please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
London Pride available, plus three strong beers all 5.0+. Not very traditional inside, but the outside bit overlooking the stream must be pleasant in good weather.
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This is not really a pub. It's a restaurant that happens to sell beer. Devoid of character or charm. Overpriced and overrated. There are many far better places to drink in Winchester.
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Baxterfish understated the current situation, £10.20 for a pint of Frontier and a Cornish Orchard - or had they put the prices up a little because of the football?
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It's a fuller's pub in Winchester so VERY expensive.
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First pub of the day as the Hyde Tavern was closed, decent pint of Pride in a food orientated pub, sat outside on the patio and watched the river rush by.
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Superb Location and the first open pub I found after completing the South Downs Way.
A couple of Fuller's ESB, whilst sat on the delightful patio - waiting for my legs to start working again!
Some photos on my walking blog - http://mappiman.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/040915-completing-south-downs-way.html
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Riverside Fullers establishment that reminded me very much of the White House in Guildford. The interior is light and airy and many people were taking advantage of the patio at the rear on the Itchen river bank. Only beers from the Fullers range were available - Pride, ESB, HSB & Oliver's Island. So from that perspective, it was disappointing. Nice location though and right next to the town centre.
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The Bishop on the Bridge is a large building well situated on the bridge over the River Itchen with a great outdoor terrace space next to the river.
It was decent enough but somehow I too was left a little flat by the experience. The beers are OK and four Fullers beers were available in the shape of Pride, ESB, HSB and seasonal Spring Sprinter.
But I left thinking that this place with its room and good outside space should be utilised much better, and when compared to some of Fullers prime London locations, this one feels like not a lot of thought has been put into it.
A more extensive range of Fullers Ales including a couple of guests would help for a start.
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The whole place was closed for a private function this afternoon...
A beautiful summer Saturday afternoon when the place would normally be heaving with happy punters.
Obviously Fullers must be properly minted to be able to afford to do this, not really in the spirit of the "public house" though, is it?
ESB aside, Fullers are increasingly poor anyway...I'll give this place a miss in future and spend my beer tokens in the ever decent Black Boy just up the road.
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A very attractive pub. Excellent friendly staff. Music too loud and inappropriate for conversation - we shouted for half an hour, left half the food on our plates and went to find a quieter pub for the rest of the evening.
A great shame as the food and beer were fine.
Many "outlets" don't comprehend that their background music is irritating as no one listens to it and it doesn't mask conversation because everyone shouts.
Luckily there are still pubs where a quiet hubbub of conversation and perhaps a very quiet soft music creating a gentle atmosphere are all the noise one can hear.
Even a raucous pub where the conversation is loud and laughter permeates the ambience has an attraction way beyond loud music of any sort.
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Visited here on Tuesday as Part of a Pub Crawl of Winchester. Larger Modernised interior with large eating area that seems to cater for failies. Several Real Alse available including Sprinter, Fullers ESB, London Pride and Fullers Discovery. I plumped for London Pride which was very good. Maybe worth a return visit
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Good location witha riverside terrace, where we ate.
Food was well cooked and served quickly. Unlike the bar service, when on a busy lunchtime there was nobody behind the bar and a queue waiting.
Fullers beers, of which I had a pint of Discovery.
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As has been said before, the emphasis is more on food than beer. However there were at least 4 ales on the handles, my London Pride was very good indeed. Had an excellent spicy soup which was served in a very large hollowed out roll! Friendly and efficient staff, indoors there was a spacious feel to the place, the large garden overlooking the river was very attractive also. A pub worth returning to for both food and drink.
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Fullers pub with all the beer well kept, seems to place emphasis on food.
Very large terrace overlooking the river, nice place to pass a sumers day.
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Pleasant enough pub next to the river, rather limited choice of beer being a Fullers pub,but the Seafarers was nice enough. A fairly large pub and very clean, I wouldn't go out of my way to return, but it served it's purpose for an early pint before the beer festival.
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Fullers ESB........Spot on!!! Will be back!!!! 7/10
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Was in Winchester a couple of weeks ago and popped in for a quick beer on way home. Nice pint and very reasonable for the area i thought. Barman knowledgeable and food looked ok. Will pop back again. Dezrezza
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Normally my second port of call in Winchester after The Black Boy, having walked up the Itchen from Eastleigh.
