The Portsmouth Arms Danebury Road Hatch Warren Basingstoke
01256 334036
A Hall and Woodhouse Brewery situated off Danebury Road and next to Hatch Warren playing fields. Built on the land owned by Lord Portsmouth and managed by Paul and his excellent team, here's a glimpse into what to expect incase you are around this vicinity and fancy a cold pint of Tanglefoot.
*** How To Get There and Opening Hours *******
Relatively easy. Situated just off the M3 on either junction 6 or 7. Danebury Road is sign posted and just off Cliddesden Lane. If approaching from junction 6 then after 395 yards take the 2nd exit off the roundabout into A339. ( Basingstoke ). Continue straight up to the Black Dam roundabout and then take the first exit off. At the next roundabout, also take the first exit off into Hackwood Road, continue straight. Turn right into B3046 (Farleigh Road. Turn right onto Woods Lane, keep going straight. After 68 yards take the 1st Exit off the roundabout onto Cliddesden Lane. Turn right onto Hatch Warren Lane and the entrance for the pub is on the right hand side as you approach. There are no signposts for the pub itself but on approach you cannot miss it. For those driving down and that have a Sat Nav system inside the vehicle, then type in the postcode RG22 4RA. The pub is 2.9 miles from Basingstoke station and the bus service runs every 10 minutes with a drop off point outside. Look for Stage Coach bus no 1 or 5. The pub is open 7 days a week and from 7am till midnight. Open over Christmas and New Year and all bank holidays.
**** First Impressions ******
This is a fairly new pub set in a quiet location although still close to town . Desperately trying to take on the characteristics of a "ye olde inn" with its thatched roof and fake wooden beams. The exterior pale yellow walls are clean and graffiti free. There are two main entrance doors at the front, on the left is the family section and the right takes you into the smoker's area. Though children are allowed in this part, I do not recommend it. Even less space than the lower end and quite often floating in a cloud of nicotine. This section tends to attract the "louder" and more youthful customer.
Once inside the pub is quite dark but the candles on each table add to the ambience and as soon as your eyes adjust, it's actually quite relaxing. With its dark wooden surrounds and tiled floor, the interiour is maintained to a high standard. However, the tables are situated very close together and when the pub is busy, it can be quite claustrophobic.
*** Getting Served *****
The bar is divided into two sections, one part for food ordering and the other is just for drinks. You cannot order your food and drink together which is very frustrating, but you can set up a tab which is free, rather than paying twice over for food and then your drinks. Just remember to settle your bill before you leave the premises.
You need a table number before you order food and make sure that someone is sitting there whilst ordering. On busy lunch times, I have seen other customers create a fuss before they have sat down at what they presumed was an empty table, only to be told they have to move as food is being delivered there.
Menu's are on every table but the bar food is much cheaper. Desserts are also on the menu and on the chalkboards situated around the family section of the pub.
You can pay by credit card or debit card but cash back is no longer available using debit cards. Electron cards are not accepted. As there is no cash point inside, the nearest point from the pub is the BP garage (turn left from the pub and continue straight, heading back towards junction 6) or Sainsburys (turn right and just off junction 7 near Kempshot round about).
The cutlery is placed near the till and you must help yourself, it will not be brought out to you. Sauces used to be at the till as well but now the wicker basket has disappeared and you have to ask for mayo, vinegar or ketchup. Not sure why the pub has done this, perhaps they are tightening the budget and not being so frugal with the Heinz packets of ketchup. I preferred having the sauces to help yourself as it seems the staff do not appear to thrilled to keep returning back to your table.
*** Food , Glorious Food ****
The menu for the bar food is on the black board right in front of the entrance on the left. This menu hardly ever changes and consists of sandwiches, baguettes or jacket potatoes. This might sound boring but is the quite the opposite. The way the food is presented and the amount you receive is very good value for what you pay.
