BITE user comments - trebles_all_round
Comments by trebles_all_round
LoFi said "Something of a miracle turnaround by the current landlord - after many years of wavering between "Just about OK" and "God awful", this is now one of the best, most interesting pubs in Winchester."
I am sad to report that this owner has sold up and moved on for personal reasons. So long, and thanks for all the great beers.
Time will tell what the new owner makes of it. I have high hopes as reportedly the new owner is a local real ale brewer of some quality ales.
22 Jan 2015 17:08
In terms of variety of beer the Albion is easily the best pub in Winchester
Not a pint of Fosters, San Miguel or Greene King PA in sight. The lagers on offer at the moment.. Vedett, Kozel and Asahi Bitters: too varied to be able to list. The Albion specialises in smaller breweries. From their last tweet (@TheAlbion2) currently offered are beers from Burning Sky, Arbor Ales, Magic Rock. There is also a multitude of interesting bottled beers.
Into spirits? Their collection of whiskies is unequaled. Not to mention the variety of gins and vodkas available.
It's not the biggest pub in the world which means it can be a bit busy, especially on a Friday night.
Someone below said below it's a bit pricy. To be fair it's only the price of the bitters which may take you a bit by surprise as they may be closer to £4 than some of the other pubs in Winchester. The lagers are well below the most expensive in town. But you are paying for a well kept, quality product. Even if you pay 50p a pint more than your GK IPA that's only a couple of quid in the evening. Well worth it, IMHO.
Cheers
T_A_R
24 Jul 2014 08:01
Revisited recently as friends insisted on watching the football there.
They should get rid of the urinals as it seems everyone just pi$$es on the floor.
31 Dec 2012 07:46
The White Swan, AKA the Mucky, has officially changed its name to The Mucky Duck and has been taken over by the same people who run the Corner House, Green Man and another (the name of which escapes me)
It now advertises itself as (and I quote)
A "Sporting" (their quotes not mine) Bar for Discerning Gentlemen and their Good Ladies! Splendid Tucker, Spiffing Ales, Quaffable Wines, All in all... a jolly good show actually!!
Frankly I would be too embarrassed to frequent this place esp as my good lady may well feel patronised. "A beer , sir? Anything for the little lady? A small, white wine perhaps" you can imagine the conversation at the bar.
A "sporting" bar bigging up its wine cellar?
Anyway, suffice to say I've not be darkened their door to date and have no plans to.
Come back, Lucy. All is forgiven.
13 Aug 2012 16:03
Defo no longer a pub. All beer is now bottled.
On the upside it serves the best (and one of the more expensive) breakfast in Winchester. It niggles me that the price of the breakfast doesn't include toast.
4 Jul 2012 10:12
Bishop Out Of Residence, Kingston Upon Thames
Went in here two days ago for the first time in years... I thought the place had improved immensely. I have to say the bar man was a bit dippy - pleasant and attentive but a bit dippy. It wouldn't have surprised me if the lad behind the bar was on work experience.
Would definitely go back.
20 Jun 2012 12:29
As a regular at this gem of a pub I feel I need to add my two penneth worth.
The Hyde doesn't offer food (crisps and nuts and, oh, the occasional sausage) so whichever pub Chav man thinks he visited, I don't believe it's the Hyde. Perhaps, at a �1 a plate, he brought in his own sandwich and forgot where it had come from?
As for cocktails... ROFL! I wouldn't go to a cocktail bar for a pint of real ale, so don't go to a proper pub for a few drops of house spirit and some sugar. (BTW, in fact real ale is the drink of the moment. More establishments are adding a real ale to their repertoire and more and more girls and women are acquiring a taste for its hoppiness.)
As for the pricing, I cannot believe anyone is griping about that. It's not the Gaoler so the beer's not 99p a pint, but it's certainly not the KA (�3.85 for a Stella)
It's a GREAT little pub. It fluctuates between being rammed and semi deserted but the beer is consistently A1. There;'s a consistent welcome whoever you are (stitch'n'bitch, madrigal singers or smelly cyclists)
In my book it's a definite 9/10* and I won't hear another word against it.
*It would have been 10 except they allow the pub mutt to sit at the bar and the tables. Yuk and Double Yuk!
4 May 2011 16:28
�4.10 for a pint of Italy's equivalent to Tesco's own premium lager? You've got to be havin a laugh, mine host.
