The Old House At Home, Havant

A beautiful, Tudor-style building with a two-bar layout, the Old House at Home immediately impresses from the outside. Entering into the right-hand side, you find a public bar area with a parquet floor, white tongue and groove wall panels, and a wealth of dark wood beams giving a traditional, slightly rustic feel. The room is furnished with a mix of standard tables and chairs alongside high tables and stools, while the space extends towards the rear where the tiled-floored servery sits to the left. A couple of TV screens show live football, and a few slot machines are tucked away, lending the place a lively, casual atmosphere. A wonky-looking doorway to the left leads into the smarter lounge and dining bar, where bare boards give way to carpets, and a large brick fireplace dominates the back wall. Standard tables and chairs fill the carpeted dining space, along with some attractive button-backed banquette booths under the front windows. The bar itself features a dark wood counter with rounded ends, a rustic beam above, and a modern, timber-clad bar back. While the walls are filled with traditional portraits, maps and paintings, a heavy use of corporate blackboards undermines some of the pub’s historic character. Quiet background music varied from happy hardcore to disco and piano jazz, but was kept at a low volume that didn’t detract from the experience. The cask ale range included Fullers London Pride, Glaes HSB, and Dark Star Hophead, with the latter clocking in at £4.70 a pint, although two additional pumps were unclipped. Service was friendly enough, but the barmaid really earned her keep when I somehow managed to knock about two-thirds of my pint over, most of which landed in my lap. She was very diplomatic about the whole mess I made and cleared up promptly whilst letting me go and dry my trousers under the hand dryers in the gents for the next five minutes! Despite the slight corporate feel in places, the pub retained enough character to feel welcoming and a good place to enjoy some well kept Fullers beer. The old building is well worth a spending a bit of time exploring and I'd be interested to see what the place is like at a busier time of day than my early doors visit, preferably without the additional soaking next time. Date of visit: 4th January 2025

Official site of The Old House At Home - www.oldhouseathomehavant.co.uk

Official site of The Old House At Home - www.oldhouseathomehavant.co.uk