Four Chesnuts, Chichester

Official site of Four Chesnuts - thefourchesnutschichester.co.uk

Official site of Four Chesnuts - thefourchesnutschichester.co.uk

Situated at the apex of a forked road junction, this is indeed ‘Chesnuts’ as opposed to ‘Chestnuts’ (one of the reasons to come to this site rather than beerintheevening as it’s spelt right). Pub came with a good rep and we found six pumps with four ales on – Ringwood Best, Ballards Mild, TT Landlord and Doom Bar. My Ballards was in fair shape and given the prices (most expensive pub of the day by my reckoning) I would hope so too! The pretty, ornate bar aside, the interior isn’t much to write home about; wood block floor, pool table, sofas, pew seating, big screen TV, which was switched off. A dart board was available and, unusually for Chichester, wasn’t blocked by furniture. Didn’t see the bar billiards table noted elsewhere. A decent pub but the expense of the beer knocks a point off for me, as the place wasn’t spectacular enough to warrant it.

Well, I had pretty high hopes of this one but, I don't know, it just didn't work for me. It's a little way out of the centre, so maybe that accounted for the lack of custom late on a summer afternoon, but I'd expected a place with such a good reputation to be rather busier. On reflection, though, maybe it was the prices: £3.55 for a pint of mild (Ballards Midhurst) seemed pretty steep even by Chichester standards. Beer quality was fine, however, and the pool players amongst the party were grateful for the lack of crowds. I think that a return visit may be called for. As I say, the Four Chesnuts is well-renowned for the range of its beer and I'd like to be there when it's busier to get a bit of atmosphere going. As a 'footnote' to Danny O'Revey's comment: the website advises 4p.m. opening on a Monday.

Closed on my visit on a Monday lunchtime, so be careful