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Beer of the Week (w/e 26th April 2026) with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Rai d'Or, Salisbury
Salisbury
SP1 2AS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Tris C left this review about The Rai d'Or
Grade II-listed and dating in some form to the 13th century, the Rai d’Or (Golden Ray) claims to have the oldest history of any Salisbury pub; it also has a CAMRA Historic Interior rating of *.
Drinking is permitted to the central and left-hand area, but if customers so wish, the right-hand side is essentially a dedicated Thai restaurant, which explains the Siamese carvings. Otherwise, there’s a log burning stove, low ceilinged and atmospheric with a few unnecessary modern nods.
There were two cask options, with Great Uncle John’s Bootleg Beer and Downton Elder Quad, £2.40 a half and good.
Worth a look, but not a special trip.
On 15th April 2026
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2324 recommendations about 2267 pubs]
Strongers . left this review about The Rai d'Or
The Rai d'Or is an L-shaped pub and Thai restaurant where just drinkers are more than welcome. The three hand pumps were drawing Frome Brewery’s Great Uncle John’s Bootleg Beer Session IPA, Downton Brewery’s Elder Quad Session Pale and Sandford Orchards Devon Red Cider. The Downton and cider were on good form and served by a friendly member of staff. I enjoyed this visit, but this is one of the furthest pubs from the railway station in central Salisbury so I don’t think I’ll be walking out here again, but it was worth a visit to have a look.
On 2nd April 2026
- rating: 6
[User has posted 6626 recommendations about 6588 pubs]
Steve of N21 left this review about The Rai d'Or
This is a 5.00pm opener on the five days it is open (closed on Sunday and Monday) so our crawl of Salisbury had to plan our arrival just after five, something we miraculously achieved.
I too had my expectations set that this was really a Thai restaurant, but on approach the exterior branding very much still stated a free house providing local ales. And once inside it still retains a traditional pub feel, just one with a decent Thai food menu at typical Pub Thai price levels rather than those in a posh restaurant.
The bar supports two hand pumps and for our visit they were dispensing Frome Brewery Great Uncle John’s Bootleg Beer Session IPA and Downton Brewery Elder Quad Floral Session Quad. I went for the latter and it was quite pleasant and clearly the correct choice when reading fellow crawler Wills report below.
This pub was the local CAMRA Group Town Pub of the Year in 2018, and has had 19 consecutive years in the GBG, so the local CAMRA group clearly appreciate the pubs dedication to providing local brews, but like others I’m not convinced I would forsake some of the other City Centre pubs to walk to this one next time.
On 1st April 2026
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2340 recommendations about 2186 pubs]
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Rai d'Or
This one was a surprise to me, expecting (and getting) a Thai restaurant, but one that also operates as a bar (albeit with limited seating) serving cask ale in the form of Downton ElderQuad floral session pale and Great Uncle John's Bootleg Beer from Frome (£2.40, half). As it was still quiet, some of our group managed to sit in the dining area with permission from the polite hosts.
On 30th March 2026
- rating: 6
[User has posted 9119 recommendations about 9119 pubs]
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Rai d'Or
Street corner building but more restaurant than pub although it retains a counter,an open fireplace and a pub layout with seating areas either side of the front door.Tables had menus on them and towards the rear tables are laid for service but the friendly staff are fine if you just want to stop for a beer.The two handpumps were drawing Frome Bootleg Beer and Downton Elder Quad ,a floral session pale that I enjoyed,NBSS 3.5 while a third handpump was serving a Sandford cider.
I'm not sure there is enough here for a revisit,the menu was short but interesting however which maybe the pubs raison d'etre.
On 29th March 2026
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3154 recommendations about 3154 pubs]
Will Larter left this review about The Rai d'Or
I think the staff here were unprepared for an influx of middle aged beer drinkers, towards the end of our Salisbury crawl. This feels like more of a restaurant than a pub, but we did our best to tip it the other way for half an hour or so. To be fair, they were very welcoming once the initial shock had subsided. Sadly, my half of Frome Bootleg was not among the better beers of the day (NBSS 2.5, £4.70/pint). Maybe it was the first one out of the pumps?
On 28th March 2026
- rating: 6
[User has posted 4733 recommendations about 4337 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Rai d'Or
One of the more unusual perennial Good Beer Guide entries - it's a Thai restaurant but you can, if you want, just drink (and we propped up the bar due to a lack of free tables). The Oriental ladies behind the bar won’t bat an eyelid if you just want a pint and there’s no hard sell on the food. There were two cask ales on; Downton Apple Blossom and Wickwar BOB (fair shape) and at £3.50pp, a bit of a steal by Salisbury’s usual standards. There was also a pump for Wessex cider. The interior is a small L shaped affair with restrained Oriental stylings, with wooden trellises acting as room dividers and numerous potted plants along with windowsills. Inevitably, the air hangs heavy with Oriental cooking smells, which may put some off. It’s an intriguing enigma – well-worth popping in on your inaugural crawl round Salisbury (note the limited opening hours – doors at 5), though whether you’d want to settle in for a session is a moot point. Hard to score without eating any of the grub, seeing as that’s an intrinsic part of the experience. But as a purely vertical drinking experience it isn’t (and can’t be) all that.
On 1st April 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 6004 recommendations about 5984 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Rai d'Or
We popped in for a quick beer, just on opening. There was a very pleasant aroma of Thai spices on our arrival, I have to say. We ordered two beers, one from Red Cat Brewing Prowler Pale and Downton Mad Hare. Both beers were in good shape and we sat at the bar chatting to the Thai lady owner, who was very friendly. Maybe next time, we'd stay for a meal, as this looked to be a proper authentic Thai restaurant.
On 22nd May 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3745 recommendations about 3745 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Jonathan Wilde left this review about The Rai d'Or
After reading a history paper of the pub since 1292 it's seemingly been a brothel for a few hundred years which sadly as man could say is a disappointment now.
As mentioned the food I the pub has taken a Thai diversion but thankfully it remains a pub in essence and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit today especially after talking to the landlord who seems fairly fluent in Thai.
Overall a pleasant historic pub in Salisbury despite having to diversify slightly.
On 27th April 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 372 recommendations about 353 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Rai d'Or
A small L-shaped boarded room with the bar on the inside corner, this place is a fusion of pub and Thai restaurant. At busy times (the food is excellent and popular), priority seating is for diners so drinkers may need to prop up the bar which may not be popular with some. It is a historic building with an interesting past, at one time a brothel, an inglenook fireplace remains although nowadays housing a wood burning stove. Décor is mixed, a painting of a castle over a chimney breast, a mural of Stonehenge as well as Thai figures and carvings on wooden trellises which act as room dividers. There is foliage aplenty with every inch of window cill being utilised for plant pots.
An advantage of the foody angle is that all the seating is of the regular type, no silly high tables or sofas in here.
I ate here as planned on my recent Salisbury trip, the food certainly doesn't disappoint and the service is friendly, warm and efficient. The beer choice is none too shabby either, Downton Chimera Dry, Summer Slogger and Stonehenge Eye Opener. I tried the last two, both were in fine fettle and complement the chilli hit of the food well. To one side of the bar a few pump clips advise on which beer is coming soon.
I like it here a great deal, I have been in previously just for a drink without any issues however it is probably wise to avoid peak food time if in search of a quiet pint. Opens 5pm Monday to Thursday.
On 2nd August 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1711 recommendations about 1684 pubs]