Always a pleasant experience, especially if the sun is out and you can sit in the beer garden, watching folk strolling along the riverbank while supping an ESB or three...
Clearly the emphasis here is on shifting food, not my cup of tea in a pub but if it means it stays open a price worth paying?
My only personal gripe is that for a Fullers "flagship" pub they don't seem to pay much attention to the Fullers seasonals as perhaps they might.....a few of the more interesting ones seemed to have been passed over in favour of another London Pride pumpclip at the bar.
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Been here a few times and it's always been fine - bit pricey but nice seating area overlooking the river, papers to read, had food twice and it's been decent quality. Tried various bitters and they have always been OK, and the staff seemed friendly enough. I wouldn't choose it as a destination pub but more than adequate for a drink and a natter after work.
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Big pub with little character. Not as expensive as some Fuller's pubs. Only had London Pride and the dull Seafarer's Ale on. The Prize Old Ale(9%ABV) is good value at �3.40 a pint bottle. Other than that, not much to recommend it.
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A real waste. Overpriced food and overpriced beer served up in a pub which, from what I could tell in the light, is decorated some kind of sickly green. I will say that the ESB was fine in terms of quality. The reason this is a wasted opportunity is that it is in such a wonderful location, right on the river. A more varied beer selection (impossible while it is a Fuller's pub) and an intelligent redecoration and this place could be a real gem.
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Very pleasant but horrible expensive.......�3.80 for a pint of Peroni. Garden nice and didn't sample the ales, but looked nice enough.
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I do regularly visit this one for a quick pint.. Pride is to be avoided, they just cant seem to get it right and on a number of occasions have returned my pint. Currently they have Discovery, Pride, HSB, ESB and Honey Dew. ESB and Discovery are normally my picks and are very good. Staff are friendly on the whole. Food to be avoided though, on the two occasions we have eaten there it has been poor.
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Was always avoided amongst my friends when in Winchester for always being labeled pretentious and expensive. But went there a fortnight ago and was surprised by how pleasant it was. Staff very polite and a quick service considering it was a Friday night. Beer quality wasn't bad, but only had the peroni as I had started the evening on that. Modern decor but quite inviting and warm. Well defiantly go back.
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A fullers' house that has been given the full 'contemporary' decorative treatment, the Bishop On The Bridge has a warm fire situated in the middle of the premises that was well tended to by the staff. A solid range is on offer - Chiswick, HSB, Discovery, Pride, Peroni and Honeydew is on offer. I had a pint of honeydew for �3 but it was well worth it, as it is such a fine drop. This is a very trendily decorated establishment that will not please all, but it certainly ranks for me as one of Winchester's better pubs, inspite of the high prices. Top notch.
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What a great pub! Packed Sunday lunchtime, great atmosphere, real fire, staff that know what there doing and superb ale served in the correct glasses! It floats my boat!
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Ok Fullers beers. Food not good with dizzy service. Great location with nice beer garden if not full of idiots. Cozy in winter
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Fullers pub that is located next to the Itchen Navigation. The pub has a decent rear patio/garden area, with outdoor heatings, making it a good location for summer nights.
Food is currently of a decent standard (though it has had its ups and downs).
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Very expensive pub in a pretty location. Light, bright, airy and spacious, must have been refurbed in the past 12 months or so. Toilets were exemplary.
Disappointed to only see three Fullers ales on, and my ESB was fairly lifeless sadly.
Felt that it had more to offer than this, so will try again next time I'm in town. But for now, very middling points, and wouldn't particularly recommend it for a Winchester crawl if Fullers' pubs aren't a novelty in your area.
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Ok pub but the landlord has a serious case of 'short man syndrome'. Lighten up, Wee Man!!
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Just back to Winch for a visit and the beer garden was great. Staff very friendly but hugely pricey!!! My wallet suffered this evening!
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Fullers pub serving well kept fullers beer. Was in over lunch time - food was good, staff friendly too.
Open fire in the middle of the pub was very nice especially after a chilly morning shopping in Winchester
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I take the criticisms about this place regarding sterility; like so many Fuller's outlets it is immaculately decorated, mixing traditional with modern, and it is undeniably clean. However, it does seem to lack a certain organic character, and it almost feels like a London pub in a provincial setting.
