BITE user comments - topsailjon
Comments by topsailjon
Having visited today, after it having been turned into a "gastro pub", I quite agree with oddball's comments from Jan 2010. "I visited on Boxing Day at 8pm and we 3 were the only people in. The barmaid was waiting to shut the place as she was bored out of her skull. More importantly though the beer was very good and all drinks were keenly priced. Dunno about food, but they do have a seperate small lounge. Big pool room which is probably why the locals don't use the pub (waiting for it to become a gastro pub I think). Plenty of character and still relies on drinkers to stay afloat. Give it a try or it may be the next casualty!"
9 Mar 2018 00:21
Well it's been closed for about six months for a 'refurb'. First impressions:- The old door from the car park has been blocked off but a recently unused door has been reinstated. A few people drinking in there on a Thursday night ( they only re-opened on Monday). I wander up to the bar, greet a mate and ask the lad behind the bar "what bitter have you got on?". He points to a font and says "John Smiths". I say "I wouldn't wash my car with the rubbish". Barman says "Oh, we've got some 'local real Ale on" and points through to two firkins sitting on top of the bar in the other room. I can see that one has not been tapped. "Great" I say, "What is it?" "Local ale" the lad replies. My mate says "it's quite dark". I say "got anything lighter?" barman says "No". I say "How much is it?" He says "£3.80 a pint". I say "You can keep it" and walk out.
As predicted, I think it's going to be an expensive "cafe" and I give it no more that 2 years before it's on the market again. Shame as it's a Free House and could make someone a fortune, but when the staff can't even tell you whose beer they are selling, what hope is there?
9 Mar 2018 00:18
A great shame that the previous landlady retired. I''ve been here a few times on a weekday evening since the new management took over and it has lost all it''s spark and verve. Still a good choice of beer on offer but I do so resent giving money to Greene King. £3.80 for two small bottles of diet tonic water was a complete joke and a rip-off of the highest order. More expensive than their over priced beer! I can safely say that I won''t be going back.
19 Sep 2017 08:58
I managed to visit last night as I wanted to introduce my wife to one of my favourite pubs. She was not disappointed. My previous comments still stand! The Trapper's Hat was on fine form and the staff, as before, were very welcoming. During the second pint, we went through into the restaurant where I had a filet steak that again lived up to my previous experiences. It was fabulous. A great piece of meat, cooked to perfection. I would not hesitate to continue to recommend this pub to anyone visiting The Wirral. It should not be missed from your itinerary!
8 Sep 2016 08:37
Why are so many of the Public Bar customers such absolute wankers? I think I'll give it a rest for a few months and see if they die off.
8 Apr 2016 18:37
Went to The Royal Oak at lunchtime today (Easter Saturday). Heaving with wet and muddy walkers and their dogs. All the customers and staff very good natured and the staff providing prompt and efficient service behind the bar. I think there were six draught bitters on offer, although one may have been a stout. I drank five pints of the Flack Manor Double Drop as it was in such fine condition. My mate drank a pint of Double Drop, a pint of something else and then went back to (three more pints of) the Double Drop. My wife had something non-alcoholic so that she could drive us home. The pub thinned out a bit after lunch and we had some of their very reasonably priced home cooked food, which was excellent. The open fires were a pleasure and the dogs were all friendly and well behaved. It was a great pleasure to be so well looked after and I must try to get there more often.
26 Mar 2016 18:17
Popped in for a family lunch last Friday. Quiet, but not empty. Very welcoming staff and a couple of good draught beers on. We had the Pots from The Flowerpots Brewery at Cheriton and it was in fine condition. (I did comment to the barmaid that I thought it was a bit expensive at £3.80 a pint, when in my local it is £2.80, but she informed me that The Star is the cheapest pub in the area!) Having said that, it was so good, we had to have another one!
The food was excellent and good value for money. The usual 'pub menu' but with some subtle additions to make things interesting. The service was attentive but not overpowering and the two young children with us were suitably catered for.
I occasionally use this pub as a mid-way meeting point between home and our daughter's house and have always enjoyed my visits. We have always been well looked after, well fed and the beer is always up to a good standard. I hope to be able to return in the near future.
23 Feb 2016 08:07
Popped in for a family lunch last Friday. Quiet, but not empty. Very welcoming staff and a couple of good draught beers on. We had the Pots from The Flowerpots Brewery at Cheriton and it was in fine condition. (I did comment to the barmaid that I thought it was a bit expensive at £3.80 a pint, when in my local it is £2.80, but she informed me that The Star is the cheapest pub in the area!) Having said that, it was so good, we had to have another one!
