The Olive Tree, Southampton

Pretty functional airport pub (post security) that doesn’t make much effort to be original or to offer up anything that isn’t keg or bottled, as the handpump was unclipped. Ended up with a BrewDog Punk IPA which at almost £4 for a small bottle contrasted greatly with the good pint of cask I’d get at my destination airport pub, the Walter Scott JDW in Edinburgh. Next time I think I’ll keep my powder dry.

Pleasant as airport bars go, tucked away on the terrace floor near the lounges and overlooking the departures lounge, this functional café bar serves a purpose. It has laminated floors, tables tightly packed in and a large etched mirror with the bar’s name on it, and it’s contiguous with the adjacent coffee bar, but it does offer free electricity to charge your laptop or phone, a reasonable cooked breakfast and even a games machine for that not-quite-a-pub experience. There is the usual megakeg range on draft – Guiness, Stella, Carling, San Miguel and Apsalls Cider, next to a handpump claiming to dispense Ringwood Fortyniner, which was empty this time around. Staff were pleasant, for the most part. Not a bad spot for a pre-boarding pint, and better than The Globe landside.