The Bull Inn, Chichester

The Bull is a fairly unassuming pub which doesn’t really invite entry positioned dead opposite the market square. But, as others have mentioned, its focus on real ale has positioned it as one of the should-visit pubs when in Chichester. The two front door entrances both lead into the single roomed internal space with central wraparound bar. The left hand side is the smarter side and then the right side is a bit plainer and from here an entrance leads to the small covered outdoor area that connects to a meeting room at the back. As previously mentioned the interior is a bit plain but efforts have been made to add interest mainly by the sizeable pump clips and beer mat collection around the main bar and on the walls of the right hand section and the ceiling of the area to the left has been decorated with a collection of potato mashers for some reason. But the main reason to visit comes from the six ale pumps available and for my visit Darkstar Pale Ale, Arundel Sussex Gold, Gadds no 7 Pale Bitter and Seasider and Franklins Brewery’s 1066 and Grumpy Guvnor were available and all the ones we tried were very well kept. And although we didn’t try them the pub also offers a good range of local O'Hagans sausages and a sausage and pint menu is available. I enjoyed my visit here and was very comfortable to spend time enjoying the beers. But to prove that what makes a good pub is very subjective, my good lady voted this as her least favourable of all the pubs we visited in Chichester as she didn’t like the toilets or the way fag smells wafted in from the outside space and didn’t consider it particularly clean and overall a bit tacky. None of which I noticed of course as I just stared at the enormous beer mat collection mentally ticking off how many I have tried

A revitalised freehouse with a previously chequered history. Six pumps with five ales on (Hop Back GFB, Hepworth Prospect, Dark Star Over the Moon, Arundel Sussex Best and a WJ King beer I forgot to note). I tried three of the ales and was impressed by the quality – the Dark Star especially was outstanding. Some of us spoke to the guv’nor, who revealed that he doesn’t stock many strong beers as he doesn’t like them much! The place is run by the local sausage maker O’Hagan’s and their wares are available for purchase from a chiller as well as being available cooked in hot dogs etc for pub grub (wish I had sampled). There was also what I think were home-made pork scratchings, presumably theirs also. The horseshoe-shaped interior has a mish-mash of styles, some invariably leftovers from previous incarnations. The left hand side has attractive old-style wallpaper and fabric banquette seating as well as a collection of potato mashers hanging from an RSJ. A basic rear garden is accessible from the more spartan right hand side of the pub (which is where the bar and chiller are situated). Piped music is courtesy of the local radio station. Whilst the interior isn’t much to write home about, the making of this place is the ale which makes it an essential stop-off for the discerning punter. A bit more imagination with the décor would do wonders.