THE EVENING: Children are not allowed in the bar past 6pm � however,� children of eight years and over may eat in the restaurant in the evening,� provided they are accompanied by an adult.
Very attractive bar staff (both men and women) who served up some cracking pints. Itchen Valley, Hambledon Bitter 4.0% and Flack Manor Romsey, Flack's Double 3.7% on handpump.
It was great sitting at the bar on our Winchester crawl and watching the clientele with their Apple lap tops in the comfy Chesterfield's and although this is not really my sort of pub it's all done so very well done that I must give it a good 7.
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This is a great pub.....Pertinacious? -YES, Up Its own Ass?- Yes, Good Beer? -Yes!!! They had on Ringwood (Marstons) Best, Timmy Taylor Landlord, Itchen Valley Father Christmas and Oakleaf Nuptu' Ale. The Ringwood was more than passable.
I can see why people find this joint to be more of a restaurant, but you must hand it to 'em, it's a 'cracking' place. Only downside is, imagine its run by a right ' OK Ya, Couple........ 7/10
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Poor beer - really no chance of decent beer with such an overambititous range in a wine-led pub. Very busy on a Monday lunchtime, so obviously doing something right !
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More of a restaurant than a pub - but a swift one in the bar area is quite acceptable. I didn't feel the ambience was such that you would settle doen to a drinking session.
But - hey - decent beer and very nicely looked after, perhaps I shouldn't be picky.
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As others have said this is a fairly upmarket place in a great locaton opposite the Cathedral. We stayed in one of the quite expensive but very nicely furnished rooms. We did not eat so i cannot comment on the food (although on a previous visit we did have a nice snack). The bar side of the pub seemed to be operating well as a drnking bar and it did not feel out of place to not be eating. The ales are well kept (very nice Hampshire Rose) and the staff are efficient and welcoming. All in all we had a very pleasant stay and we will return.
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In contrast to TWG, we found the "bar half" of this pub to be very lively, almost to the point of being nosiy. It was very popular, no chance of getting a table, and the majority of the punters appeared to be just there for a drink. Certainly that was the case by the end of the evening, we were there until gone 11:00 and they certainly weren't having their pre-dinner drinks at that time.
The dining half of the pub is just that, it's very much a restaurant and not somewhere to go for a pint. The staff were very pleasant and friendly, it's conveniently situated right opposite the cathedral green, and there's an enormous window at the front of the bar to take full advantage of the outlook. There's a selection of board games at the back of the bar, plenty of wood beams and unusually even the outside seating area and courtyard is non-smoking. Obviously this may be a good thing or not depending on your point of view. I'm not going to get in to that argument.
Beers were Flower Pots, TT Landlord, Ringwood Best and Bowman's Swift One. Cider was Thatcher's Gold.
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Plainly, this is a restaurant that happens to serve real ales. One half of the premises is devoted to foodies, and on my first visit last weekend this certainly was proving a draw - my two friends and I were unusual in that we were only there for a drink and not to eat. The food has a fine reputation and one day I would like to sample it, but I fear that I will have to find a girlfriend first, as the Vine was populated almost exclusively by upper-middle class couples, all whispering to each other coyly so as not to stand out against the very low hum of voices. Dining there on one's own, or even as a group, seems not to be the done thing.
The other half of the venue is given over to what clearly aims to be the "pub" portion, but does in fact come across more of an ante-room where diners congregate for a polite quiet aperitif before moving to their table. It operates in the same way as most hotel or restaurant bars do. Again, there was a faintly prissy air to the place as well-to-do couples ensured that they remained as restrained and genteel as possible so as not to risk offence.
All this notwithstanding however, the establishment does have its place. The decor cleverly combines contemporary design within a traditional setting, and the quality of the beer was up to standard. Four pumps were all active, serving 3 ales from Hants and 1 from Yorkshire. Bar-proppers, though few, are in no way discouraged, and if a few more drinkers were to adopt the place for its pub rather than grub element, it would help to balance the two more convincingly. Service was with a smile, and efficient.
So yes, a place for a civilised meal, preferably with the other half, but also not somewhere to discount if you like alehouses, if only because somewhere that so easily could be lager, wine and spirits only serving a good range of proper beer should be supported.
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Not fantastic if what you are interested in is a quality pint in a traditional boozer, but this place is geared more towards the food. My wife and I picked this place out specifically for our evening meal on a visit to Winchester (with the Black Boy and the Eclipse for the serious ale-drinking) and were delighted with our food. The rib-eye steak I had was the best steak I have had in years. My advice would be to treat this place like a restaurant with a decent ale selection and you will not go far wrong. I would eat there again without a second thought.
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After a couple of mediocre pints during our crawl, we were delighted to find a good pint of TT Landlord here. A pleasant enough stop for a few but nothing exceptional about the place otherwise.
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I really like this pub, friendly helpful staff, good beer and excellent food. I think it does have enough pub to resturant area and is nicely laid out. Blows most pubs in Winch away.
