Opened on 10th July 2009 following an uncertain period of closure, the former Jolly sailor on Clarence Parade, Southsea has now been reinvented as a modern bar with a separate restaurant and bed & breakfast accommodation. The single-roomed, minimalist bar can be found up the flight of steps from street level. The interior features pale green decoration, with a polished wooden floor. High tables and chairs flank the large windows overlooking Southsea Common and a mixture of comfortable leather sofas and stools can be found elsewhere in the room. Rather surprisingly however, is that despite the size of the pub, there is only enough seating for roughly fifty people - possibly to emphasize the uncluttered design of the building, or maybe with a view to accommodating more standing customers at busy times?

However, despite the minimalist nature of the bar, the Webmaster couldn't help feeling that this was a pub that had been hurriedly refurbished, on a small budget and with a lack of attention-to-detail. For example, the original (pre-war?) plaster work pelmet and ceiling rose in the main bar area still remains in situ. Other poor examples of workmanship could be seen on the pub walls, where shoddy plastering and patched-up old wall fittings were evident. With any luck, an evening visit to the Stranded Bar on a busy night may mean that customers won't notice such shortfalls. On the other hand, the pub would look much nicer with a selection of wall-hangings displayed around the room.

Turning our attention to the bar, the counter is of a Spartan design, with no optics behind the counter. Instead, bottles of spirits are lined up on a single shelf. The pub offers a choice of draught lagers (starting at £3 per pint for the lowest strength) and Fuller's London Pride on handpump (also £3). The ale was of acceptable, but not inspiring, quality. A choice of around twenty wines is offered, with prices ranging from £10 for a bottle of house white, through to £38 for the most expensive of the two brands of Champagne.

As well as the downstairs restaurant (not visited by the Webmaster), the pub offers bar meals throughout the day, with the emphasis on steaks and seafood. Examples from the specials board included goat's cheese salad (£7), pan fried tuna, ratatouille & pesto butter (£15) and pork burger & chips (£6).

With any luck, the Stranded Bar will prove a hit with a cross-section of the community, as well as holiday makers who can make use of the accommodation facilities. The coming months may prove crucial for the owners. Let's hope that the gamble pays off in these financially troubled times.

Located in the former Sur La Mer restaurant on Palmerston Road, Southsea, the Villiers Inn opened for business in early November 2008. The latest in a growing chain of bars owned by local entrepreneur Mike Hughes, those familiar with his trademark theme of basic pub design shall be in for a surprise when they visit this house for the first time.

Housed in a narrow premises, a clever piece of pub design means that the interior of the Villiers appears surprisingly spacious. With a well-stocked bar running along the left-hand wall, large mirrors on both sides of the room help give a light and airy feel to the place - almost a continental atmosphere prevails. The polished wood floor is supplemented by tiling around the base of the bar counter. Bar stools stand along the length of the bar counter and a row of tables and chairs can be found against the right-hand wall*. A collection of prints and old advertisements are displayed on the walls. Rotary fans are fitted to the ceiling for use in warmer weather.

Towards the rear of house, the pub splits into two levels, with a downstairs area furnished with basic but comfortable seating. Meanwhile, the upper area has tables set for those ordering food.

At the front of the bar, a spiral staircase leads to the first floor, where work is presently (Nov 08) being carried out to provide the pub with a function room and additional bar counter, where live music may be introduced at a later date.

As far as drinks are concerned, the Villiers offers a good selection of wines, beers and spirits, with friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable staff on hand to serve you. An impressive choice of six cask ales* is offered. During the Webmaster's first visit, these consisted of three Hop Back brews, plus Theakstons Old Peculier, Youngs & Wells (Courage) Directors and Bombardier - all sold at the very reasonable price of £2.40 per pint, regardless of ABV. In addition to this, the pub's Monday Club sees all pints sold for £1.75 and 250ml glasses of wine at £1 off their usual price.

Food is served throughout the day, with diners being able to choice from a comprehensive menu. All meals are made to order by experienced chefs and offer good value for money. Tuesdays' Meal Deals are particularly attractive at just £4.95.

