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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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Detail Pages
The Welcome, St. Leonards-On-Sea
Silverhill
Postal town: St. Leonards-On-Sea
TN37 7DA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 4½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Welcome
Arriving from the London direction, this looks like a typical corner pub, but if looking northwards one can see that it extends into an adjoining building. This means that the partly opened-out, L-shaped layout is somewhat larger than one might expect. Slightly unfairly, perhaps, the look might be best described as 'low-end gastro-pub'? Anyway, food is offered and all three handpumps were in use and pouring local real ales. I went for a Long Blonde (£4.60) - one of a pair from Long Man (with their Best Bitter being the other) - and Lakedown's English Pale being the third.
On 13th March 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Welcome
Some may say that I am a glutton for punishment as I have once again visited this pub. I must add that it was under duress as I was attending a colleague’s work leaving drink. The first difference I noticed upon entering was the presence of three Long Man ales in amongst the standard and premium keg. I then noticed that this pub has been refurbished, gone are the plasma screens and Sky Sports, although the background music remains. The dartboard has been replaced by a bicycle, yes there is a bicycle on the wall! The food has been taken to the next level; a burger is £9, and the fillet steak is £20. Children are welcome, so I imagine there is a kid’s menu.
The picnic tables in the rear garden remain and there is now a chicken coop with a couple of incarcerated hens. During this visit I realised that there is a car park.
I found the service to be friendly in this much-improved pub. Hopefully the oddball locals have found somewhere else to linger.
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18th August 2015
I found myself in the area of the Welcome Stranger on Friday afternoon last week so I decided to pop in to see if my initial rating of one was still deserved. The interior is as described below, although on this 17:00 visit I spotted a jukebox and dartboard in the empty pub. I made a point of visiting the beer garden to find a plastic patio table on a concreted area and some picnic tables on a lawn beyond.
I found the barman to be jovial, but half way through my visit a couple of locals came in and the woman spent the next ten minutes staring at me. What is it with this pub and the weird locals?
There was no real ale on, but after my last experience this was probably not a bad thing. I’ve upped my rating to a three because having one person stare at me was less intimidating than the six or seven who eyeballed me during my last visit. Next time I am in the area I will avoid this pub and its oddball regulars.
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31st July 2011
I found the Welcome Stranger to be an odd affair as I couldn’t make out how the management are presenting their establishment. The right-hand side is a restaurant that serves up dirt cheap food, but I didn’t dine so I cannot comment on the quality. Advertisements for the available bed and breakfast and function rooms are prominent at the entrance and the actual bar area to the left felt more like a hotel function room with a private party in progress that I wasn’t invited to. There is a standard draught selection alongside two hand pumps that were drawing Hobgoblin and Otter Bitter, the latter of which was undrinkable. Sky Sports is also heavily advertised, but the plasma screens were off during my 20:00 Saturday evening visit and some 60s/70s music was playing. There is a pool table that was being used by some locals and the other aging locals spent their time staring at me whilst I made a few notes on the pub facilities. There is an advertised beer garden, but I did not visit it.
Welcome Stranger, I think not. I found the locals to be rude and I felt that the bar was purposely blocked by them to anyone they didn’t know. Crap!
On 21st December 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Manky Badger left this review about The Welcome Stranger
The place should be called "Welcome Stranger IF and only IF you are a Chelsea FC supporter".
I thought that football team specific pubs went out years ago. But then, this is St Leonards, after all.....
Rating - 2/10 is generous
On 4th April 2009
- rating: 2
[User has posted 155 recommendations about 154 pubs]