The food was excellent and good value for money. The usual 'pub menu' but with some subtle additions to make thinks interesting. The service was attentive but not overpowering and the two young children with us were suitably catered for.
I occasionally use this pub as a mid-way meeting point between home and our daughter's house and have always enjoyed my visits. We have always been well looked after, well fed and the beer is always up to a good standard. I hope to be able to return in the near future.
23 Feb 2016 08:06
Popped in for the evening with the morris men. A great time was had by all. The beer was certainly on form. A reasonable selection available and at not too silly prices, even by New Forrest holiday area pub standards. Still very much a locals pub and a few regulars noticed and spoken to who have been drinking there for at least 20 years. New landlady seems to have improved both the quality of the beer and the attentiveness of the staff.
As for the food, I can't comment other than that the menu looked interesting and reasonably priced.
All in all a very pleasant evening appeared to be had by all. I was certainly 'in my cups' by the time my wife drove me home.
20 Jul 2015 10:40
Stirling 1234, whilst I don't necessarily disagree with any of your comments, they would hold more weight if you had passed comment on any other pub in the world. You say you have been in to many of them, but not bothered ever to pass comment on this web site? Strange.
15 Jun 2014 16:41
The Horse and Jockey, Curbridge
Drove past Sunday evening at 21.00hrs. No lights on. Appears to be shut (again).
16 Dec 2013 21:04
@samuelsrest. I assume you are the new landlord with a name like that. I'm sure we will find out soon if you are right.
16 Dec 2013 20:33
Gooden's Gold voted by CAMRA the best beer in Hampshire 2013 on good form as ever and the roast beef and Yorkshire pud better than on the Queen Mary 2 last week. Only my opinion of course.
10 Nov 2013 23:01
The Jolly Farmer Country Inn, Warsash
Dissapointing range of very ordinary overpriced beer. Very expensive food. Had one pint of London Pride (that I had to ask barmaid to fill to measure) didn't bother with the food. Went to my local for a decent pint at a sensible price.
8 Nov 2013 22:17
Popped in for an early evening drink last Saturday evening. The tables in the garden were heaving with people eating and drinking. Went into the bar, not too busy, plenty of polite and attentive staff on duty. Good range of local beers at sensible prices, all under £3.00. Three draft ciders on as well. Very impressive, beer was good quality and well served. I had a few. Later my wife and I had the fillet steak followed by Eton mess. No room for anymore beer then! By the time we left, it had thinned out but was just gaining speed again for the evening session.Food also lived up to expectation but the beer impressed me most. Would certainly have another evening there should I be in the area.
4 Jul 2013 18:18
The White Horse Inn, Priors Dean
Popped in for a pint at lunchtime today. Hordes of people sitting outside in the sun. Inside the pub it was pleasantly quiet and comfortable. My friends had an excellent pint of Ringwood 49er and I had an excellent Boondoggle. We had a couple of plates of cheesy chips at £4 a small bowl a bit on the pricy side! All in all though, a pleasant experience in an old comfortable pub serving a good selection of beers and tasty food. I've stopped complaining about the price of things recently as I can remember Gales putting Ordinary Bitter up from 16p to 18p a pint and everything seems expensive now!
21 Apr 2013 18:11
Visited this evening and while the beer was up to its usual high standard we decided to eat as well. Service was almost non-existant. Waited during the consumption of two pints for the "beer bread" to arrive. Starters arrived about 30 minutes later. Main coursed arrived 1 hour and 20 minutes after we placed the order. Only received half the required cutlery. Chips so covered in salt that they were virtually inedible for some of my party. Sauces had to be ordered twice. Vegetables finally arrived after main courses had been almost finished. Cleared the table ourselves after the first course and had to ask for the table to be cleared after the main course. Would have understood had the place been busy but it wasn't. People came in, ordered, ate and left while we were still waiting. I am told by locals that this is down to weekend staff. Having paid over �100 for the evening, I will seriously consider whether to eat there again at a weekend. Very disappointed after my previous comments. Luckily I usually go to a pub for its beer and not the food so I will be returning.
25 Feb 2012 22:49
So Fozzie1189, you say nothing of the beer. Is it still a pub, or just a restaurant with a bar? Perhaps another visit is called for, although last time I went in there, they didn't have a draft beer on that I wanted to drink but that's often the case with that particular brewery.