All in all, the Villiers Inn is a most welcome addition to the central Southsea pub scene and should have a bright future ahead of it. The pub may well fill a gap in the market for discerning customers looking for a venue that offers a relaxed, cosmopolitan atmosphere in which to enjoy quality food and drink - something which is otherwise lacking in the immediate area. Highly recommended.

*NOTE: There have been some changes to the furnishings in this pub since the above article was written. The cask ale selection has since been reduced from six beers to three.

Early December 2007 saw the conversion of the former Wonkey Donkey and Black Bar on Victoria Road South, Southsea. This latest venture is the brainchild of Portsmouth entreprenuer and pub owner, Mike Hughes. His company, Wine Vaults (Portsmouth) Limited, presently owns a number of bars in the immediate area and the Fat Fox is hoped to become the flagship of the estate.

The Webmaster visited the pub on 23rd December, where Mr Hughes informed him that he hopes to establish the Fat Fox as the replacement for his former Wine Vaults pub (now owned by Fuller's) on Albert Road. The pub is divided into two distinct areas, with the bar counter in the former Wonkey Donkey part of the premises. The decor here remains much the same, with a small flight of steps leading up from the entrance doors to the long, narrow bar room. Bare boarded with off-white walls, the pub is furnished with unfussy tables and chairs, with the addition of low sofas to the rear. Upended wooden casks provide additional placement for your beer glass. Pictures of old brewery scenes are hung around the walls and a framed illustration showing the course of the River Thames can be found at the rear.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the dividing wall, in what was previously the Black Bar, there is a good amount of seating, with a stage dominating the far end of the room. Here it is planned to host regular live music events, with a good mix of musical genres and tastes catered for, from rock to blues and jazz. In addition, there is an upstairs function room which may be hired for parties and meetings.

On the bar counter, customers can choose from a range of eight real ales. At the time of the Webmaster's visit, these included three Theakstons beers, Courage Directors and three from Romsey's Hampshire Brewery. Prices ranged from £2.50 to £2.90 per pint, dependent on strength. Alongside the cask beers, drinkers have a choice of three draught lagers and two keg ciders, plus Guinness. The beers sampled were in good condition. The choice of wines is adequate, though spirit drinkers are more limited, though Talisker and Glenlivet single malt whiskies were spotted out-of-reach on a high shelf!

A good selection of quality food is on offer, with prices ranging from a very reasonable £2.95 to £7.95 and is prepared by the former head chef from the Wine Vaults on Albert Road.

The Fat Fox has much potential and will hopefully compliment Mike Hughes' present pubs and bars well. Portsmouth could certainly do with another venue for differing styles of live music, so this will be welcomed by jazz and blues fans across the city.

The former Hog's Head on Palmerston Road, Southsea has now (July 2007) been reopened by the Laurel Pub Company as part of their Slug & Lettuce chain of pubs. The internal layout of the house remains the same as its former identity, albeit with a greater emphasis on comfort. On entering the pub, a carpeted area to the left is home to a number of low-level tables and upholstered chairs, whilst the area directly adjacent to the long bar counter has a row of high tables and stools.

A large plasma screen is hung from the left-hand wall and various commissioned works of art are displayed throughout the bar, depicting local scenes such as South Parade Pier and the Southsea War Memorial. A third area, at the rear of the pub, contains further seating away from the main bar.

The bar stocks a wide range of drinks including no less than eight draught lagers. An excessive amount in anyone's book! Cask ales are Fullers London Pride and Caledonian Deuchars IPA. Additionally, a choice of continental bottled beers are available, along with a good range of spirits and a comprehensive wine list.

A varied menu offers a good choice of sandwiches, starters, salads and main courses at reasonable prices, served throughout the day.

Piped music is played at low level through a network of speakers, though the volume may well be increased on busy nights.

The Slug & Lettuce is a perfectly good replacement for the tired decor of the Hog's Head and is likely to prove popular with drinkers and diners alike.

