The Queens Arms, Basingstoke

Still a half decent pub, six handpulls with four in use, the ever present Doom Bar, Little Eaton Gangway Gold Abbeydale Daily Bread and a pleasant Thornbridge California Sun.

Official site of The Queens Arms - www.thequeensarmspub.co.uk

Official site of The Queens Arms - www.thequeensarmspub.co.uk

This is a smart two bar pub with a fairly traditional interior, helpfully located next to the station. You enter into a carpeted main bar area with a small laminate floored splash panel around the servery, which is directly opposite the entrance. The bar has a simple counter and mirrored bar back - nothing particularly imaginative, but functional and in keeping with the pub's overall look. The room has lots of authentic looking dark wooden beams and posts, which makes the place feel much older than others I visited around town, but I have to concede that they are probably just for show. Tables and chairs fill much of this initial space and this carries on into the right-hand room, which has bare brick walls and seating arranged in a more formal layout that's suggestive of a dining room, although there was no obvious food offering available. The final seating area is tucked away behind the left side of the bar in a very brightly lit space with yet more tables and chairs under dark wooden beam crossed walls. Much of the pub has been decorated with pump clip displays, small black and white photos and various blackboards listing beer and wine options. Talking of which, the handpulls were dispensing arguably the best ale range in town, with options on this visit comprising Cross Bay EPA, Geogre's Olde Leigh Oyster and Cockle Stout, Purity Ubu and Sharps Doom Bar. A friendly guvnor poured me a good pint of the EPA, which was a suitably well-kept beer to round out my crawl of Basingstoke, and I enjoyed sipping it whilst waiting for my train and enjoying the low him of Saturday night conversation from a mostly older clientele. I wasn't really expecting all that much from a stationside pub at the end of a long day of pubbing, but I thought this was a pretty good boozer and quite comfortably my favourite of this I visited in and around the town centre. The solid ale range, good beer quality, friendly welcome and traditional feel of the interior combined well to make this a winning visit, and with its proximity to the station, I'm sure this won't be the last time I pass the time waiting for a train home in here. Date of visit - 17th February 2024

After a period in the doldrums it has returned to being a rather good and cosy locals pub. Several half-timbered-effect areas range round the central bar and it is generally warm and friendly. The display of pump clips hints at the variety of changing ales - on this visit featuring Adnams Bitter, Exeter Grubber, Brains SA and Doom Bar, with Animal XT Rhino due on next. Very handy for the station and worth calling in.