Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Poll for date of Halifax crawl. with ROBCamra
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Rai d'Or, Salisbury
Salisbury
SP1 2AS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Rai d'Or
One of the more unusual perennial Good Beer Guide entries - it's a Thai restaurant but you can, if you want, just drink (and we propped up the bar due to a lack of free tables). The Oriental ladies behind the bar won’t bat an eyelid if you just want a pint and there’s no hard sell on the food. There were two cask ales on; Downton Apple Blossom and Wickwar BOB (fair shape) and at £3.50pp, a bit of a steal by Salisbury’s usual standards. There was also a pump for Wessex cider. The interior is a small L shaped affair with restrained Oriental stylings, with wooden trellises acting as room dividers and numerous potted plants along with windowsills. Inevitably, the air hangs heavy with Oriental cooking smells, which may put some off. It’s an intriguing enigma – well-worth popping in on your inaugural crawl round Salisbury (note the limited opening hours – doors at 5), though whether you’d want to settle in for a session is a moot point. Hard to score without eating any of the grub, seeing as that’s an intrinsic part of the experience. But as a purely vertical drinking experience it isn’t (and can’t be) all that.
On 1st April 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Rai d'Or
We popped in for a quick beer, just on opening. There was a very pleasant aroma of Thai spices on our arrival, I have to say. We ordered two beers, one from Red Cat Brewing Prowler Pale and Downton Mad Hare. Both beers were in good shape and we sat at the bar chatting to the Thai lady owner, who was very friendly. Maybe next time, we'd stay for a meal, as this looked to be a proper authentic Thai restaurant.
On 22nd May 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Jonathan Wilde left this review about The Rai d'Or
After reading a history paper of the pub since 1292 it's seemingly been a brothel for a few hundred years which sadly as man could say is a disappointment now.
As mentioned the food I the pub has taken a Thai diversion but thankfully it remains a pub in essence and I thoroughly enjoyed my visit today especially after talking to the landlord who seems fairly fluent in Thai.
Overall a pleasant historic pub in Salisbury despite having to diversify slightly.
On 27th April 2016
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 365 recommendations about 347 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Rai d'Or
A small L-shaped boarded room with the bar on the inside corner, this place is a fusion of pub and Thai restaurant. At busy times (the food is excellent and popular), priority seating is for diners so drinkers may need to prop up the bar which may not be popular with some. It is a historic building with an interesting past, at one time a brothel, an inglenook fireplace remains although nowadays housing a wood burning stove. Décor is mixed, a painting of a castle over a chimney breast, a mural of Stonehenge as well as Thai figures and carvings on wooden trellises which act as room dividers. There is foliage aplenty with every inch of window cill being utilised for plant pots.
An advantage of the foody angle is that all the seating is of the regular type, no silly high tables or sofas in here.
I ate here as planned on my recent Salisbury trip, the food certainly doesn't disappoint and the service is friendly, warm and efficient. The beer choice is none too shabby either, Downton Chimera Dry, Summer Slogger and Stonehenge Eye Opener. I tried the last two, both were in fine fettle and complement the chilli hit of the food well. To one side of the bar a few pump clips advise on which beer is coming soon.
I like it here a great deal, I have been in previously just for a drink without any issues however it is probably wise to avoid peak food time if in search of a quiet pint. Opens 5pm Monday to Thursday.
On 2nd August 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Jamie Emmerson left this review about Rai d'Or
One of the best pubs in Salisbury - the Thai food is excellent, the service is friendly and efficient, the beer is top notch. Great atmosphere. Like other posters have said, it can be advisable to book ahead if you are planning on going at 8 on a Friday, but the staff will always try to squeeze you in somewhere. Thai pub - strange concept but works very well in this case!
On 22nd April 2011
- rating: 10
[User has posted 1 recommendations about 1 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about Rai d'Or
One of Salisbury's better pubs, the Rai D'Or is a freehouse on the edge of the City Centre so is easily included in a City crawl. It's well known for its excellent Thai food and real ales. Stonehenge is usually on (and always an excellent pint) plus two or three others, all very well kept. The bar is small, so it's advisable to book if you want to eat, and sometimes drinkers occupying a table will be asked to make room for diners, especially later on when the non-bookers come in for a late snack. Don't be offended if that happens, it's just the way Simon (the landlord) chooses to run it. CAMRA members get a discount on the beer. Well worth a visit whatever the time or reason.
On 29th March 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3282 recommendations about 3247 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about Rai d'Or
A pub and Thai restaurant in the same two rooms - it just about works as a concept, it is certainly a vast improvement over its former incarnation as one of the roughest pubs in Salisbury. Pub style in one smallish room round the bar with a more restaurant setting in the other larger room although customers were eating in both. Well kept beers from local microbreweries, Stonehenge and Small Pauls plus scrumpy from Addlestones on the three handpumps with Budvar, Blackrat cider and Fosters on keg. Bottles from Singha, Tiger, TsingTao and Chang as befits a south east Asian restaurant. Busy with both drinkers and dinners when I visited, the staff I talked to were chatty and friendly.
On 21st November 2009
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3269 recommendations about 2978 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Rai d'Or
The Rai d'Or (loosely translates as Ray of Golden Light) is a 16th century building that recently reverted back to its original name. Previously it was a music and bikers pub called the Star and like a few pubs in the area, it has its origins as a brothel (some may say that some pubs in the area haven't changed much). The Rai D'or seems to be caught in an identity crisis which has been raised by several previous eviewers. The Pub / Thai Restaurant combo works well enough in several similar places I have visited but not here, mainly because the management don't really seem to know what their best options are to keep both drinkers and diners satisfied. As it happens, my visit was just before they had started serving food so I had the luxury of a hassle free table although the waft of the cooking was both intrusive and equally tempting. The pub's interior is pleasant enough with lots of trellises, potted plants, orchids cramming the windows sills and a wonderful inglenook fireplace. It must be said that there were only 2 or 3 other people in the pub so it was a bit soulless at the time. I don't know what the normal beer selection is and they were running stocks down ahead of a refurbishment but I noted Stonehenge Summer Solstice and Apple Blossom as the ales available as well as Addlestones Cider. Its promotion of local beers is to be commended and as an ale lover the pub is well worthy of a visit although until it sorts out its identity, it isn't really a place that you can easily spend a great deal of time without feeling a bit uncomfortable.
On 14th August 2009
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nigel Rowe left this review about The Star Inn
Now the Rai d'Or - named after the mediaeval redlight district in which it stands! A great pub now though, specialising in Thai food and serving Stonehenge Ales.
On 13th August 2007
- rating: 8
[User has posted 65 recommendations about 57 pubs]