Hole in the Wall, Southsea

The Hole in the wall is a very cosy pub with seating to the left of the entrance and a couple of steps up to a small bar area to the left and seating down the right wall. The bar counter supports five hand pumps and a range of craft beers. On the back bar there are an additional two gravity fed pulls for two more cask ales. Tucked away behind the bar is a table in a secluded snug. The ceiling is covered with old pump clips, probably the most I have ever seen. Food is available Tuesday to Saturday from 17:00 until 20:00 and additionally from midday until 14:00 on Fridays. My recent Friday afternoon visit was between services, so I didn’t see a menu, but I did note the O’Hagans sausage and mash was advertised for £6.49. There are no televisions and it would be difficult to have live music in here, but there is a weekly quiz from 21:00 every Thursday. This is certainly a pub to include for any beer lovers visiting the area.

Very traditional-looking side-street alehouse with a compact, slightly split-level interior: a square seating area by the door and the bar and further seating up a couple of steps. Five handpumps, including three from Marble and Flower Pots Bitter (£3.30) and another on gravity from a cask at the back of the bar. Very good.

Probably my pub of the day on our recent Pubs Galore crawl of Pompey and surrounds. A fine privately-owned free house that focusses on providing a rotating list of well-kept real ales, as the impressive collection of pump clips covering the ceiling indicates. A traditional internal décor that has been very well done to give the impression of age with good use of vintage period wallpaper and painting style, especially in the very small separate space hidden behind the small bar area. The pumps had three from Marble (Stout , Manchester Bitter and Lagonda IPA, the latter running out before I could make it to the front of the queue), Flower Pot Bitter and Mourne Mountains Clan Rye and then Gooden’s Gold was on stillage from two barrels at the back of the serving area. I went for the Marble Stout which was in excellent nick Different twist on pub snacks with the small traditional sweet shop offerings (the idea of the owners children apparently) and with the offer of four pint jugs of any real ale for £12 between 5 and 9 PM this is definitely a place for group conversation over a beer.