Chaplin's & The Cellar Bar, Boscombe, Bournemouth

Chaplin's is another pub that appears to have gone downhill since the pandemic. The last time I was here (in 2015), there were 5 real ales on. These days, it is just the 1. This was Vibrant Forest Pupa, its handpull found in the cellar bar. Ciders however have increased in number, with 4 on - Dorset Sunshine Festival Sunshine & Strawberry Sunshine & Lilley's Man-Ghoooul Cider & Lemon & Lime Cider. Craft beers were Barefaced Most IPA & What's Shakin', Tiny Rebel Electric Boogaloo & Jubel Peach. There are essentially 3 different areas to Chaplin's. The ground floor bar is small, has it own bar and was hosting a folk music singer on our Tuesday evening visit. At the rear, there is a very pretty garden area, with stairs leading down to the Cellar Bar, which is not open during the daytime. The Cellar Bar is where the ale and cider can be found. There was also a jukebox which was belting out an array of music from Radiohead to Lily Allen. Despite the lack of real ale choice and also the continued annoyance of plastic glases being used, we enjoyed a minor session in here, only being thrown out by the bouncers at 1am closing. With Boscombe's branch of Wetherspoon's (the Sir Percy Florence Shelley) now closed, this is pretty much the only decent place for a drink locally.

Well described below by PSM and Roger, this cafe bar and beer cellar combo is very popular with the local CAMRA branch. Upstairs is very Bohemian with a twist of the 1920s complete with black and white silent films, while downstairs is more Vaudeville with its stage and potentially rowdy atmosphere. The beer on the cafe was Dorset's Chaplins (which I think was a re-badged Jurassic Coast), while downstairs had Horns's Mayor of Garrett, Clarkshaw's Strange Brew and Irving Admiral on draft, plus Yeovil's Lynx Wildcat and Cottage's Trafalgar on gravity. The beers were in excellent condition, but one thing that let's the place down is the officious attitude of the staff, whom we found to be less than welcoming. Although it's the best bet in Boscombe, and although the beer is very good, I do feel it's a bit over-rated by E Dorset CAMRA. That said, I'd be delighted to to come back any time I'm in the area and I'd definitely include in a crawl.

Official site of Chaplin's & The Cellar Bar - www.chaplins-bar.co.uk

Official site of Chaplin's & The Cellar Bar - www.chaplins-bar.co.uk

First impression of the pub is two bouncers that clearly did not want to be there. They were miserable and rude. Inside the pub on ground floor the bar was good, the bartenders brilliant and the atmosphere is lovely. There is not enough seats and only one toilet. Downstairs is dark, drierry, hot and smelly. However the live music both up and downstairs is fantastic. only confusion I have is when a band was told to not perform covers as they have no PRS license however they have a DJ, duke box and an ordinary CD player. I will not be returning as drinks expensive and the first and last impression by the bouncers was not great. Would not recommend.

Boscombe, like most of Bournemouth, is far from the best place to attempt to find decent beer, but in the Cellar Bar, the area has a pretty good alternative to the nearby Wetherspoons. The ground floor area is a restaurant with its own bar which apparently has a wider whiskey selection than the main bar downstairs, but otherwise seemed superfluous to our needs, so we headed down the staircase into the nicely apportioned basement bar. The room is bare boarded and divided into two distinct areas, with the bar along the left hand wall across from the attractive staircase, and a seating area towards the rear of the room. The place has muted lighting and the walls are painted in warm shades which creates a pleasant, cosy environment in which to drink. There is a small stage at the front of the room which seems to be regularly used in the evenings and the walls have been decorated with plenty of movie memorabilia. The seating area has pews and standard chairs and a collection of board games piled up in a corner. Some more stairs lead up to a surprisingly large garden which you'd never suspect exists when you first enter. There is a juke box opposite the bar in an area bereft of seating options except for high tables and stools in one corner. We enjoyed some good banter with a friendly Spanish barmaid who put up with our drunken ramblings with good humour. The owner popped in whilst we were visiting and he explained that he had set up a brewery called Zoo Brew, which is currently operating out of the Hop Back Brewery in Wiltshire. Three ales on stillage behind the bar were to include some of these new brews, but sadly none were quite ready, so we had to satisfy ourselves with the three handpulled ales instead which were Sunny Republic Dolphin Amber and Shark Head and Sixpenny IPA. The Shark Head was pretty flat and the Dolphin Amber was drinkable without being on top form, but the IPA was in superb form and we sank a few too many before the night was out. This is an underrated venue that could probably do with a bit more throughput to ensure consistent ale quality, but there is still enough about this quirky establishment to merit further investigation. A good bet for visiting football fans not wanting to battle the crowds in the Wetherspoons, although colours would have to be hidden.