The Angel & Blue Pig, Lymington

A Marstons pub, formerly a coaching inn, in the busy high street area of Lymington. Previously just the Angel, the porcine reference was added to make it more trendy. The pub is well described below. It tries to be more than it is – pretensions to gastro-status and a large cocktail menu fail to make it a London hotspot. The food is OK, not special, and the staff aren't really that experienced, although one barmaid was particularly easy on the eye. The paved garden at the back was crowded; even the two wrought iron pigs looked a bit boared with it all. Three ales on, Razorback and Blond Angel from Ringwood, plus a guest. The beers were in good condition and justified the walk up from the marina, but while I'm happy to come back for a drink or two, it wouldn't me my first choice of pub here given their inflated prices.

Blue Pig was recently added to the Angel to ‘symbolise the changes’ the owners made during their makeover. I’m none the wiser. The sprawling interior was packed with diners of all ages during a recent Tuesday evening visit. Available from the centrally located bar was a premium draught range, a cocktail menu and cask ale in the form of Ringwood Brewery’s Blue Angel and Razor Back. Two hand pumps remained unused. To the right of the bar is a bricked in burner oven with storage that gives an olde worlde feel. By the entrance is a door to the accommodation above and I spotted a plasma screen that was showing muted rolling BBC News. I do not recall there being any background music. Out the back is some café style seating in a courtyard enclosed by small local shops. I found the service to be polite in an uninterested way. I would consider eating here but I wouldn’t go here just for a beer again.

This imposing building on the High Street in Lymington has been around as an Inn since the 1300’s when it was originally known as the George and was recorded as a coaching inn in 1756, since which time it was known as the Angel. And then in early 2013 it closed for a major revamp and reopened in February under the new name of The Angel and Blue Pig to represent the fact that they had spent a bucket of money on it to make it go all Gastro and Trendy and more focussed on food. This was my first visit so cannot comment what it was like before. But at least the refurb has been done sympathetically in keeping with the age and period features of this old building and it does have a bit of character with a very nice wooden bar front, lots of period beams and large brick fireplaces remaining, although the use of pastel colours, clean parquet flooring and Chestertons dotted about is nothing we haven’t seen before. Most of the internal space is focussed on dining, but there is a decent bar area as well as a nice external patio area out back and in this respect there are three real ales available which were Ringwood Best , Blue Pig (brewed by Ringwood and I am guessing a badged 49’er) and Hobgobblin. Tried the Best, and lets say it was not the most lively pint coming from the Ringwood Brewery that I have had, probably showing where the focus lies. I did like my visit here but more for the building than the beer..

Official site of The Angel & Blue Pig - angel-lymington.com

Official site of The Angel & Blue Pig - angel-lymington.com