Pubs in Portsmouth

Compass Rose

Anchorage Road, Portsmouth PO3 5UH

Baffins Inn

127 Tangier Road, Portsmouth PO3 6PD

This large Art Deco style community local was built in 1937 for Portsea's Brickwood's brewery and faces the picturesque Baffins Pond. Now owned by Suffolk brewer Greene King, the pub is split into three main areas. The main entrance leads to a central bar area which is flanked by a dining area to the right and a second drinking area to the left which gives access to a covered patio. It also has a pool table, jukebox and dart board as well as gaming machines and television, on which sporting events are shown. The pub is lit by a number of small, ornate chandeliers. A sunday quiz is hosted and there is a patio area at the front of the pub, overlooking Baffins Pond and a covered smoking area on the west side of the building.

Farmhouse

Burrfields Road, Portsmouth PO3 5HH

Constructed in the 1980s, the Farmhouse is owned by Suffolk brewer Greene King and is now part of its Hungry Horse chain of eateries. The interior is divided into two distinct areas, with the left-hand side of the building designated a family area. Here can be found a large carpeted room, divided into various seating areas and containing a number of booths, with upholstered settles and traditioning tables and chairs. An ATM is available (withdrawal charges apply). Televisions are positioned around the pub and are used to screen Sky Sports events. A second area to the right, accessed via a pair of double doors, is reserved for over eighteens only. Furnishings here are similar to those found elsewhere in the pub and include a number of high tables and chairs. Two pool tables are located to the far right and more gaming machines and televisions are provided. The pub hosts karaoke on Friday evenings. There is a covered patio area at the front of the pub and plenty of car parking is available. The pub is connected at the rear to an Innlodge hotel.

Great Salterns Mansion

Eastern Road, Portsmouth PO3 6QB

This large pub and diner bordering Portsea Island's eastern shore occupies one floor of the Grade II listed Great Salterns House - a late-Georgian mansion dating from 1820 and the former club house of the adjacent golf course. Primarily an eaterie, the pub also has a less formal area (to the left) for those wishing to visit just for a drink. Here can be found a half-boarded room, carpeted and decorated in a prodominantly light brown and cream colour scheme and furnished with a variety of upholstered bench seats and high tables and chairs. Further to the rear stands the bar counter and a second room containing a large open fire, which is put to good use during the winter months. Displays of framed still life artworks and old black and white photographs of Portsmouth are hung on the walls. The rooms to the right of the entrance lobby are given over to diners and these connect at the rear of the building to the bar area described above. Doors to the rear give access to a lawned area of picnic tables, with a raised deck providing panoramic views across Langstone Harbour. A large car park is located at the front of the house.

Jolly Taxpayer

2 Eastbourne Road, Portsmouth PO3 6LN

An A E Cogswell designed pub dating from 1914, the Jolly Taxpayer reopened in 1929 following extensive alterations by architect J Walmisley. Hidden away in a residential area and therefore making it one of Portsmouth's least-known pubs, this former Brickwood's house is very much a locals' local. Now a genuine free house, the pub still retains its original public bar and smaller lounge, both of which are wood panelled throughout. Remarkably, the pub's original 'bottle and jug' off-sales counter is still intact, complete with separate entrance, where people young and old still pop in for drinks, tobacco and even sweets! The large public bar is carpeted and traditionally furnished and contains no less than three dart boards - one of the front of house and two to the rear, where a pool table can also be found. Two large brick open fires face one another from either ends of the room. A large television is mounted on the chimney breast at the front of the bar, on which Sky Sports events are shown. The walls are decorated with autographed, framed, football shirts. The comfortable lounge bar is accessed via a separate entrance and is pleasantly furnished with a mixture of banquettes, traditional tables and chairs and bar stools. A piano can also be found here. A beer garden is located at the rear of the pub.

British Queen

18 Queens Road, Portsmouth PO2 7NA

Dating from 1896 this street corner local stands among the densely populated Victorian terraces of Buckland. The pub consists of one main bar room, with a pool and television room to the rear. A separate family room (available for private hire) is accessed via a door at the end of the bar counter in the main room. Furnishings consist of bench seating around the periphery of the main room, plus upholstered chairs. Notable features are the original stained glass upper windows on both the north and west elevations. Live music is hosted at weekends. There is an secluded beer garden for use in warmer weather.