A sandwich consists of thick slices of wholemeal bread, filled to bursting point with whichever option you choose, with a side salad and crisps. All for £3.95. The white baguette is around 10 inches long and has the filling on the top, with curly fries and salad, all priced at £3.95 again. Then my favourite is the jacket potato, which is £4.95. A varied selection of fillings included but my personal best is the very fattening double cheese, mushroom and bacon. The potatoes are sliced and the cheese just oozes between each section, salad is also served just to make you feel a bit healthy. In the summer the potatoes seem to shrink in size, so don't expect such a good portion but you will get more salad in its place.
If you are ordering a dessert from the chalkboard, I recommend paying and ordering for the bar meal and dessert at the same time if the pub is busy. If you eat your main meal and then order again, you could be waiting up to a further half an hour for your next course. Once again, I must recommend the chocolate and orange sponge pudding with ice cream. You can also have cream or custard but as the pudding is served hot, its more delicious with melted vanilla ice cream over the top. There is a rich sauce on the top, which has a tendency to dribble down onto your t-shirt, be careful if you order this! Desserts vary from around £3.75 to £3.95.
The main menu has the normal starter, main meal and dessert. Just under £5 for a starter, we usually don't bother as this puts an added expense onto your bill. However, if you do give in to temptation, I recommend the mushroom bruschetta.
This is delicious starter of chestnut mushrooms, sautéed with garlic and spring onions, covered in a rich cheddar sauce. As an accompaniment you receive a slice of tomato and herb bread. I am not so keen on the bread but the mushrooms are very appetizing. With a choice of 8 starters ranging from soup of the day to roast vegetable and goats cheese tart, I am sure there is something to suit all palettes.
For the main meal, there are 23 dishes to choose from with the cheapest dish starting at £6.45 (honey roast ham and egg served with real ale chutney) to £11.95 for 12 oz rump steak at £11.95. This is cooked to order and all meals have a choice of potatoes and vegetables. Sauces for steak are an additional £1.50.
I recommend the warm chicken and bacon salad at £7.95. Marinated in honey and olive oil. Not too heavy , bit like a glorified Caesar salad but quite tasty.
A popular dish at the pub appears to be steak and tanglefoot pie at £7.99. Oven baked to perfection with a short crust pastry topping. Tanglefoot is one of the host ales but as I do not eat steak or drink ale , I cannot comment on this meal, but most of the feedback I hear is positive so you could be onto a winner here.
Other dishes include sweet chicken tortilla with chilli (£8.25), shank of lamb (£10.50), scampi (£7.95) and roast herb salmon (£8.95).
Side orders are a bowl of chips, side salad, garlic bread, onion rings, curly fries and garlic bread with cheese, all priced at £1.75. The chips are a good size and my children enjoy tucking into a bowl occasionally.
Last but not least the deserts. There are 9 offerings of which I am sure you will find something to your liking. All under £5 and a good size portion too. I hate to admit I have worked my way through most of these apart from the profiteroles. This does not look like a substantial pudding to me so I tend to go for forest fruits meringue with ice cream, apple syrup and sponge pudding with custard or rhubarb crumble.
There is a selection of hot drinks at under £3. Tea is £1.25 however. Forget the calories and have a hot chocolate, but make sure the foam doesn't end up on your nose and the sprinkles do not re home themselves in the corner of your mouth.
*** Children's Meals ****
There is a small selection of children's meals all served with chips but at £3.99 each and no toy, the children are far from excited to be eating here. Drinks are also extra. The pub likes to encourage customers to buy an adult meal but at "small appetite" prices for children. To be honest at just a couple of pounds less than an adult meal but a much smaller size, I refuse to pay this. My children enjoy jacket potatoes so will have one each, this with a drink costs £6. This I feel is far better value for money.
*** Cheers ******
With all this food, a drink is in order I feel. Far too many for me list. There is a good selection of wines, ranging from £10 upwards for a bottle to just under £3 for a glass. Champagne will cost you £24.95.