19 Sep 2010 12:53
I cannot say I've been in here in the evening... but the beer (some Czech pilsner if i remember correctly) I had with my breakfast one Sunday after an early morning game of squash was lovely!
The breakfast was lovely... not particularly rapid service as each one is cooked from fresh. But this simply means you have more time to read the plethora of Sunday papers available.
19 Sep 2010 12:45
Have heard from a reliable source the Stella is now �3.75!!! A central London pint is only �3.40 ... and the last time I was there I asked for my very frothy glass to be topped up... and was refused.
I could understand it if it was the summer... the garden's great, child friendly etc. But in the winter it's as drab as any other place.
You'll find me elsewhere. Anywhere else.
12 Feb 2010 11:55
Nobody has been bothered to post anything about this dump in the couple of years it's been open. Says it all, really.
28 Aug 2009 18:04
After reading the reasonable reviews I went back... bad move.
The place stank of the loos (which are a disgrace - take wellies!)
Note to self: ABA (Anywhere but the Albion)
27 Feb 2009 09:47
Intheory, as a sports bar (outsideTV, two large Plasmas - generally showing different matches so noone's left out - plus various other screens) you cannot beat it.
If only, if only, if only... they'd not turn the loud thumping music on 1 second after the end of the first half (turned off 3 minutes after the start of the second half when reminded) and once again 1 second after the FT whistle.
Call me old fashioned, but at half and full time I want the opportunity to lord it over the supporters of the battered opposition (or make excuses for my team's poor performance) and slag off the ref etc etc.
My advice... go there for the two 45 minutes of the footie. And then leave. Oh, and then only if you want to be served by surly barmaids who seem more keen on chatting with each other and texting their mates than providing a decent, cheerful service to their punters.
6 Dec 2008 20:01
Good ol' Fully! What a transformation. No longer an ugly duckling. At last it appears to have an owner who can see the locals want more than sticky floors and outside toilets.
6 Dec 2008 19:47
Well, what can I say. This postage stamp sized pub has recently undergone various changes of management and is now a far cry from being the jewel in Winchester's beery crown.
The attempt to give it ideas above its station (no pun intended what with its proximity to Winchester SWT) with its objets d'art on the grey window sills has has destroyed its basic boozer character. A few weeks ago the attitude of the staff beggared belief.
And whoever thought the introduction of a fruit machine was a good idea should have his/her head examined. I revisited the Albion a week ago and watched noone use it in the whole two hours I was there. Bearing in mind it takes up probably 10% of the floor area perhaps someone should reconsider.
It's not all bad. It still serves Landlord. But IMHO it's now no more than OK for a swifty after getting off the train.
6 Dec 2008 19:39
This has to be the best pub in Winchester. Good things come in small packages... the Albion couldn't be summed up more succintly.
Especially fantastic for a pre train swifty as you can make it to the station in less than 60 seconds!
10 Dec 2007 21:50
What can I say? This used to be my favourite... the other week the bell was rung at 10PM. The barman told us if there was nobody in the bar he was to shut up early.
Want to be treated as a nobody? Go to the Mucky...
10 Dec 2007 21:39
Back to trebles_all_round's profile
The Albion, Winchester
The Albion has now been reopened about six weeks, and... things don't look too promising.
The bar is currently as brightly lit as any operating theatre in which you may unluckily find yourself. The place is stark with walls devoid of any decorations. Someone described it as "sterile" which is as good an epithet as I could come up with. The place simply doesn't look very inviting. From the outside it looks like someone's front room... a front room which has just been re painted it, the curtains are waiting to be rehung and the halogen lights used to ensure you could see what you were doing are still the only form of lighting.
I am sure the Flowerpots' owner runs a good pub in Cheriton (I've not been there for ages) but, IMHO, trying to replicate that business model with the Albion is a mistake. For most Flowerpots visitors a trip there is an event which is pre planned and eagerly anticipated - and not without reason.
A trip to the Albion, on the other hand, for the majority of people that find themselves in there, is for an opportunistic pint before or after the train or some other event. No music, no Guinness, no payments by card can only serve to deter the curious passer by.
I cannot knock the quality of the beer - as you might expect from such as respected brewer - nor, indeed, the prices (Pots £3.00, Goodens £3.20 and Pots IPA (the 6% guest) at £3.40). Personally, however, I'd rather pay more per pint and be somewhere with a bit of personality.
Sorry, Albion, but you're not doing it for me at the moment.
10 Apr 2015 19:42