Duke of Devonshire, Southsea

A decent, old school, apparently unchanged by time trad corner boozer.Carpeted, wood panels and wallpaper on the walls,a dart board as you would expect in such a place. Entertainment was via a radio behind the bar. Four hand pumps serving three beers which were Hobgoblin, Pride and Irving 10:45 which was a nice pint in a nice enough place to have one.

On the main street through the centre of Southsea, the Duke of Devonshire is a good, old fashioned traditional pub unburdened by the need for change. Entering through an etched glass ‘Public Bar’ door on the main road, you find yourself in the main bar area with a row of banquette seating down the right hand side and the servery over to the left. The windows have been obscured with some old fringe curtains although the fine stained glass top panes are clearly visible and dazzling on a bright sunny afternoon. A similar stained glass design lines the bar canopy above the sturdy panelled counter and plainer bar back which has been livened up by a collection of quirky green glassware. To the front left there is a darts area where a modest collection of trophies on a shelf above the board indicates the pub’s prowess over the years. Various old paintings and photos decorate the room, which has a classic combination of low wood panelling and striped wallpaper. Moving past the bar, you pass the door for the toilets, which has an old, lit Watney’s Red Barrel sign over it and a decent tiled fireplace to one side, above which hangs a large and rather handsome portrait of the pub. Passing a number of slot machines and the pub juke box, you find a small rear seating area with more banquette and low stool options and another dartboard. A door leads out to the rear garden, but having spent a scorching 90 minutes without shade at Fratton Park, I was happy to stay inside. Some decent soul and blues music was on rotation but this was offset with the irritating sound effects created by a child in the main bar playing a game on their mobile phone with the volume on full-blast. The four ales seem to be a fairly fixed line-up and comprised Fullers London Pride, Hop Back Summer Lightning, Irving Invincible and Purity Mad Goose. I thought it best to try the Invincible, it being a local brew, and I was surprised to get a correctly branded glass from the old-school landlady. The pint was a bit chewy and a slog to get through, but others ordered the same beer after me and they seemed perfectly happy with it. This is a quality old-school boozer with no pretensions and a good pubby atmosphere, in sharp contrast with some of the more modern, trendy bars a bit further along Albert Road. It’s the sort of no nonsense pub I imagine a place like Portsmouth should be full of and, despite not really taking to the beer, I’d be happy to lose a few more hours in such a comfortable setting.

A Victorian corner pub on a busy street, knocked through to form a single carpeted bar, formerly owned by Watneys, now a freehouse. It's quite an entertaining local, there are regular pub quizzes and a dartboard area adorned with many darts trophies. There was a faint hint of incense in the air, which was a nice change from some of the more pungent aromas in other nearby establishments. The staff were very friendly, the locals welcoming, and there were no idiots in. Four ales on draught: Goddard's Fuggledeedum, Irving Invincible and Pride & Purity's Mad Goose Pale Ale were all in excellent condition. A really decent local and somewhere worth visiting again for its ales especially.