Poole Arms, Poole

Lovely pub with bizarre green tiled frontage, cosy traditional interior

Good looking exterior covered in Green Glazed tiles, inside it is on the small side, a little modernised but still cosy, they major in Seafood here. Beers were Flack Manor Double Drop, Dartmoor Jail Ale, Exmoor Hound Dog, Ringwood Forty Niner and St Austel Proper Job, not a bad selection given the local opposition.

The oldest of the quayside pubs in Poole, this narrow piece of the Town's heritage remains one on the quaintest despite the various modernisations it has undergone over the years. The bar is part carpeted, part flagstoned, and there is a lot of timber on display, much of it cosmetic. There is a brick fireplace, anachronistic but the overall effect is pleasant and gives a cosy feel. The walls are adorned with the usual nauticalia. They offer an interesting seafood menu which is not too expensive, while there are salads available for the non-pescavores. The ambience was calm until it was shattered by the arrival of a gang of sagalouts from somewhere well North of Salisbury demanding immediate service and occupying as much of the limited space as their Zimmerframes would allow. It was tempting to wait and see how they would cope with the lavatories, which are down a narrow, slippery back alley behind the pub and only accessible by going outside. There were two ales on, both from Ringwood. I had Best and Fortyniner, both served too cold but otherwise in reasonable condition. Given its location it has done well to fight off many of the ravages of tourism, and it's somewhere I would be happy to visit for a pint anytime .

Beautiful green glazed tile exterior and an unusual little building, what with its tightly-pointed apex. The interior - a small, simple room - is entirely wood clad (apart from the carpet/flagstones on the floor!) straight out the 1950’s. Nautical ephemera including some knots in cases, ships wheel etc. The gents is outside, down a wind tunnel alleyway. Big on seafood (the menu was almost exclusively from the water) and doing a brisk trade amongst the older more genteel Poole residents; I was almost tempted to get some myself but had already decided to have a pie at the Stable instead. Two ales, Ringwood Best and Fortyniner (so-so). Quite a nice atmosphere inside, got chatting to an elderly couple on the table opposite. Not a destination drinking venue by any means but worth putting on a crawl list due to its idiosyncrasies and maybe to sample the seafood too?

An interesting looking pub with the green fully tiled frontage including a coat of arms high on the gable, inside, a single room is half carpeted, half stone flagged, the original layout of two small rooms being clearly evident. The bar is on the back wall, three on, Ringwood BB and Fortyniner plus Wickwar "Bob". Matchboarded ceiling, pew type benches around the perimeter with standard tables in fours in the middle of the floor. Panelled full height walls, décor has framed cases of knots, a ship's wheel, framed ships in sail, plus old harbour scenes. No sign of a TV, background music played. The place is run by a clearly hands on, no nonsense landlord who sees all and misses nothing, no problem with that. Food is served, seemingly an exclusively seafood and fish menu which I gather is popular, bookings not taken, first come, first served. In case you need to find, only the ladies' toilets are inside the pub, the gents are down a lane to the side, worth knowing about if you need somewhere while walking around the quay.

An unusual looking pub covered in green tiling on Poole’s popular quay front, it makes the most of it’s position with outside seating to enjoy the views. It has a somewhat more traditional feel than many of the brasher bars nearby, and was quite quiet when we visited on a recent Sunday evening, with only half a dozen other punters in. The downside of this was that the two young barmaids were so bored they appeared almost comatosed, and it took them some time to notice that a punter did want serving on occasions. A similarly lackadaisical attitude was displayed when wiping down the tables – I can’t believe she actually wiped around the beer mats rather than bothering to move them! Together with the very quiet background music, you almost felt as though you had to talk in a whisper to avoid disturbing anyone. An unusual situation for a pub. The interior is mostly wood panelled and has a slightly nautical feel reminiscent of a ship’s cabin with white wood panelling on the ceiling and an old ship’s wheel on the wall. The theme is continued with a number of old black and white photos of ships on the walls as well as a few of old Poole. The floor is old flagstones and there were flower pots on the window sills. Behind the wood panelled bar an old brick fire-place, although this has been blocked in and is now using as shelving for the bottles of spirits. Beers on tap were Fortyniner and Best from Ringwood along with Wickwar’s BOB. The solitary cider was Stowford Press.