London Road Brew House, Southampton

After a nightmare journey to Southampton yesterday, we were relieved to finally step inside a pub. The London Road Brewhouse had a doorman who wanted to see our ID! Given we were both well above the minimum drinking age, this seemed like a strange request. Although he was trying to make sure that we weren't away fans, as it was a "family pub". Apparently away football fans in Southampton aren't family people and will create quite a disturbance if they're allowed to drink there. Needless to say, we were both away fans, but managed to get past the interrogation. The inside felt a bit like a sports bar, with TVs scattered around the different seating areas over different levels. The bar is opposite the entrance and had a couple of real ales, both their own - Bantam & Dropkick. There were also 2 handpulls clipped with Lilley's ciders (Strawberry Cider & Mango Cider), served from boxes at the end of the bar. Craft beers were being dispensed from the back wall and included Decadence, Scupper & Wild Pinkler, again all their own beers. I'm still not sure about the family bar concept. There were certainly no families present, that I could see. But this is certainly a different place, that was a bit too busy for my liking, due to the football. Nevertheless, I'd be happy to try it again when next in the area.

Official site of London Road Brew House - www.londonroadbrewhouse.com

Official site of London Road Brew House - www.londonroadbrewhouse.com

Not an overly attractive exterior but the curved frontage does catch the eye. Inside it's a large single room with a large mezzanine level accessed by a metal stairway, Its open plan and modernly attired. As the name suggests they brew their own beer here, and the tiny brew kit can be viewed through some glass partitioning just to the left of the bar, they offer tutoring tours of the micro brewery.Mixed seating throughout the large downstairs room,there is a pool table in one corner ,a few TV screens were dotted around the walls, some had cricket on while the one above the brewery area oddly had Masterchef on, all were muted while some lively music was playing at a reasonable level. At the other end of the long bar is an open pizza kitchen, the food specialty here. I didn't venture upstairs to the mezzanine area but there is apparently another bar up there. Beers on were , from their own stable Athena,Kodiak and Wild Apalla, a couple of locale beers, Red Cat Scratch and Flack Manor Double Drop, also Lilly's Elderflower Cider. I suspect this place attracts a generally younger crowd but there is also interest here for the beer buffs. I did enjoy it here more than I initially suspected and worth looking in.