please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Great views across the beach to the Isle of Wight and a good pub albeit more of a restaurant pub where drinkers are welcome rather than a traditional boozer. We just didn't have the same experience of previous reviewers. The First Call was in good order and was £3.50 a pint whereas the Fursty Ferret was equally good and £3.90. Service was quick and friendly and the food tasty. Busy on a Monday night suggesting they are doing something right.
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Oh dear. To begin with, once you enter the car park you cannot get out unless your buy. The exit code is printed on your receipt. One was spikes on the entrance to a car park? Not a good sign. And so it pans out.
I had popped in for a swift half while I ordered a takeaway from across the road. I walked in and found one of those desks at the front where you wait to be seated. I was under the misapprehension this was a pub and I was asked if I wanted a table for one. I replied, 'no, I would like a beer' and was told there was a table on the far side of the pub. I pointed out I was quite happy to stand at the bar and was told that was OK if that was what I wanted. So, I stood at the bar and ordered a half. £2.05 for half of an average bitter. It was clear that drinkers are not welcome so I poured it down and left.
The whole place has a vibe of 'we don't want you, we want your money'.
In one word? AVOID
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Nothing is funnier than when a company creates its own awards for it's establishments. This is a Hall and Woodhouse "Hallmark" pub, for serving real ale. The funny fact is this was award prior to the present manager taking over with a completely different team.
Views nice
Beers Shit
Foods Shit
Service is Shit
Shit Pub, Simples
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Remove the view and what have you got? Not much if anything at all.
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I'd been told about the spectacular vista commanded by the Osborne View and decided to take my wife there for lunch. Prior to visiting I checked on the Internet for directions and came across these reviews which amount to almost universal condemnation of the food and service.
Nevertheless I calculated that if we stuck to the snack menu we would be okay. (When we arrived the view from the bar I'm sure would have lived up to its reputation were it not for the reduced visibility caused by driving rain.)
I ordered baked potatoes for two. After all even the worst kitchen could produce a decent baked potato surely. Wrong. The barman told me that yes, they had baked potatoes, but they pre-cook their potatoes and had left them in the oven for too long and they had 'gone all hard' and so they couldn't be served.
I changed my order to two baguettes (one cheese one chicken). To drink I ordered one pint of Tanglefoot (ale) for me and a coffee for my wife.
Two mouthfuls of the Tanglefoot and I nearly vomited. It tasted of stale vinegar. When I returned with it to the bar the barman, almost gleefully, informed me that I had been served with the very last pint from the barrel (as though this somehow confirmed his excellence as a barman).
He even gave the pump a few pulls to show me that it was just pumping out froth to emphasise his point.
After he had changed the barrel the next pint was not much better, the pipes must be truly filthy. I had a couple more mouthfuls and left the rest.
The baguettes arrived after 35 minutes along with my wife's coffee. The bread was soft and 'chewy' almost as though it was that had been par baked. The generic 'yellow' cheese in mine looked as though it had been broken up with a club hammer. The accompanying chips were virtually cold and looked like they had been reheated and left to get cold.
My wife's 'roast' chicken baguette looked like it had been attacked by a cat and was covered in a sour sauce which rendered the whole soggy concoction utterly inedible.
On the scale of excellence (rather lack of it) this pub goes way beyond bad, past comedically bad; this pub is epically bad, even to the point of being offensive.
The British catering pub trade has done an incredible job of cleaning up its act over the last decade or two. It's a genuine pity that standards as low as those displayed by the Osborne View are tolerated in this day and age.
Were I of a cynical nature I would be tempted to think that the owners of this pub calculate that its location will virtually guarantee that it is well frequented, so why waste money training staff and maintaining quality standards?
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Visited this weekend for a meal. Service was appauling and told to get off table soon after eating food by an extremely irate waitress. She then tried to put a reserved sign on the table for 7:30 minutes before. The manager eventually sorted the situation out but the waitress continued to be rude evetually slamming our desserts on the table whilst mumbling something under her breath. Would never visit again as food was mediocre and overpriced at best.
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Fantastic location, OK Badger beers, food a bit pricey but pretty good. Heaving at lunchtimes - book if you want to eat! A safe bet.
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We went on a Sunday lunch time, arriving at about 11:30 and the pub was already filling up. Most of the tables were reserved but we managed to find one with a good view. The beer was good but from a very limited range. The food was terrible. Overcooked beef that had been reheated that many times it had gone hard and still they managed to serve it cold. By the time we left there were people queing to get in and the noise of screeming children and arguing adults will stay with me for some time. The views were fantastic and if I can find out when they are not so busy I will be back for another pint, (no food though)
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Stunning views and good food if you go when it's quiet!!! Great if you can sit outside but otherwise you will feel obliged to eat! Usual bland Hall and Woodhouse beer and slow service
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In April, 2005 at the encouragement of some people I knew from Fareham I made my first trip to England. After flying from Nashville my friends took me to the Osborne View the night of my arrival to get an idea of a genuine English pub. The food and atmosphere were outstanding. What's more, that evening during a colorfully brilliant sunset both the Queen Mary 2 and the QE2 sailed down the Solent one behind the other. The food, friends and ambience were a fantastic introduction to England.
anonymous - 7 Jun 2007 21:28 |
We went for a lovely walk along the beach today & stopped at The Osborne View for lunch. I have to say it was amazing, the view, the service, the beer & the food. I could not find fault with anything. If only every pub was as good as this one.
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i disagree derek, i waited(queued!!) 45 minutes for a drink at 2pm today, they had one barman just taking food orders and one doing drinks. the bar is only 10' long so is it a pub or a restaurant?
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Well a lot seems to have changed since the last three reviews. Obviously the fantastic views are still there but on my visit today - an incredibly busy sunday - the food was delicious and delivered within 30 minutes. Hall and Woodhouse beers are terrific - lord knows what johnkn is talking about - the Hopping Hare especially was delicious. A fantastic pub.
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More like a restaurant with a licence than a pub. On my recent visit everyone bar me was eating. Beer is Hall & Woodhouse and crap as a consequence. Was worth stopping off for a pint though just to see a couple storm out in a huff when they couldn't bag a table with the aforementioned view across the Solent.
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not the sane atmosphere since refurb. great views. need more female barstaff.
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Amazing refurbishment has improved this already marvellous pub. However the food is always late and the steak could sole an Infantryman's boots. Beer is always good though.
anonymous - 2 Jun 2005 12:29 |
Views across the Solent, Beach at bottom of garden; riverside and coastal walks nearby
Mutsnuts! - 28 Jun 2004 13:58 |
