A blog about craft beer, food and drink, pubs and restaurants, life in Hampshire and outdoor lifestyle
It’s handy that we can now pick up bottled and canned real ale almost anywhere – supermarkets, corner shops, even some cafes an tea rooms now stock it.
However, while there are some nice bottle-conditioned ales out there, drinking real ale from bottles and cans doesn’t really do it for me. I much prefer it how it fresh, straight from the cask or keg.… Read more
Find out how I got on exploring six of Portsmouth and Southsea’s craft beer bars and real ale pubs on a mini Portsmouth pub crawl.
I’ve been raving about Southampton’s craft beer and real ale scene for a while. And with good reason.
What about it’s south-coast neighbour, Portsmouth? Its football club has faced a decline in recent years – has Southampton left it behind in the beer stakes too?… Read more
Some people say Southampton has too many burger restaurants. I disagree, obviously.
The latest burger joint to open in Southampton is Vospers, over in Centenary Quay (aka Woolston Waterside).
Vospers is run by the same team that set up the Mettricks chain of coffee houses in the city. Most Sotonians will know that it’s named after Vosper Thornycroft, a company that built and maintained ships on this site until 2003.… Read more
See what I thought of our visit to the Bean Below cafe in Twyford near Winchester for brunch.
For a little village, Twyford’s got everything you need – a great pub (The Phoenix), river walks (Twyford Meads and Berry Meadow), a well-stocked shop (Twyford Stores) and, er, a clock maker (Hampshire Clock Works).
There’s also a cafe called Bean Below nestled under the shop.… Read more
We can all agree that Monday is the “cheekiest” night of the week to go out, yeah?
Good, because it felt pretty damn cheeky heading out on a rare Monday night outing earlier this week. I even got extra cheeky points because it was my first day back at work after a week off.
Unfortunately, some of those extra cheeky points disappeared when we walked past Nando’s to go to another of Whiteley’s restaurants, Bar and Block.… Read more
Find out what I thought about our Saturday lunchtime visit to the historic Chesil Rectory restaurant in Winchester to sample to lunchtime set menu.
Many couples have a few debts to pay off when they get married. Few end up paying back their wedding bills with a home.
This happened to Henry VIII’s daughter Mary after she married King Philip of Spain in 1554.… Read more
