THE WHITE HART - Hambledon Road, Denmead

Updated 9/9/18

After a Summer hiatus, we decided to start things off with a refresh and revisit mission. The chosen target was The White Hart in Denmead.

There is plenty of parking here, and plenty of outdoor seating in a pleasant pub garden. However for this trip, we decided to take a table indoors. We sidled up to the bar, all casual like, and procured some cold, fizzy drinks. The word that popped in to my head to describe the service was abrupt. Not bad, but certainly not warm and welcoming.

The specials board was advertising meals for just £6. This would generally leave us feeling slightly wary, but we have eaten here plenty of times, and had expectations of good quality food. Dad jumped straight in to said specials board, going for the bubble and squeak with sausage and gravy. Yes it did say sausage, not sausages. This spurred my Dad to enquire as to the number of sausages to expect. Turns out it was two, but it's always worth checking. For my part, I went for something a bit different. The apricot and goats cheese nut roast with vegetables.

Let us briefly touch on the pub fundamentals before the food arrives. The temperature was good, the music was present and of an acceptable volume, we have already touched on the service, and the pub itself is a good size and a generally nice place to be. Now back to the food.

Let's begin with the meal from the specials board. It was exactly as advertised, plus one sausage. The bubble and squeak took the form of a cake, and was joined by some gravy. We now enter the grey zone of pub food. It's hard to argue with anything when you are getting a feed for £6, but the two sausages and a squeaky cake, just looked a bit lonely, like something was missing. It was all tasty enough, but we thought that a spoon full of vegetables would have eased it out of the grey zone and in to bargain land. My nut roast was pretty good, but then I do love anything with goats cheese on it. I also had a nice selection of vegetables including carrots, parsnips and leeks. If you like your carrots well cooked, these ones may have bothered you, being on the just about done side of the vegetable spectrum. Much like Dad's meal, I thought the addition of a few little potatoes would have rounded off the plate nicely.

We do like this pub, both in the Summer eating outside season, and the Winter cosy pub months. The food is undoubtedly good, and you can't grumble about a £6 menu. We just thought a few added items to certain plates would make a big difference. And as is always going to be the case, warm and friendly service is the least you should expect when paying to eat and or drink in a pub. On the whole, we have found this to be a reliable pub, serving above average food, and we weren't put off returning at a later date.

Atmosphere 8

Service                 5

Food           7.5

Value          7.5

Verdict                 4*

 

Previous review.

My Dad couldn't come out to play this week, so I was joined by able deputy, my brother Tom. The sun was out so I thought it would be nice to get out in to the country. To the best of my knowledge I have been to all the pubs in Denmead, but haven't reviewed any of them yet, so we aimed for The White Hart and set forth.

I remember this pub being refurbished several years back, but unlike allot of pubs I've been to after a "Refurb", this one made a significant difference. It's beautifully done out, managing to fuse country pub with contemporary class. I also know the food has always been pretty good and it has a beer garden.

We followed the usual routine of drinks, menus, find a seat, in this case outside, we were even given a little basket containing cutlery, condiments and a wooden spoon. The first thing to say about the menu at The White Hart, is that it is the best sounding menu I've seen for a while. You have your pub standards, but there are also more unique meals on offer, including good vegetarian options, I was tempted by the vegetable and stilton crumble. One thing on the menu interested me above all else, they have started selling freshly made pizza's. Me and Dad have often discussed why more pubs have never got in to pizza. Everyone loves them and the mark up is huge.

When it came to ordering, me and Tom were finding it tricky to choose, so I made a suggestion which broke the first rule of manly food etiquette, we shared. I was curious to find out how good their pizza was, but I'm always up for as many different things as I can fit on one plate, two if necessary. We finally decided on BBQ chicken pizza with added pineapple and sweet corn, and a chicken burger with chips, salad and coleslaw. When the food arrived we got very excited. The menu didn't specify the size of the pizza, but we had no need to worry. The portions were good. When it came to splitting, it was easier than we had anticipated. The pizza was already sliced, and the burger was made up of two chicken breasts. My brother simply cut the ample bun in half and then there were two.

