Lord John Russell, Southsea

Official site of Lord John Russell - www.lordjohnrussellportsmouth.co.uk

Official site of Lord John Russell - www.lordjohnrussellportsmouth.co.uk

Reverted to its original name, this old pub has been rather gutted inside and trendified towards a younger clientele. There are various sofas and assorted furniture arranged on the stone tiled floor, with large arty graphics on the walls. Patio garden at the rear. On handpump were Ubu Purity, Doom Bar, a couple of guests and a cider.

A Victorian town pub trying to be cool and not quite managing it. The décor has the feel of a student canteen, the Eastern European staff appear uninterested and unfriendly, though the majority of the customers were reasonably normal. The single large knocked-through bar has flag flooring, not original and a bit out of place in this building. There was a mixture of comfy chairs, Chesterfields and dining tables, though vertical drinking was discouraged. The décor was a mix of student chic, the really naff (such as the wooden DJ booth poorly disguised as a bureau cabinet with old box speakers) and some wonderfully decorative ormolu features on the cast-iron columns which replaced the original walls. The 1980s background music completely failed to be ironic and was just out-of-place. There was food available, mostly of the elaborate burger variety. Two ales on offer – Brains's Stereophonics Phonics, which tasted a little like dry rot, and Directors, which just tasted off. Not somewhere I would visit that often as it feels too studenty.