Belgium & Blues, Southampton

Belgian themed place, with the main bar downstairs in the basement though there are a small amount of tables on the ground floor entrance. No WiFi here which is a bit rubbish given that you can’t pick up a mobile signal. Decor is fine if somewhat by-the-book - exposed brick, battleship grey walls, tin signs. GBG listed with three cask pumps. Your correspondent did the 'when in Rome' manoeuvre and went for a genuine Belgian draft which was good and sensibly priced. In another weird jarring element, the Bob Marley background music was out of sync with the vibe the venue is trying to create. Oddity – well-worth a nose for something unusual but as a venue I was ambivalent. 6.5

This is a Belgian-oriented basement bar. To be honest, I found the the UK craft keg to be more interesting than the mostly easy-to-find imports, featuring the likes of Burning Sky, Vibrant Forest and Three Hills. There's a few ciders out of boxes, plus 4 cask ales, all from smaller breweries - my choice being a locale-qualifying Session IPA from Vibrant Forest. Southampton isn't the best city for beer by any means, but this is a worthwhile port in or out of a storm.