As I said, I remember the food being pretty good here, but this was right up there with the best. The pizza was brilliant, loads of topping and plenty of cheese. Now I know this may upset some people, but I think Domino's are rubbish, absolutely crap. The King of Domino should take a trip to The White Hart and see what a pizza should be like. You might not be able to get it delivered, but it's nearly half the price and a hundred times better. I'd rather pay £9 and go out for a quality pizza than pay £16 to get a crap one delivered.

The burger was also impressive in taste and stature. A big old bun held two chicken breasts, both cheesed up, garnished with lettuce and onion, we were both delighted to note no tomato. At first glance, we thought the prices may have been one or two pounds over the odds, but after seeing the quality and size of the food they may be well within the margins. Most of the mains seemed to be just under £11, although the pizza's were between £8 and £9, very reasonable indeed.

This pub is a real jewel in the Denmead countryside. A beautiful looking pub serving top quality food. A nice place for a few drinks or for a good meal. The White Hart has shot up in my estimation and I won't hesitate to put it up there with the best pubs I've visited.

Atmosphere  9

Service        8

Food            9

Value           8

Verdict:         5*

THE ROBIN HOOD - 6 Homewell, Havant

In our search for uncharted territory, me and Dad headed to The Robin hood in Havant. It is literally a stone's throw from one of our top pubs, "The Old House at Home". The Robin hood has recently be taken over by Fuller's, and I'd seen some reviews which sounded quite promising.

As is the norm, we got some drinks in and procured some menu's. We were also pointed in the direction of a specials board, this week it actually was a specials board. After going through said board and menu, I must confess we were feeling a little underwhelmed. The menu read much like a menu would have read in a pub 15 years ago, "something and chips". On the up side, the prices were mobydiculously low, £5 or £6 for a main. I opted for battered chicken with sweet chilli sauce, while Dad went for ham, egg and chips.

The Robin hood is a proper old-fashioned local pub, it even says inside, "The only real pub in Havant". There's nothing wrong with that, most of the people in there seemed to know each other which made for a friendly atmosphere. Perhaps the menu reflects what the clientele want in this pub. I don't imagine grilled sea bass would go down too well with the old chaps perched round the bar.

Our food appeared promptly enough, complete with salad garnish. Now this is where I find myself in a slightly awkward situation. The food here is never going to blow your mind or change the world, but it is fine for what it is. We could find no fault with what we had, and for the price it's a bargain. We've been to several pubs like this, where you can get decent food at a very good price, but they aren't good enough to make it on to our top pub list. Today's trip to The Robin hood has however planted a seed in my noodle. I am thinking of adding a new page to the site, a cheap and cheerful page. A place to add those pubs that aren't top quality, and indeed aren't trying to be so. It's handy to know a few places where you can feed yourself for a few quid, it's got to be better than going to McDonald's.

Atmosphere  7

Service        6

Food           6

Value          9

Verdict      3*

THE MARMION - 20 Marmion Road, Southsea.

We have been conscious for some time that we hadn't really covered enough of the pubs in Portsmouth/Southsea, so thought it was time we put that right. When I first looked at some of the pubs in this area "The Marmion" was rated top on Trip advisor, though I am reliably informed by my dear father that it has since slipped several places.

After making use of the nearby Waitrose car park we took the short walk which was necessary to appropriate the purchase of food from this pub that neither of us had previously experienced. It is what I like to call modern rustic, or modstic. Lots of wood, but clean and dare I say a bit trendy.

We found a nice table in the corner and settled down with some cold diet cokes to examine the menu. After last week's shock with the prices, I was keen to find out the average cost of a main. Thankfully and properly, you can get yourself a main here for just under £10, exactly what it should cost. Firstly we went through the specials board on the wall, then we went through the printed menu. It didn't take long to realise they were the same. Turns out it probably wasn't a specials board, just a menu board. Both menus sounded good, with something for everyone and a few dishes which sounded more interesting than your average pub fodder.

I was tempted by several things, but decided to settle on the chicken burger. I know that sounds like a bit of an unimaginative option, but it read well on the menu. It involved red onion, dill pickle and some kind of posh tomato sauce, all in a toasted brioche bun. It also came with chunky hand cut chips and I had a good feeling about it. Dad had fish and chips, same chips, different animal.

