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The Wyndham Arms, Salisbury
Salisbury
SP1 3AS
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 9 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Wyndham Arms
This pub is out on the fringes of the city centre, but still easily reached within 10 - 15 minutes. It’s a classic local’s boozer, now run by the Hop Back Brewery, with an unfortunate location alongside the busy A36. Entering from the main road, you find yourself in a compact front seating area with some basic banquette and chair arrangements around the four walls, a few arty prints on display and a fireplace to the rear, with a little cut-away next to it, allowing you to see through to the bar. Passing through a doorway to the rear right, you enter the long, narrow main bar area - a carpeted space with low tongue and groove wall panels and another small fireplace to the front, with an unlit stove inside. A small seating space to the front left has a single table served by a banquette and a few low stools and the walls here are covered in lots of Hop Back breweriana and an amazing collection of paintings of the pub, plus one particularly impressive needlework rendering of the building. The bar runs down the left-hand wall and has a simple brick counter front and a basic shelving unit bar back. To the rear, the room opens out slightly into a lounge area, with padded banquettes around three sides, an unused TV screen to the rear and a dartboard over to the right. There also appeared to be a side room, or maybe just an exit to a garden, over to the right, opposite the bar, but I failed to explore this properly.
A good range of Hop Back beers were available on cask, with options comprising Summer Lightning, Citra, Crop Circle, GFB and Entire Stout. I gave the Citra a try and thought it was a decent enough beer, if perhaps not the best this brewery has to offer. I had arrived shortly after opening, but there were already a fair few customers in attendance and it was notable that everyone was drinking cask.
This is a nice little boozer, well enough away from the tourists in the city centre, and with a nice little buzz about it. The interior is a little basic and maybe not as homely as you’d hope - a feature with other Hop Back pubs I’ve visited, but regardless of this, I still would’ve been happy to stay here for a session and especially enjoyed looking through all those great pub portraits. Definitely worth the short walk from town to check this place out.
On 22nd February 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about The Wyndham Arms
This pub is said to be where Hop Back brewery started, and we found there was a full range of their beers available, Crop Circle .. GHB .. Citra .. Summer Lightning and Taiphoon. We chose and enjoyed the Taiphoon.
On 12th May 2019
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Wyndham Arms
This pub is pristine and well worth a visit. The pub consists of two entrances, a corner entrance with a timber carved Hopback emblem over the doorway, this leads into a small corner room which has two large arched shaped sash windows and bench seating. There is also a side door entrance which leads you along a short lobby into the main bar. The main bar area consists of a rectangle shaped room with the bar along the side wall and a small snug opposite. The bar had an exposed brick frontage and oak counter.
Six Hopback beers on handpump, so we went for the Summer Lightning and Hopback Citra, both were in superb condition.
On 21st May 2017
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Wyndham Arms
A great pub, I agree with Quinno below, best pub in Salisbury I have visited , a good range of Hopback beers as you would expect as this was the birthplace of the Brewery,also a guest beer on my visit it was Downton Route 66.A strangely layed out entrance to the pub via an extended corridor/hallway but once you find your way to the bar you are in for a treat, excellent ales at some unbelievably good prices all well under £3.00 a pint,blessed relief from the overpriced £4.00 a pint payed in the pub visited before here.Its obviously a popular local destination despite being a little away from the centre of town, as evidenced by the attendees on a Thursday afternoon.Number 1 on my list for a return visit.
On 8th August 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about Wyndham Arms
Semi-famous Hop Back pub, where brewing of the beers was based in their early days. Nowadays it is a community local and Hop Back ale emporium, carrying their full range along with a guest or two, making six in total. Prices are pleasingly cheap for their own beer (Fullers and H&W please take note, they are over a pound a pint cheaper than you!) and the quality on my visits has always been top notch, with Taiphoon and Moorhouse Ruby Witch both insanely drinkable on my last visit. The interior is homely and clean if relatively unremarkable compared to other SP1 pubs; a long narrow layout with a couple of areas off the main part, presumably the original rooms from the houses it appears to have once been. There’s a TV at the far end that is switched on for major sporting events but is thankfully off at other times. The feel is of a welcoming community local, with a healthy patronage, aided and abetted by excellent staff behind the bar. I also bumped into Phil Harding from Time Team in here once.
This is my favourite in Salisbury and it’s well-worth the ten minutes walk from the town centre to sample – make sure you leave plenty of time as you won’t want to leave after one.
On 18th August 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nigel Rowe left this review about Wyndham Arms
A pleasant evening was spent here recently. The full range of Hop Back beers were on offer, although Entire Stout ran out mid-evening. I would have liked to have seen one or two guest ales, as I'm not that much in love with Hop Back beers - all look the same (I'm not keen on golden beers), and all taste rather bland to me (I realise this is a personal opinion!)
On 12th April 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 65 recommendations about 57 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Wyndham Arms
Dating from the 1880’s when it was primarily a hotel, the Wyndham is best known today for being the birthplace of the Hop Back brewery in 1987 although the brewery itself moved to nearby Downton when demand became too much for the pub to handle. A large sign is built into the side of the exterior wall commemorating its origins.
Situated on the corner of a series of terraced houses, it blends in with its neighbours and has enough homely touches that make it quite welcoming, niot least the very friendly barman (who was probably the guv’nor). The interior is divided into a series of samall rooms radiating off the cebntral bar with simple furnishings, brick fireplaces, a dart board and TV. The general décor is pretty ordinary but there are a mix of old pictures, brewery mirrors and posters that beg for closer inspection. As for the rather baffling cricket score on display of 113 for 11, this was apparently due to an annual cricket match played by the locals where both sides had too many players and made a decision to play 13 a side hence the rather quirky scores!
The centrepiece of the pub is of course the superb selection of Hop Back beers with 5 available on our latest visit (GFB, Summer Lightning, Crop Circle, Heracles and Taiphoon) plus a guest ale (Moorhouse Ruby Witch). My pint of Taiphoon was probably the best (of many) pint of the day and we were also offered a sample of the new Heracles beer, quite decent although only 2.8%. Prices were amongst the best we came across in town although I didn’t make any notes regarding food availability.
There was quite a bubbling atmosphere and I could easily have settled down for an entire evening. Certainly a must visit pub for Ale lovers although it should be noted that they do not open until late afternoons on Monday to Wednesday.
On 7th November 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Nigel Sheppard left this review about Wyndham Arms
You receive a very warm welcome when you enter this pub which makes you feel like you are in someone’s house. This is the birthplace of Hopback beers and there is always an impressive selection of beers available in perfect condition.
Don't miss this one!
On 8th April 2011
- rating: 10
[User has posted 192 recommendations about 192 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about Wyndham Arms
One of Wiltshire's best pubs, with a solid history of excellent beer, great hospitality and an essential part of any pub crawl. Its history as a brew-pub (though no longer one) and no-nonsense, atmospheric Victorian setting add to the experience. Still Salisbury's best, as far as I'm concerned. My last visit saw a pint of GFB washed down with another of Chimera, both in perfect condition. 10/10.
On 4th February 2010
- rating: 10
[User has posted 3285 recommendations about 3250 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
John Horton left this review about Wyndham Arms
A truly wonderful pub with fantastic real ale & several bottled beers. Located on east side of the city next to the city ring road. On street parking. I can't improve on the CAMRA Good Beer Guide description. Whenever I'll be in the area this place will be a must visit - even if it means staying somewhere over night.
On 14th July 2008
- rating: 10
[User has posted 148 recommendations about 148 pubs]