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Black Boy, Winchester
Winchester
SO23 9NQ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 9 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Black Boy
Absolutely fantastic old pub, away from the tourist area but close to the river, filled with curios, an elephant foot, various signage, clocks, stuffed animals etc. There are various seating areas, subdued lighting, beams, all very old and a real English pub, olde wordle but well off from being a tourist theme.
Somehow the table top Invaders machine and the background raggae/rock seem to fit perfectly in this odd place.
Great choice of 5 real ales, slightly warm for me but kept in very good condition.
On 25th June 2012
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Bonser left this review about The Black Boy
This is a multi roomed large traditional pub in a residential side street just outside the city centre.
A central bar serves a number of interconnected, dimly lit rooms on different levels and which feature low beamed ceilings, some flagstoned floors and wood panelling. These rooms are crammed with various items of bric a brac and artefacts that, quite correctly, could be described as eclectic.
Items on display are too numerous to mention, but include various stuffed animals, a large Aga range, a collection of red fire buckets, an upside down Christmas tree, a collection of books, smokers pipes suspended from the ceiling etc. There’s also some old film posters. Various rooms appear to have different themes and, in one room which looks like it was formerly a barn, are some papier mache joints of meat and saws, as though it’s a butcher’s shop. In another room is a working table football machine. Other tables have board games painted on them. In summary, it’s a rambling, old and characterful interior and you could easily visit several times and still see things that you missed before.
Probably because of its location, it’s not a tourist trap, but still a genuine back street traditional boozer with a strong and regular local trade.
There’s an enterprising real ale policy with a clear emphasis on micros. Beers on were from Itchen Valley, Ringwood, Flowerpot, Andwell and Upham. The pub is a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular.
Not to be missed on any visit to Winchester
On 21st March 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 560 recommendations about 560 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Black Boy
Q. What do the following things all have in common? A stuffed donkey, a collection of fire buckets, a window frame adorned with chilli peppers, a table football table, a framed bin liner fashioned into a waistcoat, an Aga, a Donkey Kong arcade game, plastic hams and a monkey in a kilt.
A. They are just a small selection of the eclectic range of items on display in this mad yet delightful pub. Split across a number of inter-connected rooms dominated by dark wood and with muted lighting, some of which seem to be themed (kitchen, butchers etc...), there are endless discoveries to be made. Stuffed animals seem to be one of the main areas of interest to the owner, as in addition to the donkey and monkey, I spotted a seal, peacock, warthog, leopard and countless dogs, most of which are lying in front of the various fireplaces in each room. There are bookshelves at the back near the toilets which would put some local libraries to shame and many of the tables have boards for various games painted on them. Even the raised patio area out the back has a few curios in it.
There were five hand pumps at the bar, each offering a relatively local ale; Ringwood Best, Flowerpots Bitter, Andwell King John, Dark Star Saison and Hop Back Summer Lightning. I tried a pint of the King John which seemed to be in pretty good condition.
Putting aside the quirky nature of the place, this is still a very good pub and one which I doubt I would tire of returning to. They are presumably doing rather well at present as they also have a nearby restaurant (the Black Rat), with a wine bar (the Black Bottle) due to open soon. Certainly the highlight of a day spent in Winchester, this would be my first port of recall when I next return.
On 10th July 2011
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
BARRY TAYLOR left this review about The Black Boy
Tucked away on Wharf Hill, off Chesil Street in Winchester, The Black Boy is still faithful to its origins. Although recognised in most of the well known beer and pub guides, it is still a traditional back-street boozer. The pub has 5 locally brewed real ales and a small selection of good French wines. Good 'pub grub' is available from Tuesday evenings through to Sunday lunch. During the winter months roasts are served on Sundays with lighter lunches being offered during the summer. On the off-chance there is a summer, there is a sheltered rustic garden with heaters. Three standard ales Ringwood Best, Cheriton Pots, Hopback Brewery Summer Lightening. They also have 2 other real ales on, normally from The Itchen Valley Brewery, The Triple FFF Brewery, The Hampshire Brewery or one of the other small local breweries. A stuffed Donkey, collections of fire buckets says it all. A true classic you must visit.
