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Detail Pages
Barley Mow, Southsea
Southsea
PO5 3DE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
paulof horsham left this review about Barley Mow
I spent my time in the large saloon bar of this free house. There were 8 sticks behind the bar; HSB & Pride seem to be regulars with Twickenham & Salopian breweries providing a couple of the other offerings. It was pleasant enough and worth the visit, but did seem to be lacking atmosphere (and punters) on my early evening stop.
On 29th April 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Barley Mow
Back in Southsea for the weekend and staying close to the Barley Mow so looked this one up again. Visited on consecutive days and glad to find it largely unchanged from pre pandemic days and still offering a good range of ales with six of the pumps operating in the saloon when we visited and offering a good range of ale types.
Live music is now also back in the saloon and Sunday afternoon saw a three piece jazz band playing. This drew quite a mature crowd even making me feel reassuringly young.
Was very pleased to find this and the nearby Hole in the Wall functioning well post pandemic. No need to change my ratings on either.
On 29th October 2021
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2109 recommendations about 1991 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Barley Mow
The Barley Mow is a pub of two halves with a spacious lounge bar to the left and a sports bar to the right. The traditionally decked out lounge bar houses a piano and bar billiards and during a recent Friday afternoon visit there was some low background music playing. The bar supports nine hand pumps and a standard keg range. The cask products available were Langham’s XXX Mild, Andwell’s Gold Muddler, St Austell’s Tribute, Fulllers London pride, George Gale’s HSB, Butcombe Gold, Longdog’s Kismet, Shepherd Neame’s Hop County and Westons Rosie’s Pig cider. I also noted the presence of a dog bowl, so our four-legged friends are more than welcome. The sports bar is more sparsely decorated and houses a pool table and dartboard. This bar is available for private hire. The toilets are found at the rear in an out-building. Adjacent to these toilets is a very well-tended enclosed patio area.
BT Sports is shown, but there was no television on during my visit. Live music is held here Thursdays and Sundays and there is a monthly open mic night for musicians, poets and comedians. I really liked it in here and it turned out to be my pub of the day after a crawl of some very good pubs in the area.
On 30th May 2019
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5228 recommendations about 5196 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Barley Mow
A slightly odd-looking building, with the public bar / games room in a single-storey section at the front and the (much less obvious) lounge in the taller main part further back. The latter room is appealingly traditional, with ⅔rd-height wood panelling and numerous B&W photographs, and the rear patio garden is a very pleasant spot in the sunshine. Excellent choice of real ales in a range of styles from the main bank of eight handpumps (including a tasty Langham XXX dark mild, £2.00, half), with a draught cider also available.
On 24th April 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Barley Mow
Popped in with the PuG crawl crew. Continues to trundle along happily and I made acquaintance with a jumbo stuffed dragon. Went for the most interesting beer on the pumps - Langham Mild, a solid NBSS 3.5, though a few had come out prior to my order which would have helped matters. It is a place full of character (and characters). Finally got to see the garden, which was rather nice. Quiet again on a Saturday afternoon, this is an evening pub really.
March 2015
Popped in against whilst in a more sober state than previous. Almost thought I had the wrong pub when I opened the door to the public bar and some devil dog started sounding off at me. Luckily the correct door for the wood panelled lounge was quickly located. Seven ales on, Irving Frigate, Gales HSB, Charles Wells DNA (fine), Fullers Pride, Belhaven Grand Slam, Dartmoor Jail Ale and Piddle Milk Stout (pump tired). The bar billiards table remains it situ. Of amusement was the Beano board outside, with the comic’s characters extolling the virtues of the pub. Quite quiet on Saturday afternoon, in contrast with the nearby Hole in the Wall. Still, it’s a decent place this one if perhaps not quite as rose-tinted as my previous visit. Rated 7
March 2014
Two room backstreet pub. Student drunks in the small public bar playing pool (dart board also spotted and only keg fizz on the pumps here), so I retreated to the quieter, cosy 1970’s-style lounge. This has quite a bit of character; wood panelling, naval ephemera and a 1950’s style jukebox (unsure if it worked, the music came from a piped radio station). Also in situ was a bar billiards table and eggs for sale at the bar. Six pumps in this one I think: Fullers HSB, Spring Sprinter and Pride; Ringwood Bitter; Otter Bitter (decent nick) and Marstons, plus Weston's cider. Apparently has an impressive beer garden but my stay was too brief (and my legs too wobbly) to go exploring. If you like traditional pubs and a good ale range, this one is a must-do in Pompey. Rated 8
On 10th April 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Barley Mow
A fine traditional two bar pub with a large carpeted lounge room to the left and a smaller public bar area with pool table and darts board to the right, each with their own entrance door. The lounge bar is the far more comfortable and houses the nine handpumps dispensing 8 real ales and a cider. And then there is a very pleasant enclosed garden area out to the back.
Gales HSB and Fullers London Pride are permanent beers and for our visit these were supplemented by Langham XXX Mild, Andwell Golomuddler, St Austell Tribute, Butcombe Gold, Long Dog Kismet and Shephard Neame Hop County. i went for the mild and very good it was too.
There are no hand pumps in the public bar , so if you do venture into this bar first (easily done as it is the most obvious door to enter) do not make the schoolboy mistake of missing the ale chalk board and ordering something crap and fizzy..
On 3rd April 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2109 recommendations about 1991 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Barley Mow
Dating back to at least the early 19th century, this was rebuilt in its current form in 1924.
This is a pub of two halves, not least because when it comes to halves, mathematicians have determined 2 to be the optimum number. You enter the right side to see a pool table and dartboard; this must be the sports room then. It’s also the lager room as the only founts dispense Coors and Fosters. Unfortunately, a beer menu displaying a goodly number of real ales was cruelly obscured by a large group of mainly men, so I ended up with a half of Australia’s finest at a very steep £2.00.
It was only then that I discovered the left-hand lounge bar which is a fine example of the period with wood panelling and several handpumps.
Certainly worth a look and worthy of an inclusion on a crawl.
On 2nd April 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1982 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Barley Mow
Another decent pub, that has a lot to offer from its comprehensive range of ales, a traditional bar and good sized lounge side and a patio garden. The service was fast and efficient, so no problem there when we all turned up. I went for the Andwell Gold Muddler, you can also buy eggs which were for sale at the end of the bar, which gave the pub that rural feeling, along with the well manicured rear patio garden.
On 1st April 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Barley Mow
Close to the Hole in the Wall,this is another great traditional boozer with a distinct two room layout with a modest sized public bar to the side which contains a pool table,darts board,some bench seating and a small servery but you wont see any handpumps here so consult the chalk board before ordering.There is a rear door to a charming courtyard with lots of flowers and some wooden seating which then in turn leads back to the lounge,carpeted and traditional.There was a friendly welcome and a decent ale range from 9 handpumps with on my trip Andwell Gold Muddler,St Austell Tribute ,Fullers London Pride and HSB,Butcombe Gold,Long Dog Kismet,Shepherd Neame Hop Country,Langhams XXX Mild (very good nick) and a real cider.
A must visit when in Southsea,I would stay a lot longer on my next trip.
On 31st March 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Barley Mow
Good, traditional, locals' pub with an excellent focus on beer, both in the range and in looking after it. Worth going out of your way for.
On 18th August 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]