Best pub in Southampton?

[mljatsea]

Someone on our roll call suggested a pub meet-up the evening before our TA. Suggestions for a place that could accommodate a group of 30 or so? Duke of Wellington?

 

[TheOldBear]

The Dancing Man http://www.dancingmanbrewery.co.uk/ on the Town Quay

 

Perhaps John Bull will weigh in with some local knowledge ??

[mljatsea]

26 minutes ago, TheOldBear said:

The Dancing Man http://www.dancingmanbrewery.co.uk/ on the Town Quay

 

Perhaps John Bull will weigh in with some local knowledge ??

Thank you! I'm expecting I'll hear from John Bull.

[John Bull]

You called, Mi'lord?  🙂

 

the two obvious choices have already been mentioned.

The Duke of Wellington on Bugle Street has  been happily used by cruise RollCalls groups in the past. And it has a separate little dining / function room beyond the bar, which they say seats 35.

Historic old pub dating from 1220, decently walkable for city centre hotels and 3 or 4 of the cruise terminals.
We've dined there a couple of times - good atmosphere, fairly basic menu but very acceptable food, amenable landlord.

http://southampton-pubs.co.uk/dukeofwellington/

 

Just a hundred yards or so from the Duke, on the corner of Bugle Street & Town Quay, the Dancing Man Brewery is in another historic building - originally the city's 14th Century Wool House when wool was exported to the low countries, it's had a variety of uses - some cruisers will remember it as Southampton's maritime museum before the new one was built in the Civic Centre complex.

We've dined here a few times too, again a fairly basic but slightly quirky menu  We particularly liked the Beef Rag & Bone.

The interior is open-plan, with the upper floor dining area overlooking the bar area. By the looks of the website it's available for groups of 15 to 49, but groups at the lower end of those numbers probably won't have sole use of the dining floor on busy evenings.

https://dancingmanbrewery.co.uk/wool-house-history/

 

The creators of the Dancing Man started in The Platform Tavern. Also on Town Quay, the building isn't so attractive, we've dined there once & it was fine, but currently the menu looks very basic. Live music some evenings.

http://www.platformtavern.com/

 

Nearby in Bugle Street,, The Juniper Berry used to be a cheap venue for wedding receptions & wakes & such, and The Titanic a rather scruffy locals' pub. Unless they've changed hands in the last few years I'd suggest you avoid.

 

Lots of other pubs in the city centre but for various reasons I doubt many would suit your needs.

If any other pub is suggested to you, post back & I'll tell you what I know..

 

JB 🙂