But for all that, on my ealier visit the ales were well-conditioned (despite a heatwave the Discovery was spot on), and in such hot weather the Bishop comes into its own with its rear garden, positioned by the river. Unsurprisingly it fills up quickly so you'll need to get in early to grab a seat. This dimension renders a pub which otherwise would be unexceptional far more memorable. Certainly a must on any ale-orientated Winchester crawl.
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Good food is the main draw of the Bishop, along with the lovely terrace in the summer months.
sross - 17 Apr 2006 21:15 |
Large pub but quite a few people in there on a summer evening, really nice to sit in the beer garden by the river and watch the ducks.
anonymous - 13 Feb 2006 13:34 |
A spacious, but somewhat sterile, pub indoors, with a really nice-looking beer garden around the back. the beer was in good shape and there were options enough that I needed an extra minute to make upmy mind. I also had a supper, and thought it was quite good, though not a stunning value for the money.
Staff are always the hardest thing to judge about any pub, especially on a first visit. I found the barman efficient, friendly, and attentive, and thought the staff in general were professional without being stuffy. I'd go back to the Bishop if I found myself in the area, but I wouldn't make a trip just to visit it again.
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A decent pub with a very nice outdoor seating area which gets full very quickly on warm days. The beer is good but service can sometimes be slow even when fully staffed. Apparently the food is good.
anonymous - 28 Jul 2005 23:08 |
I went yesterday and had the hog roast sitting outside in the beer garden. It's a Fuller's pub so had the usual as well as the Honey Dew and the new Discovery. I rated the experience quite highly!
azp74 - 17 Jul 2005 19:08 |
Hmm, can't be visiting the same pub as me. The staff are appalling. Always a knife to dry or ashtray to empty, rather than serve a customer. The beer garden is nice, that much is true. My mate once urinated in a room upstairs during a previous incarnation of this boozer. Not a nice thing to do of course but an action that surely makes him the world's leading predictive critic.
anonymous - 14 Jul 2005 17:53 |
Not a bad pub. Above average pub food and reasonably large and airy. GREAT beergarden by the River for sunny days.
Staff are always fairly friendly and almost as efficient.
A very mixed crowd but good for escaping the student madhouses elsewhere in town.
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The Bishop on the Bridge is a very nice pub it has many nice features. The pub itself is set in a really nice location and you can see the river form the pub. The staff there are very friendly but still professional and also the pub looks very well kept. The atmosphere in the pub is very welcoming and friendly also very relaxing. The food here is gorgeous and i would reccomend this pub to anyone. go along and have a look i would be shocked if it wasnt a good experience.
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I can endorse the comments below, this is a great place to pass a summers evening by the river, and similarly pleasant with the 360 degree open fire in the winter. Dark furniture and leather throughout make it look good as well, and it's rarely too loud for a conversation.
anonymous - 15 Dec 2004 17:18 |
nice warm atmosphere, welcoming staff that are very helpful and hard flaw as they're well trained....got plenty of tips out of me. good selection of well kept ales, great food with equally good choice. well done to the management team and staff.
MJ, Birmingham - 10 Nov 2004 18:35 |
New refurbished Fullers pub. Beer is well kept. Spacious interior and relatively busy compared to previous re-incarnations on this site. Food is slightly expensive for pub fayre. During the day it is aimed at the contemporary, after work, coffee bar, sunday papers by the river crowd. Can become lively in the evening at weekends.
ManAged35 - 27 Jul 2004 12:50 |
the staff are very friendly and efficient, nothing was to much trouble. the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, the food is excellent, and the staff are good looking!
sam cornish - 4 Apr 2004 20:00 |
This pub has had a chequered past but has recently become a Fullers pub so its future should be more settled. The interior has been refurbished to create a spacious and welcoming environment.
Food is available from a large and varied menu and the roast dinner tasted great. The beers (normal Fullers range) are kept well too. Outside there's a terrace but you wouldn't expect that to be open in winter would you. There is no separate non-smoking area which is a bit of a shame in a newly redeveloped pub.
Graham - 5 Jan 2004 16:31 |