On 17th January 2011
- rating: 10
[User has posted 42 recommendations about 35 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ben Hoare left this review about The Black Boy
I recently went to stay with my brother who lives near this pub and he took me for a few drinks there. What an absolutely amazing place..... A goodly colection of stuffed animals, tables where the tops are painted with board games, a patio area with individual heaters that you can turn on at your own discretion... The whole pub is like walking through the house of an eccentric collector of random stuff. A set of book shelves with some books that you can take away, read, sign and then leave somewhere else on your travels, or add to the collection by leaving one of your own. The atmosphere is just amazing, the clientelle such a cross section that any budding actor looking for character study material will find it a gold mine! The staff are absolutely brilliant, charming, welcoming and great fun. A fine selction of real ales on draught is available. I enjoyed several pints of a local brew called "flowerpots" and wish I could get it where I live. This pub is a shining example to breweries and a landlords alike of how good a pub can be in a time of great difficulty for the industry as a whole. If any people in the trade read this then take note and see how it should be done. For any weary traveller passing through Winchester in need of sustenance then you would be hard pushed to find a better place to relax for a while with fine drinks and good company, Not just here in Winchester but any where in the U.K. Many thanks to all at The Black Boy from a grateful visitor from Wales.
On 1st September 2010
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about The Black Boy
Mr Boots description of The Black Boy as odd is very apt and we were particularly surprised by the collection of stuffed animals, notably the terrier which appears at your right shoulder. The pub is just outside the town shopping area and is probably most easily reached from there via the attractive towpath along the River Itchen.
The beer choice was both wide and local featuring Flack's Double Drop, Hammerpot Red Hunter, Flowerpot Bitter, Summer Lighting and Ringwood Best.
An interesting boozer which is very good value with a friendly welcome and well worth a visit but I'd avoid the areas with soft furnishings as they seem to have a distinct 'unwashed' pong. Oh for the days when smoke masked these issues.
On 30th August 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Black Boy
This is a fantastic old pub, a little out the way but worth the detour to find it. As others have said, it's completely full of "stuff" everywhere, far too much to list. Plenty of stuffed animals, including what was presumably the pub's dog at one point, and one room that's more like a library with floor to ceiling shelves of books. I liked the old space invaders/pacman video game table, I haven't seen one of those for ages!
Many different rooms on several different levels, and a couple of real fires. Friendly barmaid, everyone got a "Hiya" before they were hardly through the door.
Beers on this occasion were Palmer's Best, Hidden Quest, Hop Back Summer Lightning, Flower Pots and Ringwood Best. Also Stowford Press and Thatcher's Dry ciders.
On 6th February 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1951 recommendations about 1864 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Black Boy
One of the oddest pubs in Britain but one of the best for ale. It all looks very old but cunning decoration and weird collections deceive the eye here. There are lots of rooms or separate drinking/dining areas containing mad collections of what can only be described as 'stuff'. Particularly macabre is the bit with plastic cuts of meat, animal heads and carcasses, all enhanced with shotgun stocks. The beer is generally excellent from local microbreweries, plus some more unusual kegs dispensed from those strange little dumpy barrel shaped fonts. Pricing is reasonable for Winchester.
On 23rd November 2009
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3276 recommendations about 2982 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Black Boy
Where do I start, a seriously quirky place with numerous rooms, nooks and crannies, chock full of the oddest collection of paraphenalia I think have ever seen in a pub. There is no way I can list them all but there are stuffed animals, (a donkey, leopard, a baboon in a kilt and a gull in a cage), plastic and papier mache hams hanging from a beam, an aga, suspended model aeroplanes, an old set of handpumps, clocks, tin and cast iron signs, blow lamps, hundreds of key rings hanging from a ceiling, an upside down Christmas tree, a collection of fire buckets, dried chilli peppers adorn a window surround, numerous book cases all around and so much more. One set of seats are numbered and tip up, looks like they are reclaimed from a football stadium somewhere, I'd rather like to know which one. There is also a bar football table.
Part wooden and part stone flagged floors, old timber beamed ceilings. Outside seating to the front and also the side with an area under the cover of a pergola.
Beers were, Flowerpot "Flowerpots", Hop Back Summer Lightning, Ringwood Best Bitter, Andwell King John plus one badged Black Boy Bitter; I'm not sure what this is, the barmaid thought it was from Ringwood but as they already had BB it wouldn't add up.
An interesting place with good beer. Not one to miss on a Winchester crawl. Prices on a par with other pubs visited, not a cheap town for beer with prices similar to London, generally £3+.
On 3rd August 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
matthew hill left this review about The Black Boy
Excellent independent real ale pub with a very quirky interior. Good selection of local beers. Interior reflects the eclectic tastes of the landlord. Well worth seeking out as it is about ten to fifteen minutes walk along the river from the centre of town. Its more of a homely version of the Wykham!
On 19th October 2007
- rating: 10
[User has posted 3 recommendations about 3 pubs]