The Crown (JD Wetherspoon), Fareham

Official site of The Crown (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

Official site of The Crown (JD Wetherspoon) - www.jdwetherspoon.com

This Wetherspoon was, seen quite clearly when on approach, a former inn prior to its current incarnation. There’s some nice exterior tile work to take in and it’s a pretty little building surviving in what is a fairly drab town centre. Being an aged single-storey building means that the bijou interior is higgledy-piggledy and somewhat cramped due to the regulation JDW furnishings being packed in. Quite light inside and there’s a pleasant decor of burgundy and cream. Disappointingly just three cask on with a single guest of Bowman Shaft (NBSS 3). Service was swift and professional. Shame there was just the one guest ale available on a Saturday morning; poor planning or just a fact of life because of the pub’s size? 6.5

Unlike other smaller towns with two Spoons Fareham has managed to retain both of them and this smaller one was the busier of the two on my Tuesday afternoon visit. This one benefits from being an original pub and is two smallish rooms one designed for eating but nearly everyone was having something to eat. It certainly looks more like a pub than most JDWs inside and out. There are just six hand pumps which had the JDW Trio Of Doom, Hammerpot Mosaic Pale, Upham Autumn Leaves and Goddard's Fuggle Dee Dum. I went for the Hammerpot Beer (£2.45) which was in good condition. I quite like both Fareham Spoons but have a very slight preference for the more typical Lord Arthur Lee as it has more beers on.