The Portsbridge, Portsmouth

Official site of The Portsbridge - www.greeneking.co.uk

Official site of The Portsbridge - www.greeneking.co.uk

Most of the points are covered in Barry’s review, below. It’s a GK pub with their uninspired slop menu and limited beer choice. It has a dart board and pool table,, plus a very loud set of TV screens showing, on this visit, golf. There were several gaming machines and a jukebox, the latter being drowned out by the banal golf commentary and the equally banal wittering of the darts players. There was also a projector and screen at one end, though this wasn’t in use. The ales on were GK IPA and Abbott; the former tasted like stale lemonade so the better bet was the 4 boxes of Lilley’s cider which were a saving grace. The keg options were Fosters, San Miguel and Moretti. Not a great pub but it serves a purpose and at least it’s open.

Cosham (means "Cossa's homestead") is a town I keep ending up in, even though I don't really want to be there! I suppose you could visit the 'Hilsea Lines' over the road from the 'Bridge' which in 1756 at the start of the Seven Years War, the Board of Ordanace ordered improvement work to be carried out to the then Fort. The improvements included the building of a fortified line along the northern shore of Portsea Island.
 Large mock tudor building standing to the South of the town and North of Hilsea. inside your greeted by a large bar with the kitchens to the rear and to the right there's a pool table and to the left a comfy chesterfield sofa. The bar man knew what real was (not always the case) and seemed friendly. They were playing big band music from the 40's when I wandered in and later the 'Stone Roses' first album so that earned brownie points straight off the bat with me. This is the first pub after Highbury technical college so it's probably a students resting point. Real locals confirmed by the fact that they knew the barmen's name and there were two of them even though it was mid afternoon on a Monday. The tables were all cleared of glasses (I have a 'bee in my bonnet' about that at the moment) and the boozer was clean and tidy. A Greene King pub that follows the lines of pub grub philosophy. Food is what they like to call 'pub classic' (food from 12noon to 9pm) like British Beef & Ale Pie, Big Daddy Burger or prime steaks with a tempting topper! All reasonably priced. I sat down with a bag of peanuts (sad!) washed down with a well served pint of 'Old Speckled Hen' at £2.70. They also had the IPA on. The normal inducements for you to double up for a pound on spirits. An ATM machine if your cash runs out. Two 'silent' gaming machines. Sunday there's a Roast and a 'Killer Pool' evening (I hope nobody gets slaughtered?). Quiz night and occasional live music. A good sized beer garden at the rear and decking out the front so you can watch the traffic on Portsmouth Road and look at the Norman Foster designed IBM building which in the 1970's was cutting edge design and today is about the only building of merit in this architectural disaster of a town. Again! if you have to visit this town, do yourself a favour and visit this place rather than the 'Spoons' in town as you can get parked and has a little more of what a pub is about.

Great Pub, what a shame Bob is leaving,this pub has a great reputation for being frindly / family but all could change now. This is / was the best pub in Cosham, we will be sorry to see him go.Greenekings loss is somebody's gain.Thank you Bob , & all your staff.Please come back and see us soon.