The New Inn, Salisbury

Official site of The New Inn - thenewinnsalisbury.co.uk

Official site of The New Inn - thenewinnsalisbury.co.uk

A short walk from the cathedral, this is a nice historic pub with a striking timber frame facade and multiple room layout. The front part of the pub is a wide but shallow bar area with seating areas either side of the front door and the servery along the back wall. The left-hand side has a slightly odd layout, with mixed seating available between a series of pillars and screening walls that strongly suggest a former sub-divided layout. There’s a nice brick fireplace on the end wall which helps make the space feel quite homely. A similar, but smaller, seating area can be found over to the right, where there’s a mix of flagstone and bare board flooring, timber framed walls, a long banquette under the front windows and another brick fireplace with an unused stove in the hearth. A few corporate-style blackboards line the walls, offset by some interesting old photos, paintings and adverts. The bar has a brick and wood panel counter and a more modern looking mirrored bar back. A passage to the side of the bar leads through to the rear dining room - a sizable area with lots of tables and chairs, a couple of benches and some leather sofas, under nicely panelled walls with more of the same decor as the front bar. A door leads out to a pleasant walled beer garden with plenty of greenery, a few picnic benches and a glimpse of the cathedral spire. This is a Hall & Woodhouse pub, so disappointment is pretty much assured on the beer front, but even I wasn’t expecting to find just the one ale - Badger Fursty Ferret - whilst clips for Badger Best Bitter and Tanglefoot were reversed. The Ferret was in passable shape and served to me by a friendly enough barman. This is definitely one to visit for the attractive building rather than the beer or ambiance. It has a bit of a food-led feel thanks to the large restaurant area, although I visited at a quiet time and wasn’t so distracted by this. The front room is a nice place to relax over pint or two, but whether they have the beer to merit more than a quick visit is a matter of debate.

Running out of our allotted time in Salisbury when we came to this bar so didn't get much of a look round. There were 3 Badger beers on when I got in, but Fursty Ferret ran out leaving Tanglefoot and The Dorset Horn. Chose the Dorset Horn which was ok but not a lot of flavour.