The Old Cross, Chichester

As others have mentioned, a fantastic looking old period building with a prime location on the pedestrianized section of the main North Street which then goes on to disappoint when you walk in. At the time I didn’t realise that this place is managed by the Wetherspoon lite John Barras pub company but I should have realised what to expect by the fact that they were clearly competing for which pub could display the most England (and other nation ) flags for the world cup, and you couldn’t actually see a lot of the exterior or in through any of the Windows due to flags. And the bits that weren’t covered by flags were displaying the formulaic laminated plastic pub grub food menu’s. Inside it is actually comfortable enough and a traditional pub interior, just nothing to complement the excellent exterior. But the biggest let down was that I caught it at the wrong time as far as beers were concerned. A lunchtime visit on the eve of England’s opening World Cup encounter found only three ales going on the 2 banks of 3 pumps and as the one I chose went off as the bar maid poured it I was left with a stunning choice of Pride or Directors. When I asked why so many pumps were off I got the very informative “Dunno, but I think they’ll all be on for the game tonight”. And as I had no intention of returning here to watch it I guess I’ll never know.

The Old Cross page at the Original Pub Co site - www.originalpubco.com

The Old Cross page at the Original Pub Co site - www.originalpubco.com