The Goat & Tricycle, Bournemouth

This iconic GBG regular is already well described by JB below. I would add only that also has free wifi and offers food which is reasonably priced. There is currently a drive to appeal to the Office Party Set, but I put this down to a seasonal whim rather than a fundamental disadvantage, and it does appear to have gained a gaming machine or two. On this visit I found the staff charming, pleasant and helpful, the other customers civilised and amicable and the food good. There were 8 ales on, while the remaining two pumps had their labels turned round. The 8 included 4 from Wadworth and two from GK. I plumped for a guest, York Brewery's Yorkshire Terrier which was an outstanding pint, perfect in every respect. This is in many ways an excellent town pub and one to which I shall certainly return

Very disappointing first visit, aged 56 and asked to leave as I had my 17 year old, coke drinking, son with me. Whilst I respect the publican's decision on whom he serves, to be asked to leave, after being served, hurts. I will not be returning even when my son is 18! Message to publican – You should clearly advertise that adults under 18 are not welcome, even if with aged parents.

Excellent place combined from two adjacent buildings (both former pubs) of very different architectural styles. Various seating areas around a 'U'-shaped bar. Traditional furniture and decor, with background music at a sensible level. Ten handpumps altogether, with five beers from Wadworth plus guest such as Thwaites Nutty Black (£3.50). Well worth seeking out.

Slightly to the west of the town centre, in an area of Bournemouth known as The Triangle, is The Goat and Tricycle, a pub that, most noticeably from the outside, was once two separate pubs. Externally, the former pub on the left has a fine green tiled exterior with frosted glass whereas the right hand pub has a more ordinary and unremarkable look. The right hand part – formerly The Pembroke Shades – houses the bar counter. The interior has a darkish woody feel with wood panelling dominating. There’s some padded bench seating. A couple of high settles and wooden screens effectively break up part of the area into separate drinking booths. Note the fine collection of walking sticks on the ceiling. By the door area is a large picture depicting the eponymous goat riding a tricycle. Up several steps towards the rear of the room is the entrance to the former Pembroke Arms. Here there’s several sofas and long wooden tables, ideally suited for large groups. Here, a display unit has a collection of brass plates that have probably come from disused canal buildings / locks. A separate area at the front of the pub has a pool table and a TV screen. There’s a few old photographs of Bournemouth but, rather disappointingly, there’s no photographs or memorabilia relating to the two former separate pubs. There’s a partly covered paved courtyard for outside drinking. It’s on the real ale front that the pub scores highly and, seemingly with much justification, it proudly promotes itself as “Bournemouth’s Best Real Ale Pub” and “Bournemouth’s hidden gem”. It’s a Wadworths house with 11 pumps and evidently an adventurous guest beer policy. On my recent early Friday evening visit, 6 Wadworths beers were on – Henry’s IPA, 6X, Farmers Glory, Horizon, Bishops Tipple and Strong in the Arm. Guests included Castle Rock Elsie Mo’s, Butcombe Bitter and Jennings Cocker Hoop. Both the Farmers Glory and the Henry’s IPA were on good form, the former notably being advertised on posters as being only £ 2.85p throughout the month of August. The pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular and has won numerous awards, as evidenced by the framed certificates on display. Although situated in an area of Bournemouth close to many hotels and guest houses, pleasingly, the large number of hen and stag parties that I saw staggering around during the evening didn’t seem to find their way to this pub. It seems to be generally accepted that Bournemouth is a poor town for real ale pubs and the relatively low number of Bournemouth pubs listed in the annual CAMRA Good Beer Guide over the years, when compared with, say, Poole or Brighton, would appear to bear this out. Bournemouth has only four pubs listed – one of which, The Royal Oak in Kinson, is about three miles out of town. You should definitely make the effort to seek this one out when in Bournemouth – don’t let the daft name put you off

The Goat & Tricycle was originally 2 pubs (the Pembroke Arms and the Pembroke Shades), both of which I gather suffered from a less than glowing reputation and were eventually closed down before being knocked together and emerging under its unique, if slightly bizarre, new name. The two buildings are still very apparent both internally and externally with the main bar situated in what was the Pembroke Shades. The furnishings are quite basic with a long bench down one side and a couple of high back settles.. Behind the bar is a large Wadworths mirror and hanging from the ceiling, a collection of walking sticks. Through the arch at the rear and up a couple of steps you will find yourself in what was the Pembroke Arms. This has a loungey area with a couple of sofas and a front section housing a pool table and TV’s. A large display unit houses various jugs, urns and willow pattern plates and there are several old photos of town dotted about. Other nick nacks include canal themed brass plates, calling bells and fireman’s helmets. A side exit leads to the an outside patio with some covered seating. Although the pub is a Wadworths tie, it is pretty much the flagship place in town for ale drinkers with 11 ales available that include 5 or 6 from Wadworths with the remainder a good selection of guests although the choice was a bit disappointing on my visit with several of the guest ales mirroring those that were concurrently available in the ‘Spoons Festival. A large blackboard in the main bar lists all the available ales. On the food front there were burgers priced between £5 and £7 with other main courses around £8 to £10. It was fairly quiet during my visit (a late Friday afternoon) and lacking a bit in atmosphere with a bit of bland but unobtrusive background music being virtually the sole distraction from silence. The barmaid‘s continuous cleaning and polishing the pumps ritual was quite impressive and it is always good to see staff who show a bit of pride in their place of work. The G&T is a fine, but not unique, example of how a struggling pub (or in this case 2 pubs) can be turned around into an award winning enterprise and full credit is due to all concerned at the transformation. In a town that is hardly glowing with quality pubs, it certainly stands out head and shoulders above the competition.

This is probably Bournemouth's best pub in terms of serving a decent range of beer and certainly the best bet for a decent pint at this end of town. The interior is dominated by dark wood flooring and wall panels, with some rather bright, pink wallpaper offsetting it in places. The entrance takes you into a medium sized room with the bar along the left hand side and some padded bench seating opposite. Beyond the end of the bar there is a doorway to a second room which has some standard seating as well as a large leather sofa. There is a large shelving unit here filled with various pots, plates, jugs and books, which seems to fit in nicely and helps create quite a homely feel in this area. A TV screen is mounted above the sofa and this was showing the cup final to a small number of punters when I recently visited. An archway leads you back towards the front of the pub where there is a rather smart pool room. A simple beer patio can be accessed from the rear room. This is a Wadworth house, so their beers took up the majority of the handpumps with 6X, Henry's IPA, Horizon, Strong in the Arm and Bishop's Tipple all on alongside guests in the shape of Brewster's Hop a Doodle Do (£3.35), Wooden Hand Cornish Mutiny, Bakehouse Bakers Dozen and Rudgate Ruby Mild. The beer is generally kept very well and the guest policy ensures good choice if you're fed up with the Wadworth brews. Food is also available with main meals around the £9 mark and baguettes or jacket potatoes at a fiver. Bournemouth is a terrible town for finding good beer (unless you like Ringwood Best or Wetherspoons), so the Goat stands out as being by far the best ale pub in the town centre. Given the dominance of drinking barns throughout the rest of the town, it's well worth setting yourself up for a long evening in here, as you're unlikely to do better anywhere else.