The Rutland Arms, Southsea

Another solid looking back street boozer, pretty busy with Pompey supporters a couple of hours before kick off as you would expect. There were a quartet of ladies serving behind the bar spanning the generations so I'm guessing a family concern.Only one ale on, Waddies 6X and against my better judgment ordered a pint which after a barrel change came back murky and vinegar like, took it back and asked if they could pull it through some, replaced with a new pint and apology but unfortunately still in the same state, as the pub was busy I took the hit and left the pint behind. won't be back.

Back street boozers are a speciality of Portsmouth and Southsea and just when you think you’ve seen them all, there’s always one more to stumble across. The Rutland Arms is a great example of this, hidden away down a side street not too far from Fratton station and Fratton Park, but easily missed in the maze of backstreets that abound in this part of town. It’s a traditional two room pub with a large, bare boarded main bar to the front and a smaller, cosier room to the rear. Basic tables and chairs run along beneath the front windows, with the servery down the rear wall. The bar has a fine wood panelled counter with a mirrored bar back and impressive gantry inlaid with old pictures of Portsmouth street cars and dock scenes and topped with lots of good old-fashioned pub tat like dusty barrels, plaster models of houses and other such bric-a-brac. Elsewhere, the walls are fairly bare, with the odd bit of local interest, such as a picture showing the various football kits of Portsmouth FC down the years, breaking up the monotony. Some additional seating is available over in the left-hand side of the room although there is a second, more lovingly furnished room to the rear which might be a better bet for a comfortable place to perch yourself. The furniture and décor back here is generally more plush and homely, although the pub-feel was very much retained thanks to typical features such as the dartboard. There was a modest number of locals in on a Friday night, but they seemed friendly enough and chatted away about their team’s prospects in the cup final at Wembley the following day. There are four handpulls on the bar, although one is positioned away from the others, so make sure you scope them all out before ordering. Options on this visit were Shepherd Neame Hop County, Wadworth Horizon and Fallen Acorn Pompey Royal, with one pump unclipped. The Pompey Royal went down well and was served by one of the friendly crew of bar staff on duty that evening. I like these welcoming backstreet pubs and would have to add this to the ever-growing list of such venues I’d like to return to when I’m next in town. Although this place doesn’t perhaps have the beer range to compete with the city’s finest, the warm welcome and traditional surrounds made up for it and I’m sure I’ll be calling in again before too long.

Another backstreet corner pub in the area, and it’s a rather attractive one too with plenty of natty exterior stylings along with a Tudor-esque upper third. The interior unfortunately doesn’t live up to the challenge though and is a fairly bland affair, though the bar upper is worth a gawp as there are a large number of black and white photos of what I took to be a theme based on ‘trams in old Portsmouth’. Darts available in the rear area. Four pumps with three on; Shepherd Neame Hop County, Fallen Angel Pompey Royal (NBSS 3) and Wadworth Horizon. Felt like a decent all-rounder and a good one to know about aside the usual Pompey suspects. Also close to Fratton station for a swift escape back up the train line. 6.5

The Rutland is a U-shaped pub with a dartboard in the left rear behind the bar which supports standard and premium keg lagers and three hand pumps, one of which was unused during a recent Friday evening visit. The plasma screen was off and there was some background music playing. Out the back is a beer garden with picnic tables that lead to a raised grass covered area at the very rear. For some reason there was a strong smell of bacon, which was very pleasant!