BITE user comments - stevew1
Comments by stevew1
When visiting London, my girlfriend and I stay at a hotel on Sussex Gardens and a stroll to The Victoria is always a must. I can only echo all the other reviews; a proper Victorian era pub with fabulous period decor and a really welcoming "local" atmosphere, check. Really well-kept Fullers Ales, check. My girlfriend loves it and she doesn't really even drink.
I discovered it by accident a few years ago while staying in Sussex Gardens whilst on a work training course. On my own in the evenings, I explored the immediate area and can only say that stumbling across this pub was like finding an oasis in a desert of dispiriting and even dodgy looking pubs around Paddington.
I popped in again this week and was heartened to find everything still as it was. Very reassuring.
10 Mar 2012 21:43
Still friendly, still very much a local, still offers a selection of well kept ales, Sunday Roasts and homemade burgers and more on matchdays.
8 Nov 2011 22:17
Fullers ESB now regularly available, alongside the Ringwood Fortyniner, Swift One and various guest ales. Bacon rolls, home made burgers, various Balti/Madras pies on sale before and after Pompey afternoon games, decent Full English at 10am opening for lunchtime kick offs.
27 Jan 2010 18:31
I got married in that building, for a bit of local colour. Now my student daughter and her friends meet in there, so it's probably best avoided if you're over 25.
2 Nov 2009 20:15
Half a trendy bar and half Italian American, rather than strictly Italian, restaurant. I went there to eat recently and even my girlfriend gave it a thumbs up. The food seems pretty good. As a bar, I'm probably too middle aged to comment.
2 Nov 2009 20:07
If nobody can make a go of a pub in such a favourable location, then times must be hard indeed.
2 Nov 2009 20:01
The food is as good as the menu suggests and well beyond the usual pub fare. It's worth visiting just for a drink, but the seasonal offerings on the blackboard lure me out there from Southsea every few weeks.
2 Nov 2009 19:21
Good news: the pub is now in the hands of Pete, who has stood in as relief manager a few times before. The range of well-kept ales, usually five, rotates around the ever-present Fortyniner and Swift One. The friendly atmosphere has returned and Jackie the tiny landlady also offers home cooked Sunday lunches.
2 Nov 2009 18:51
The pub is now in the hands of new owners, who have chosen to readmit many of those barred by the previous landlady. The beers are probably the same, but the atmosphere is now that of a "lads pub" for those who like that sort of thing.
2 Nov 2009 18:37
Yet another new manager, sadly, who seems to prioritise ales from new breweries who offer him the most profitable deals. So out go the very popular Ringwood Fortyniner and Fullers ESB, replaced by Bowmans Wallops Wood and Irving & Co Type 42. Both decent ales in their own terms, but neither above 4.2%.
A very busy pub on Pompey matchdays and visiting fans often amiably mingle with the Pompey supporting locals and others. This pub is the matchday haunt of the Pompey Anorak Brigade, an internet-based group of Pompey fans from all over the world.
24 Jun 2009 21:13
A very nice, manicured village pub for very nice middle class people. Having said that, as a working class oik, I like to go there once in a while for the lovely (and not particularly overpriced) food. A very small real ale selection, but well kept.
24 Jun 2009 20:54
Very much a local, although by no means one where the music stops and everyone turns to look at the stranger. Ringwood Old Thumper always on, which gets my vote. Usually another couple of guest ales on, too.
8 Jun 2009 23:16
As a real ale attraction, only London Pride and HSB. As a pub, very friendly and very well patronised by locals and others not so local, including fans of visiting football clubs happily rubbing shoulders with Pompey fans in a crowded pre-match session. Free food on Sundays around 4 - 5 o'clock has long been an attraction under the current owners, although they are leaving in September 2009.
8 Jun 2009 23:10
The Sir Loin Of Beef, Southsea
I've visited this pub many a time and my feeling is that he buys from breweries that offer him the best deal, rather than the ales that dedicated real ale drinkers might prefer, so it can be a bit hit and miss in that regard. What he does offer is well-kept, however, so that may be just my personal palate talking.
15 May 2009 21:41
Was in the same family for 2/3 generations, very much a locals local. Always a couple at least real ales. Now under new ownership. Tends to be a family pub and nothing wrong with that, but sometimes the kids are running riot a bit, which could annoy if you're trying to get away from yours.
15 May 2009 21:11
Nothing woth drinking, nothing worth eating; the Wetherspoons in Cosham High St is a better pub, which I think is eloquent comment enouigh.
15 May 2009 21:04
The Winchester Arms, Portsmouth
A proper, sensitively-restored local with great ale and one you can walk into without the music stopping and everyone turning to look at you.
15 May 2009 21:00
If all pubs were like this, I'd stay at home. Bland, no decent beer, poor food, overpriced wine.
15 May 2009 20:55
Firstly, a couple of caveats: I went there at lunchtime, specifically to eat. It was well-patronised, but not crowded, so I can't directly contradict some of the other opinions. Having said that, I found the reasonably-priced food spectacular and the ale (Bombardier) well-kept and a pleasure to drink.
The staff could not have been friendlier or more helpful. Perhaps it's not the same in the evenings, but I'd suggest that this is perhaps a pub to eat in, rather than drink in.
15 May 2009 20:46
The Southwark Tavern, London Bridge
I wandered into this pub last Friday lunchtime, attracted by the daily specials on a blackboard outside. A range of real ales is uninspired but my pint of Doom Bar was perfectly fine. No gastropub and not aspiring to be, nevertheless the food is a cut above the usual pub fare and reasonably priced at the �8/9/10 mark. I had the 'Chorizo, duck confit, tomato and bean stew' which is almost cassoulet, but with tomato. I'm not sure from which cuisine it comes, it was nice enough but lacked the garlic that would have transformed it into something very nice.
With the very interesting cellar area, much more could be made of this pub, I feel.
10 Mar 2012 22:39