Three Horseshoes, Elsted

Four real ales on offer, all on gravity and in good condition, but a liilte on the warm side on a warm evening when I visited. Pleasant, friendly staff and superb food such as Selsey crab salad and Venison liver, bacon & mash. Slightly dearer than ordinary pub grub (�10 - �14ish) but well worth it and excellently cooked. A lovely little pub in a wonderful location. Beautiful views of the South Downs. Scored 6/10 for the beer but 7/10 overall for the pub. Will be back.

7 Aug 2012 09:32

Lord Raglan, Emsworth

Had a pint of their guest beer which was stone cold, cloudy and totally flat. Sent it back. The barmaid said that she'd get someone to check the beer and walked off without an appology or offering me an alternative beer. Left standing there. Four minutes later some lad walks into the bar and pours a half of the stuff and sticks a thermometer in it and turns round without even establishing eye contact. When I said "Hello, it's me, would you like to talk to me?" He just said, "I was asked to look at the beer. I don't know who complained and I don't know you from Adam." When pushed, he then said "There's nothing wrong with it.". Not "It's a northern beer and it's supposed to taste like that" or "Sorry Sir, I'm just checking it, I'll be with you in a minute." Just "There's nothing wrong with it." So I took his word for it and had a new pint, which was better than the first, but still very poor. Bitter, musty and lumps of yeast floating in it. Drank up quickly and walked out. So rude, so arrogant. And �3.60 a pint. Who the hell do these people think they are? They're just having a laugh. An absolute disgrace. Avoid this place like the plague and go to the excellent Coal Exchange just up the road.

2 Aug 2012 21:53

The Halfway House, Edinburgh

This place is a gem - the word is over-used, but no other term would do it justice. Very well kept real ales (all Scottish) and a good range of malts, including a house label which I think came from Dufftown (Speyside). As others have said, it's tiny and was pretty full at 5.00pm and packed by 6.00pm. Saw two different bar staff as we were there during changeover and I can vouch for the fact that they were both hardworking, friendly and helpful. Intended to stay for just the one beer, but the atmosphere was so good that we stayed to eat and have another beer or two and a wee dram. The food includes traditional standards such as Stovies and Haggis, both of which were microwaved straight from the fridge but none the worse for that. What else would you expect in such a tiny pub? It's a wonder that they do food at all. There were plenty of locals in there as well as tourists and the banter was terrific. Others have commented on the language and it's still true. But not from the bar staff. One of the locals must have used the "F" word over 100 times in the course of an hour or so, but it wasn't offensive. Even my wife was just mildly amused. It's all part of the character of the place. I really didn't want to leave, but my wife made me, dammit!

12 Jul 2012 21:33