The Willow Tree, Winchester

Just out side the City centre and a bit hidden, this one is worth finding. It's right on Itchen and you can sit in the beer garden and watch the river. This was my 'local' for a number of years and I've spent many happy hours in this place. A classic boozer. Pub teams (cricket, pool, cribbage, football). Pool table in main bar and the Lounge is set up for the food which is great! The beer is Greene King and it's always served to perfection. Take the time to walk the few minutes out of the City centre, you won't be disappointed. http://www.winchesterwillow.co.uk/

This is in the 2009 Good Pub Guide, so I had high expectations. Unfortunately it didn't live up to them. The beers were a fairly uninspiring Wadworth's 6X, Speckled Hen and Greene King IPA "extra chilled", whatever that is. On top of that the only cider was Strongbow. There's a decent sized bar area with a pool table, and a lounge bar more geared towards eating by the look of it. We arrived at 10:30 at night, and all the tables had place mats on even though they obviously weren't doing food at that time of night. I find that rather off-putting when I've only popped in for a pint. The landlord gave the impression that he wasn't really that interested in serving us. The lounge has obviously been done out fairly recently, but with it's red painted walls, cream leather bench seating and high backed brown leather chairs, it somehow feels more like a Chinese restaurant than a pub. Finally we were asked to leave bang on 11:00 as the pub was closing. It's a little off the beaten track from the town centre, and not worth making the detour for.