15 Feb 2012 13:01
This pub is actually in Curdridge, not Botley. It's opposite Botley Station, which is also in Curdridge. It was a good little boozer when it was a Marston's pub, but that was a few years ago.
8 May 2011 19:50
Needless to say, I notice the Morris Men won't be dancing here this year. Leave it to the wealthy locals who can afford to drink average quality beer with little taste or character at inflated prices.
19 Apr 2011 16:27
Having read the poor reviews since the new management took over, I was anticipating being severely disappointed by my visits to the Boot on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week. I can't see what all the fuss is about. The 49er was in prime condition every evening and the other beers and ciders that I saw being dispensed all appeared to be in fine condition. The pub was busy all three nights, with what appeared to be 'ordinary' local people talking and enjoying the convivial atmosphere. I spoke to a couple of locals who said of course the pub had changed but it was still the best in the area. I couldn't disagree. On the Friday night, I met the new landlord and we chatted about his thoughts and aspirations for the pub. His excuse for the failure to make the Good Beer Guide is that the pub was in the process of changing hands at the time of inspection/publication. I could certainly see no reason that The Boot should not bee included. Had I not enjoyed it, I wouldn't have returned on two consecutive nights. It will probably never recapture the etherial feeling it had as a Ringwood pub under the old brewery regime, but for good beer and pleasant company it still beats most of Weymouth hands down.
21 Mar 2011 12:50
Popped into the Fox & Hounds for a quick couple of pints before lunch. A bit quiet, although my colleauge and I were made to feel welcome by the girls behind the bar and the brewer who stopped for a chat, probably realising that we were not locals. I consumed a very pleasant couple of pints of Peter's Well which were served in excellent condition and certainly to my taste. A light coloured bitter with a hoppy, bitter finish. Although described as a sweet beer in the Good Beer Guide, I did not find it excessively so. I shall certainly return when I have more time.
5 Feb 2011 13:35
Lovely country pub with an excellent range of beers always served in top condition on the 7 or 8 times I've visited this pub over the last 2 years. Don't know why I've not posted a comment before. Probably cos I don't want any more people to know about this little gem.
9 Jan 2011 11:47
Visited this little gem last Thursday lunchtime. Very quiet and does not usualy open weekday lunchtimes. Had a pleasant pint or two of Wallops Wood and conversation with the local who had opened up in abscence of the Landlady. Dog friendley, good range of beers. Must try to get back when a few customers present.
5 Oct 2010 12:14
Makes me wonder if karenf14small and husband have ever been into an English pub before. karenf14small has never left a comment on any other pub on BITE. Look at the previous reviews for this pub, loads of them, every one praising this little gem of a typical country pub serving excellent beers. Also for a long time recently the pub was top of the BITE Top 40 Pubs in the UK. I suggest that anyone who stands at the bar in this pub will be served in (reasonable) order if they are not wandering about and obviously require serving. Get a life and learn some pub etiquette. You missed out on some exceptional beers.
30 Jul 2010 16:06
Went in again a couple of weeks back on a Thursday evening when the morris men were there. How dissapointing after my previous visit. �3.15 for a very average pint of session beer when i can get a good locally brewed premium beer for �2.60 a mile up the road. Empty, with no atmosphere other than the people outside in the garden watching the morris. Won't be back until brewery changes or it becomes a free house.
30 Jul 2010 15:50
Good local boozer. Youngsters playing pool in front bar, not so young in side bar enjoying good, sensibly priced beer. Summer Lightning & Seafarers on during my most recent visits. Friendly, welcoming landlord.
23 Jun 2010 16:02
Put off a number of times by expensive average quality beer, poor service, average food. Don't get in there much now as better pubs available in the area. Good view of local marinas. Best visited by launch. Don't bother with the pedestrian access unless you are able-bodied. As for Mike Tuckers review, is he a shareholder? He's only ever written 4 reviews on BITE and all of the Jolly Sailor. Mike you should get out more!
23 Jun 2010 15:57
As a "Southerner" who doesn't like his beer dispnsed through a swan-kneck and sparkler, I have found this to be a truly welcoming pub with an excellent selection of beers, some of which are brewed only a couple of miles away. The staff never complain when I ask them to "take the sparkler off and pour it slowly down the side of the glass". In 20 or so visits, I've never had a duff pint and always been welcomed by locals and bar staff alike. A larges paved garden out at the back with loads of car paring as well. As Barlick says, very pleasant to sit outside the front of the pub on a summer's evening. The food served out in the converted stables is good quality and sensibly priced. This pub is a gem and a home from my local in Hampshire. Thank you Wheatsheaf!
