The Lord Nelson, Poole

The Lord Nelson official site - www.thelordnelsonpoole.co.uk

I was in the vicinity of the Lord Nelson on a recent sunny Friday afternoon so I decided to pop in for a quick livener. The picnic tables out the front were full of tourists, like me, but I did manage to deposit my family on the end of a table so that I could get the drinks in and have a wander around the interior. I found an L shaped bar with a stage to the left of the entrance where the many advertised bands set up for the regular live music nights. There is some more seating at the rear and an area at the back houses a pool table, dartboard, table football and a plasma screen. There is another plasma screen at the front of the pub and both of these were showing muted Olympic coverage whilst the jukebox played some low background music. There is some more outside seating in a small beer yard, but I got the feeling that this is more of a smoking area. The bar is stocked with standard draught and two of the hand pumps were unused leaving Tanglefoot and Badger Beer as the cask ale options. Food is served from midday until 19:00 (15:00 on Sundays) and the menu seemed to consist of standard pub fayre. This pub is in a decent location and served its purpose well, but I did find the service of both bar keeps to be sullen. Looking at the pubs website I’ve gleaned that this is a biker’s pub so maybe the staff have gone for the moody Hell’s Angels demeanour to make the pub more authentic. If I find myself in Poole again I will search out a more welcoming hostelry.

The Lord Nelson official site - www.thelordnelsonpoole.co.uk

I should start by allaying the fears of the previous reviewer - the Lord Nelson is still very much in existence and was doing a fine trade on my recent summer weekend visit. It is actually the old Poole Pottery site a little further along the Quay that has been redeveloped and thankfully no pubs were affected. The Nelson is typical of most of Poole Quay's pubs in that it seems to have to rely heavily on the tourist trade, but a healthy live music policy means that it has a few more local regulars than some of its neighbours. The pub is U-shaped with a dark wood interior, bench seating and flagstone floor at the front opposite the bar counter. There is a small stage to the left of the entrance which was being used by a loud rock band when we popped in on a Saturday evening, but solace could be found around the corner where there is additional seating. The other rear corner of the pub also houses a pool table and I think I saw table football back there as well. Most customers were making use of the ample Quayside seating out the front, but many customers will be unaware that the pub provides outdoor seating to the rear as well, for anyone who fancies a drink outside without the benefit of a nice view. It's a Hall and Woodhouse pub, so Badger beers took up all of the hand pumps. The selection on our visit was Tanglefoot, Badger Best and the seasonal Firkin Fox. I tried a pint of the latter which was in reasonable condition although not really to my taste. The staff seemed well trained in dealing with the inevitable crowds, although they were a bit surly. Poole Quay's pubs are all much of a muchness, but the Nelson stands out thanks to its live music and prime outdoor seating. You could certainly do a lot worse.