Unfortunately I am not one to sit in the corner with a gin and slim line tonic nibbling on a packet of honey roasted. I like a pint of lager and I am not ashamed to admit it. On a hot day, a chilled to perfection pint of Stella Artois glides down the throat superbly. Stella has increased quite rapidly in price and is now £2.95 a pint, quite a rip off to the consumer as you can buy a pack of 12 for £10 in the local supermarket. I begrudge paying such extortionate prices so try to limit our visits. Local ales are Badger and Tanglefoot.
Most sprits and mixers are £2.50 as is a large diet coke. Children's drinks are charged at normal rate , i.e. lemonade, J20 etc. However if you purchase the Five Alive cordial which comes in a handy plastic sports bottle, that's £2. My children refuse to drink this as it's not chilled, just straight off the shelf. A round of drinks with three children and two adults costs just under £20 a time, not a cheap afternoon out by the time you leave.
*** Toilets and Baby Changing *****
There are two toilets, one block in the smoker's section near the fruit machine and the other in the family end, near to the garden. Both are clean and tidy apart from late Saturday night when it appears the ladies seem to have trouble judging where the pan is. The disabled toilet and baby-changing unit is also by the family section but you need to get a key to gain access. Ask behind the bar if you need this facility.
*** Disabled Access ****
From what I can see there are no special provisions in force but wheelchair users should be able to manoeuvre quite easily inside. I wouldn't recommend coming here on busy nights such as Friday, Saturday and Sunday as the lack of space is quite claustrophobic. Also the floor becomes very slippery with customers spilling pints so be careful on the tiles. Weather permitting aim to sit outside in the garden as it's all on one level anyway.
*** Parking****
Ample parking and free to use. Approach slowly as the gravel drive is a nightmare and your vehicle will loose grip and spin if you drive too fast. Surrounded by hedges, be careful when leaving late at night as this area is quite dark and isolated.
*** Playground and Garden ****
A very large and well-maintained garden, with fencing all round to keep the little ones in but still out of the bushes. Various wooden bench seats scattered about with parasols. These are not weighted down and could take off in windy conditions, which we found out on one occasion. None of us could rescue it for laughing at the time but if it had hit a fellow customer then maybe not so funny after all.
The children have a play area with a large wooden climbing frame, slide and a swing. It resembles a fortress and the children play here for hours. There is a sawdust bedding for safety but this does get inside trainers and sandals, so be prepared for a pile on your carpet when you reach home.
*** Dogs ***
Dogs are welcomed in the garden and there is an outside tap and plastic bowl for water for your canine friend. Dogs must remain on leads though and any mess cleared.
** Entertainment **
Apart from a bit of piped background music, there is none, you make your own. On Sunday evenings they have a quiz night and on New Years Eve they have a DJ
I feel this is something they really need to improve on. However due to the close proximity of the housing estate and lack of space inside the pub I cannot see how this could be introduced without adding an extension to the pub. . More emphasis is placed on dining than providing entertainment for a night.
If you enjoy modern music then take a tip from me and sit near the kitchens. When the door is opened there is great selection of songs coming from inside.
** To Conclude ****
Though rather expensive especially if you have a large family, The Portsmouth Arms is a good local pub with good quality food and ales. I use the pub because it is local to me but personally I wouldn't travel miles out of my way just to come here If you are passing through, then it is ideal for a drink and a bite to eat.
Both in the winter and summer, on Saturday and Sunday nights inside the pub are incredibly busy and I avoid it at all costs if I have the children with me. The garden becomes full quite quickly in the summer evenings so it's best to get there before 4 pm if you want a seat. With its very friendly atmosphere, it has to be one of the best pubs in the Hatch Warren area, just don't over do it with the alcohol, your wallet will regret it in the morning. There is no website attached to the pub. However if you go to www.beerintheevening.com, there is a link on here and some further reviews from customers. Also on www.activityforum.co.uk/clubs there is a social club notice for the pub.
