The George, Fordingbridge

Official site of The George - www.georgeatfordingbridge.co.uk

Official site of The George - www.georgeatfordingbridge.co.uk

The layout and structure is still much as described by Steve below, though things have changed a bit since his review. The main door at the side is easily missed, particularly as you can’t park anywhere nearby, so until you’re close enough to see the sign for the door it isn’t even clear that it’s open. Dogs are now welcome at the pub, and there’s even a sign proclaiming this as something wonderful and encouraging them in, resulting in a surplus of designer doglets, mongrels with ‘-oodle’ or ‘schitz-’ in their descriptor, all useless, badly dressed and poorly socialised. Much like some of their owners. Most of the latter were loud, unfunny opinionated grockles, and there seemed to be very few locals in. The dominant aroma was stale chip fat and gravy. On the plus side, the terrace by the river was a very nice place to sit and enjoy the sunshine, and this area has been left unspoiled. Two pumps on the bar, but only one ale on, Old Speckled Hen, which was unexciting. Also on were Guinness, Carling and Inch’s Cider. All the drinks were overpriced for the area. The young female staff were functional but not particularly engaging. This feels like a wasted pub, given its location and history, but it’s OK for a quick drink if you happen to be in Fordingbridge and don’t intend to go anywhere. There are better pubs in the village, though.

This once-excellent pub has gone downhill where food is concerned. It was under the control of a relief manager. The beer (Morland) was good, but the barman seemed incapable of pulling a pint without a substantial head on it. We had the meal-and-a-pint-for-a-tenner deal. I ordered my steak "blue", my wife ordered hers "medium-rare" -- they arrived identically cooked: rare. My wife sent hers back; it returned well done. While we were eating, someone from another table complained that their food had not all arrived. The manager and waitress were offhand with her and made sniping comments about "awkward customers". Then the bill: it was wrong and, unsurprisingly, the error (which the manager blamed on the till!) was not in our favour.