The Old Granary, Wareham

Official site of The Old Granary - www.theoldgranarywareham.co.uk

Official site of The Old Granary - www.theoldgranarywareham.co.uk

A Hall and Woodhouse pub adjacent to the market place with views out across the river at the back. PSM describes it well below. The staff continue to be both pleasant and easy on the eye, but some of the passing tourist trade – particularly the coach loads of entitled baby-boomers – were excessively loud and annoying, making unnecessary demands on the overworked barmaids, not understanding that they are really not the 'gran' in Granary. Three ales on draft plus the full range of Badger beers in bottles. I had a pint of Glorious Game, which was OK but not in the best condition. A decent enough place for lunch, worth including in a crawl or dropping in for a quick pint, but not somewhere I'd spend a whole evening.

This large building on the banks of the River Frome, was converted, as the name suggests, from an old grain warehouse, initially becoming a tea house before becoming a pub and hotel. The place currently operates more as a restaurant than a pub, although it is still possible to visit just for a drink. You enter into a small front room, with just about enough space for four tables in what turned out to be the dog-friendly part of the premises. It's a nice space, with some large black and white photos of the pub through the years on the walls and good views out to the river. We ended up sitting in here when we visited for Sunday lunch and I thought it was a nice spot to enjoy a meal, although it did mean that I didn't get to fully explore the rest of the pub. Moving through from here, you enter the main bar area, with two serveries on opposite sides of the room - one for booze and the other for coffee. Both have curved bar counters and the coffee bar is worth a look for the huge Italian coffee machine that really was a sight to behold. The seating in here is minimal, but I imagine this is where drinkers would be expected to stay, especially during peak dining hours. From here you can access the riverside patio area - clearly the best spot to bag on a warm day with peerless views over what is a very picturesque setting. A door to the left of the bar leads you down a corridor, from which a number of snugs with limited numbers of tables can be accessed, all of which seem set up for diners. More old photos of the Quay area over the years appear through the rest of the pub and if I remember correctly, there is another bar in one area down this end of the building. There is also access to the hotel rooms. Three Badger beers were available in this Hall and Woodhouse pub - Tanglefoot, First Call and Glorious Game. I was driving, so I didn't try any, but the Glorious Game got the thumbs up from my companions and the very friendly waiting staff were quick to replace the one bad pint that made it to our table. I found the service to be a real plus point here, with staff working hard to accommodate the needs of a remarkably fussy bunch of customers who weren't happy with the table they'd been given. This really is more of a restaurant than a pub and therefore scores lower as a result. The plus points are obviously the location, which is really difficult to better, the service which was top notch and the decent quality of the beer. - it's just a shame there's not really anywhere you can settle down to enjoy it without having to buy food as well. Wareham has some great proper pubs, so I'd suggest that a visit to this place is only really merited if you intend to eat as well.