We were served promptly at our table and handed our cutlery before being asked the obligatory, "Would you like any sauces with that?", turns out we didn't. Our food was delivered after precisely the right amount of time, right in the Goldilocks bracket. My chips came in their own little dish as is the habit of modern gastro pubs, but I felt my plate would have benefited from some kind of token salad. If not to make the plate look nicer, then to give you something extra, to get past burger and chips. Having said that, my burger was wonderful. It was a good sized bun which normally means a small burger inside that doesn't fit, a burger which is out of its depth. Not this burger. This burger was as big as the bun and the afore mentioned garnishes put it in to my top 5 burgers of all time. Technically it wasn't a burger, it was chicken breast. The chips were good and very obviously homemade, though Dad felt they could have been a touch crispier and I think I agree. I suppose it comes down to personal preference, but we do both like a chip to be crispy and there's no shame in that. It turns out Dad wasn't quite as impressed with his choice. He wasn't too excited about his peas and suspects the fish may not have long been out the freezer. I'm not entirely against using frozen fish, but if not thawed completely there can be too much water involved which ruins the texture and can be detrimental to the crispy factor of the batter. Also when you're a stone's throw from the ocean.....

So in conclusion and after much deliberation, we can say this is a good pub. It is trying to do things properly, and aren't chancing it with their pricing. I think they're almost there, and as with most pubs, it can depend on what you order. My burger was very good indeed but Dad's fish wasn't so good. I think with the abundance of traditional pubs, cafe's and restaurants in the area, The Marmian is to be applauded for being a proper pub which does proper food.

Atmosphere  8

Service        7

Food            7

Value           7

Verdict        3.5*

THE HURDLES - Station Road, Droxford

This week I asked my Dad to point the car at Droxford and go forward. He thought it would be a better idea to stick to the roads. I was interested in The Hurdles, as it has recently had a refurb and hired an award winning chef, information gleaned from their own website.

We were joined on our trip by George Magee who was ready and willing to give his own input for this review.

We were blessed with a day of sunshine, so thought it right and proper to take a table outside. We did venture inside briefly to collect menus and drinks, and at a quick glance things didn't look too different, although I don't remember there being much wrong with the interior last time we visited.

George's first contribution was to point out that the table and chairs weren't especially clean. We were also joined at the table by a mostly dead pot of oregano, not great for first impressions.

The real shock however was to come with the opening of said menus. The average price for a meal was £14 - £15, in our opinion too much for a pub, especially at lunch time. This wasn't just extravagant fodder, it included fish and chips, sausage and mash and steak and kidney pie. Coincidentally, these were the three things we ordered. I was going to have something else, but was told that was the one thing they didn't have, a bit of a shock considering there were only two other people there and it was only just gone 12.

Never the less, I made a quick change to the fish and chips. It came with homemade tartar sauce and minted peas, but more unusual was the fish element. It wasn't cod or haddock, but both. Two small fillets, one of each. I'm not sure quite what the point of that is. I consider myself to have pretty expansive taistbuds, but cod and haddock don't taste different enough to warrant having both on the same plate.

That said, it was very good. Hand cut, thick style chips and well made fish. BUT, I have had fish and chips which were as good or better in other pubs which cost half the price. Fish and chips is a meal which can never be worth £14.

Dad was happy with his pie, it was a proper pie, not one of those pretend ones which only has pastry on the top. It came with Colcannon mash, (Mash with cabbage in it), but it also came with cabbage on the side, a bit of an oversight me thinks, or an overcabbage.

At first George thought his sausage and mash was quite good, but his enthusiasm waned as he ate. The mash was lacking in flavour and the sausages weren't the best he'd ever had. A bit disappointing for a £12 lunch. I seem to recall that this was the cheapest main on the menu.

We struggled a bit when discussing our review on this one. The food is good and I would never put anyone off going here, and if we'd sat inside without the slightly unclean table and chairs and dead herbs, we may have felt slightly different. But without doubt, the issue is the costing. we believe that a pub meal shouldn't generally cost much more than £10 unless it is exceptional and faultless. I just can't see any way of justifying prices like that, certainly not at lunchtime, when many pubs and restaurants will offer cheaper alternatives. As I said, we wouldn't put you off going, just be prepared for a substantial hit when the bill comes.

Atmosphere  7

Service        7

Food           8

Value          5

Verdict       3.5*