23 Jun 2010 15:42
Went to the pub a few weeks ago with a huge number of morris men who were in Hampshire for the weekend. Very dissapointed with the beer. Couldn't find anything worth drinking. I had a pint of 6X which was almost undrinkable, not quite bad enough to send back but flat & tasteless. Left after drinking about a quarter of it. Went to the other pub in the village where I had excellent beer at sensible prices.
9 Jun 2010 16:55
In a couple of times over the Easter weekend. Busy and jovial. Excellent beer. I enjoyed a few pints of Village Idiot. Wish I could have spent more time there. well worth visiting. Sausage sandwhich also very good. hope to be there again soon.
5 Apr 2010 21:44
John T. Good food review, but I thought this was meant to be a pub. what's the beer like? Last time I was in there it was average quality with tourist prices.
1 Apr 2010 15:58
Living just up the road, I haven't been in much since Marstons sold it to Greene King, however, a recent visit suggested that the current incumbents wish to turn it back into a local boozer. I think they will have a job on their hands as it has a reputation as a food pub and has lost the cosy feeling of when it was a small two-bar country pub with no food. Good luck with it. Hope you sucseed where so many have recently failed in this establishment.
23 Dec 2009 12:45
Good beer at sensible prices (for the New Forest). Shame about the locals who really don't want anyone from a few miles down the road drinking in 'their' pub. I was watching the morris men dancing there on Thursday night and on two occasions the dancers were driven through by locals in desperate need to get home in their cars. Shame.
11 Jul 2009 13:32
Popped in for a quick one after nearly 6 months absence. Still one of the best pubs in southern England along with the Wheatsheaf in Shedfield. Pleasant surroundings and a brilliant pint, always served to perfection. Wish I could visit more often.
4 Jun 2009 21:54
The pub, the beer & the company go from strength to strength. Please avoid this pub as it is becoming much too popular. Us locals want to keep it to ourselves but will always welcome visitors really.
12 Jan 2009 21:26
Went there last night to perform a Mummers Play. One customer and a barman. We didn't even bother to go in. Once one of the best pubs in the area as a Marstons house. Now not worth the bother of getting there.
23 Dec 2008 19:17
@ Mike Oxhard. How do you know which one is the landlord at the Wheatsheaf? Is he the one with the asthma, or the one with lots of other customers to serve? Most of us 'regulars' like the full range of beers available fom porter, hardly a 'summer' drink, through medium coloured mid-strngth beers to the 5% blonde bitters, that could perhaps be called 'summer ales'. Although if you actually knew anything about beer, particularly bitter beer, you would know that 'ale' is a beer brewed without hops.
6 Apr 2007 18:33
As no one else has passed comment The Wheatsheaf goes from strength to strength with excellent blues and jazz on Saturday nights. Range of beers remains impressive and the landlord says he is not miserable!!
14 Mar 2006 20:54
Superb, friendly pub with good mix of customers, good beer, friendly staff and excellent local food, specialising in game in season. A great place for a session lunchtimes or evenings if you enjoy a busy country pub.
14 Mar 2006 20:51
Once used to sell the cheapest Marston's Pedigree in Hampshire.
Now Greene King but worth a visit for picturesque front and good food.
14 Mar 2006 13:22
A small,friendly, two bar, country pub with parking in surfaced field opposite. Good selection of local beers served from stillage behind bar. Dogs on leads allowed in public bar. Children allowed in enclosed garden. Home cooked food at lunchtimes only. Unspoilt by piped music, juke box,gaming machines, pool tables and the like. This is a pub for conversation and really good beer. Traditional scrumpy cider also available.
21 Mar 2005 17:30
The Hampshire Bowman, Dundridge
Excellent friendly pub, good range of real beers changed regularly, dog freindly, food usually available, welcomes walkers & cyclists, morris dancers, mummers at xmas etc. Large garden, own camping field with minimum facilities, archery club next door.
21 Mar 2005 13:24
The Bold Forester, Soberton
Seems that my predictions of a couple of years was a bit optimistic. I understand that it's not open in the evenings after 6pm at the moment. This is only hearsay, so I'd better check it out next time i'm passing. Hope it's not true as we need all the free houses that we can get.
11 Sep 2018 11:26