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Had a great pint of Landlord and Hole Hearted but felt uncomfortable as it was clearly a pub geared towards selling food, shame because had there been more seating available in the bar we would have had another pint or two. Staff were friendly.
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I can't help feeling that some people are marking this pub down for not being something it doesn't pretend to be. This isn't somewhere you go for six pints and a game of darts with an optional fight in the car park at chucking out time.
But if you just want a pint or two of decent ale in pleasant surroundings then you'll find it here. The food in the main bar and patio is pretty good and I could eat my way all through the menu in the restaurant. It's always our first choice when we're in Winchester
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The beer was ok but the place is yet another pub more interested in food. I realise they have to make a profit but the emphasis is clearly on the food. I dont come from the area so have no idea what it was like before but if i wanted a pint in someones front room then id have stayed indoors. The eclipse over the road er well eclipsed it really...
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Stayed here on Saturday night. Excellent location. Distinct character. Restaurant busy. Bar popular with a wide age range. Interesting menu. Comprehensive wine list. Very pleasant room. Breakfast delivered to your room by default. Be prepared for some noise at the front of the building if you want to leave a window open, otherwise wooden shutters and heavy curtains provided.
Would do it again.
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I think some of the review of The Vine are a bit harsh.
Since the latest refurbishment, the pub is certainly a more pleasant place to drink (and eat, for that matter).
The Timothy Taylors Landlord is indeed a fine pint, while the food served is of a very high standard.
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had good food there in the past but the snotty treatment by the landlord and their obvious jumped up opinion that we as customers should adhere to their poxy rules makes me rule this place out.
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Had a very nice lunch there last week (Sunday). Would agree that it's a bit more of an eatery than a boozy watering hole (and of course the staff are conscious of this) but we'd also be very happy to pop into the right-hand bar if we just wanted a pint and a sandwich.
The place was busy but service prompt and friendly ... That and the excellent pint of Taylor's Landlord (Ringwood beers also available) made it somewhere we'd be happy to re-visit. Handy for the cathedral too.
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why was my �17 steak deep fried?
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The vine outside is dying isn't it? rather like the inside. Looks like the living room display in Homebase and probably is. they could've at least steamed the layers of nicotine encrusted wallpaper off instead of just painting them. They could also do with steaming the atmosphere too, its a little faded.
Perhaps i'll start flogging beer in the Homebase display, see ya there saturday.
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Would agree that this place aspires to be a restuarant but it partially redeemed itself on my visit. This was because the pint of Timothy Taylors Landlord was in superb condition. The only comparable pint of Landlord that I've had the pleasure of drinking was at The Brunswick in Derby.
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Seems to want to be a bit of everything, and ends up muddled. Would not strike it off the pub list quite yet (it still has real ale on hand pump), but it is clearly focused on the restaurant side. Looking to be upscale in decor, yet the gents' toilet is unheated. Had a not bad time there, but would go elsewhere for a true pub experience (say, the Eclipse right down the street).
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This is now a restaurant and should be removed from this site. Shame, but thats what happens when you open super pubs and vodka bars.
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This used to be the pub where we all met up when at King Alfred's college in 90's. Went back to check it out in November and all change. Now it's just another smug, wooden floored / white walled / olive-munching non-entity of a place, totally lacking any atmosphere - and (deservedly) clientele. Only visit if you aspire to live in Islington or own a 4x4
mikez - 13 Dec 2005 15:26 |
Until recently this pub was atrocious with poor beer, dire food and grubby decor. The place has now been transformed and now feels a lot more upmarket, has good beer and wonderful food. From being one of the worst pubs in the city it is now up there as one of the best and is perfectly located by the cathedral.
anonymous - 21 Aug 2005 22:36 |
In a brilliant location near the cathedral, We found the staff very pleasant and attentive and the food very acceptable.
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Since there are many bad examples, it takes a particularly special pub to be the worst in Winchester. But The Old Vine wins the accolade hands down. Why? Posionous staff, revolting toilets and dreadful clients. Bulldoze it now.
anonymous - 22 Jul 2005 11:58 |
Visited Sunday lunchtime to find an empty bar. Well we went in anyway to find a decent pint of Ringwood and had tasty well cooked food (if a tad pricey). My salmon came with pre-prepared 'spring vegatables' mix - not to worry this turned out to be a combination of asparagus, baby carrots, beans and peas and well cooked. A couple of other tables filled while we ate and a couple were playing cards in the public bar area. Deserves more custom
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The Old Vine has been open for a month following extensive renovation. The big screen and pool table are gone, but there's now quality food and drink on offer in welcoming, smoke-free surroundings. Pay us a visit soon, and let us know what you think of the change!
anonymous - 17 May 2005 14:27 |
A crying shame, one of the most interesting interiors in Winchester, lots of space, brilliant location, but sadly desparately in need of a re-fit and make-over. As it stands is only really visited to buy pints in plastic pots to drink in the Cathedral gardens in the summer, and this will soon be outlawed anyway. Someone please buy this out and make it what it should be.
anonymous - 15 Dec 2004 20:18 |