Druids Arms

11 Binsteed Road, Portsmouth PO2 7PH

This Victorian corner pub has retained the same name since opening in the late 19th century. Now a Fuller's house, the Druids now sports an immaculately-kept, bare-boarded, L-shaped public bar, with a dart board, trophy display, gaming machines, jukebox and a large television on which Sky Sports is regularly shown. To the rear is a pleasantly-furnished lounge area, with the walls being decorated with a miscellany of framed prints. The high-backed, wooden settles are a notable feature of the pub and are possibly unique in Portsmouth. The former lounge bar has since been converted into a separate pool room, complete with upholstered perches on the dividing wall. An interesting series of framed artworks depicting aerial views of English football stadia are displayed here. The room has its own small bar servery.

George & Dragon

137 Kingston Road, Portsmouth PO2 7EB

This pub dates from 1925 and was built for Brickwood's Brewery. Its striking half-timbered style with ornate glazed brickwork and mosaic tiling makes it one of the most recognisable buildings on Kingston Road. The interior of the pub has now been knocked into one large, roughly L-shaped, bar room, smartly decorated and divided into three distinct areas. The room in which the bar counter is located has a varnished floor and is furnished mostly with high tables and stools. There is a dart board and games machine to be found here. To the right of the bar counter can be found a comfortable, carpeted lounge, with an original fireplace containing a wood burner. A large mirror hangs on the chimney breast and a flat-panel television is mounted directly above. A large number of small, framed modern art prints adorn the walls, together with a series of larger, black and white photographic artworks. A second dart board is located in the lounge. To the rear of the pub is a games area containing two pool tables. This leads to a secluded west-facing patio garden. Occasional live music is hosted, including open mic sessions on every second Sunday. Sunday roasts served noon-4pm (other meals subject to availability).

Winchester Arms

99 Winchester Road, Portsmouth PO2 7PS

The "Winch" is a proper backstreet local, offering one regular beer and two or three varying guests. Ciders are available during the Summer. Every third Sunday evening of the month is "open-mic" night with music & comedy, and there is live music on the other Sundays, or Saturdays (once a month). A beer festival is held over the spring bank holiday weekend. The garden has a covered smoking shelter. It may stay open until midnight Friday/Saturday if busy.

Harvest Home

106 Copnor Road, Portsmouth PO3 5AN

The Harvest Home has existed on this site since at least the middle of the 19th century and is remarkable in that it has retained the same name throughout its life. Dominated by loyal customers from the surrounding terraced streets, the Harvest Home is a basic community local, with live music or karaoke offered each weekend. Darts is played and there is also a jukebox and gaming machines. BT Sports is shown on television. A meat raffle is held at 4pm on Sundays. The pub has an original fireplace located at one end of the room. A series of black and white prints of Hollywood film stars and American entertainers is displayed above the bar counter (and in the games area) and there is also a small number of brass plaques, appearing to commemorate former regulars who have departed to the great pub in the sky. A heated patio area can be found on the south side of the pub, along with a small car park - and there is an additional small garden at the rear. Cask ale may not always be available - however there is a small choice of bottled ales in the fridge.

Mermaid

222 New Road, Portsmouth PO2 7RW

Designed by A E Cogswell and built in 1900 for the Pike Spicer brewery on what was once Mermaid Field (Mermaid being a corruption of the words mere mead - a water meadow), this pub features an ornate cast-iron canopy over the entrance doors. Inside, the layout of the pub is remarkably unchanged, with a large public bar at the front, and a smaller, more intimate, lounge bar to the rear. Both have recently been given a sympathetic refurbishment, which has thankfully done nothing to compromise the integrity of the pub's interior. The public bar is well appointed, with darts, pool, a jukebox and television on offer. A meat raffle is held each weekend. A number of sporting trophies are displayed around the pub. In the lounge bar stands a bar billiands table as well as a second dart board. Outside is a sizeable, secluded beer garden.

Stag

183 New Road, Portsmouth PO2 7QU

This attractive, landmark cornerhouse was built as an hotel in 1892 to a design by respected pub architect A H Bone. The building features a large carving of a stag at roof level. Now sporting a large, single bar room, in an elongated U-Shape, the interior features some striking glazed tile work in what was once the public bar, as well as in the entrance porch. The house is bare-boarded and features scrubbed tables and traditional seating. At the far end of the bar counter, in the former saloon bar, can be found bar billiards and pool tables. A dart board is located at the front of the pub. A small patio area is located at the rear.