The Wykeham Arms, Winchester

This pub does, for sure, have a polite, middle-class clientele, many of them connected to the working life of the Cathedral or the College. If, like some of those commenting here, that is enough to send you off screaming, then so much the better: why would I want to share such a charming, welcoming, comfortable and cheery pub with such pea-brained bigots?

The beer selection is very fine indeed; the restaurant is of a high quality with a spectacular wine list; in winter, two huge hearth fires warm the place through; the atmosphere is cosy, friendly, and closely tied to the surroundings and history of the area. And if naming the gents 'Sidesmen' after the people who show folk to their seats in the Cathedral, or having old Winchester College desks as tables (with flowers in the ink wells) is too richly esoteric for you - as for one reviewer here - then All Bar One and Wetherspoons are waiting for you. The Wykeham embodies the cornerstones of what a truly great pub should: hospitality, community, history, and fine fine beer. And much more besides. I know of no finer pub.

27 Sep 2005 16:33