Reopened on 26th June 2009 at the reported cost of £500,000, this new JD Wetherspoon acquisition has seen the former White Swan reborn as a traditional, but modern, public house. The exterior of the house has been given a thorough facelift and now sports a smart black, white and gold livery to compliment the ground floor stonework. The purists may be slightly disappointed at the decision to paint the carved wood caryatids that flank the three original entrances from Guildhall Walk, but this is work that can always be reversed in future, if necessary. What we should be grateful for is Wetherspoons willingness to take on the pub, when many across town have seen closure of late. When you bear in mind that the company already owns two other houses within a five minute walk, it's all the more remarkable!

On entering the pub for the first time, one feature that is immediately apparent is the pair of large, modern paintings that
hang on the right-hand wall. A pillared, island bar counter stands in the centre of the single, almost square, bar room. The
walls of the pub are half wood paneled with the remainder being tastefully wallpapered. A boldly patterned carpet covers
most of the floor space, with the exception being the area surrounding the bar counter, which is polished wood. A small number of ornately-framed mirrors adorn the walls of the pub, along with picture frames containing photographs and potted
biographies of former famous residents of Portsmouth, such as Peter Sellars, George Meredith and Rudyard Kipling.

Furnishings consist of traditional tables and upholstered chairs, complimented by a number of high-backed settles along the south wall. The single room is divided into three or four distinct seating areas, with the more intimate of these being found on the north side of the pub. Two or three plasma television screens show Sky News and there is a choice of gaming machines to be found. Both of these features are silent (with the televisions being subtitled). Low level music is piped throughout the pub, though the Webmaster suspects that the volume is increased throughout the evenings, judging by the size of the loudspeakers.

As far as drink is concerned, the pub offers the usual, comprehensive range that can be found in all Wetherspoon outlets. Four real ales are served from two banks of handpumps. During the Webmaster's visit, these were Marstons Pedigree, Greene King Ruddles Best and both Hole Hearted and Donkey's Delight from the local Oakleaf brewery. Guest ales cost an excellent £1.89 per pint. Food is available all day and, due to the compact nature of the pub, is served from a 'dumb waiter' behind the bar counter, where a computerized system informs bar staff when each order is being sent for serving.

One small criticism is that the surly-looking duty manager appeared to do her best to ignore the Webmaster whilst I was
waiting to be served. By contrast, the barmaid, 'Rebecca' was very pleasant, acknowledging the fact that she knew I was
waiting and soon after serving me in a polite and friendly manner. The manager could learn a thing or two from her.

In summing up, this is certainly one of JDW's best local pubs - helped by the fact that its small size gives it much more of a proper pub feel, rather than their larger houses which tend to more resemble soulless airport bars. Well done to Wetherspoon for saving this historic pub.

Following a short period of closure throughout the spring for refurbishment, Old Portsmouth's famous old harbourside inn, the Still & West Country House, reopened its doors to the public in May 2007. Soon after, the Webmaster paid a visit to the pub to view the changes for himself.

On entering the building, the most obvious difference was, in fact, the lack of much change at all! I was pleasantly surprised that both the layout and much of the decoration remained intact, in particular the maritime murals that can be found on the ceiling of the downstairs bar. Mostly boarded, the floor also now includes a synthetic flagstoned area around the entrance from the patio area. A large leather sofa now sits centre-stage in the main bar area, with the remainder of the tables and chairs being of the more traditional style. Piped music is played through a new network of loudspeakers dotted around the room. The range of drinks is fairly standard as before, with the real ales being Discovery, London Pride (£2.70), HSB (£2.80) and ESB. Meanwhile, upstairs can be found a second bar area, divided into three or four distinct areas, where both diners and non-diners are welcome. A small bar counter stocking a variety of wines, plus three ales is found to the left as you enter. A fireplace, already stocked with coal, stands opposite on the north wall. However, it is the conservatory that is the best feature, providing unrivalled views across the harbour mouth to Gosport, out into the Solent and northward towards Portsdown Hill.

In summing up, this is a sympathetic and subtle refit by Fuller's which thankfully leaves the pub with much the same character as before. It was unfortunate however, that on the evening of my visit, both ales that I sampled required changing. The beer engines also appear to be poorly calibrated, needing multiple pulls to dispense even half a pint!