please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
very average fullers ale, limited atmosphere
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A Sunny but Cool Saturday lunchtime right at the beginning of March and we had driven from our Surrey/hants Border Base to Hayling Island. Before a little visit to the Beach we stopped off at The Maypole Inn. Having done some prior homework, it seemed this pub with a 9+ rating had to be tried out. Well on the Food front it was Superb! I tried the option of 'Pie of the Day' which was Steak and Kidney and it proved the best Steak and Kid pie i'd ever had. Lovely Puff crispy pastry and enough filling to embarrass those who are used to 'Sparse air filled' competition! There was Kidney everywhere the fork wandered. It was served in portion form from it's 'Mothership' Pie, and Chips and Peas that accompanied it were delicious and cooked to perfection. My wife had the Scampi and Chips and this again proved excellent. Although we both had Guinness which was reliably ok, there were a few very good Bitters on and plenty of Lagers too. I would say a very nice Pub to probably have as your local too, as it seemed very good humoured and friendly. Give it a Try as the Food is worth the 9 alone! My Wife and I will be back for sure. Well Done The Maypole!
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We were back on the Island for a return walk this weekend & this time booked the Maypole. This coincided with the Portsmouth Marathon but fortunately none of them were hanging around for lunch.
Once again we found attentive service, good food & well kept beer. So for me it retains it's 8.5 rating.
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Visited this pub at lunchtime on 13th March with a party of 6 including 2 vegetarians and 2 children. We were the first customers to arrive and I did the usual 'is there something for vegetarians' check. The lunchtime menu had one veggie option for a proper meal (not just a snack) but, to his credit, the barman asked if I was happy with the option available. Due to my personal taste I wasn't 100% happy but he then went to see if the chef would be able to do one of the evening meal options instead. He came back with 2 other options and I selected one of these. My niece asked for a child-sized portion of one of the adult meals and this was no problem.
All of the food arrived without too much of a wait and we were all very impressed with the portion sizes and quality. The pub slowly filled with customers and the atmosphere only added to our enjoyment of our visit. The pub is clean and well-looked after, very memorable and one that I've happily signed up to BITE just so that I can recommend it to others. If you're in the area it's well worth a visit.
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Our walking group were keen to try the Maypole, could one of the top rated pubs in Hampshire really rate a phenomenal 9.7, this is our unbiased view & we visit top rated pubs on a weekly basis. First of all we had enjoyed a splendid walk from the Ship car par via the Billy Line to the South of Hayling island. Then we turned North & 2 miles later arrived at the Maypole on a busy Sunday service without booking ahead. For a moment things looked bleak, but with my usual luck our party of 5 secured a table. The staff were great, we were told that due to a mishap in the kithen they were running a little late with the orders. No problem our order was taken 15 mins later & the food was on the table 10 mins after that. I had the standard beef roast & it was perfect. There was one grumble that one plate of mixed veg between 4 was a bit stingy, but the vegetables were fresh & very well cooked. Another of our party thought the portions of food was rather small. Also the roast pork was not as flavoursome as it could have been. But these are still small gripes. The beer was excellent, I had the Butser & it was very well kept. Overall this is a very well run pub, maybe lacks a bit of old world character but I would recommend it to anyone. And it probably is the best pub on Hayling Island. I give it a realistic score of 8.5.
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There are two pubs just on Hayling which attract many people for food - thus a 2-hour wait at one last evening which resulted in a group of four moving further on to the Island - and boy, we were glad we did!
Staff at The Maypole are exceptional - polite, friendly, not over attentive with diners. The beer - an old Gales pub still offering HSB and Butser - together with London Pride (untried; I was driving) cannot be rated unfortunately.
The food however, was superb; rump steak cooked precisely as ordered and melt in the mouth; chicken in Madeira which got the thumbs up from the two who ordered it and cod wrapped in bacon; which passed the Wifey test. No starters; but a home-made treacle pudding after, which got a "wow" Even the cheese board was spot on; cheese at room temp and plenty of it! Whether local or visiting - do give this a go. Sunday roast?? Booked for and drooling..
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Went here around Christmas time and loved the open fires- so cosy. The service was really friendly and the food was delicious and not too expensive. Reasonable range of wines too.
Easy to reach from Portsmouth.
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great pub. New owners Mandy and nevill tons better than previous ones who got a bit greedy and skimped on quantity of food. Now OK and worth coming back to. Best pub in hayling!
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Have to agree with what has already been said. The food here is absolutely superb, their gammon steaks have to be eaten to be believed, both tender and tasty. The staff are friendly, cheerful, helpful and efficient. Cannot find a bad word to say about this pub.
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Fantastic. Great service, fantastic home-cooked food, superb real ales and licences who care passionately about their pub
Elizabeth Jeffries - 14 Jul 2005 23:16 |
The best pub on Hayling Island by far with the friendliest staff you could hope to meet. Great beer and superb food which is all prepared on the premises fresh to order. Spotlessly clean with a lovely garden and plenty of parking.
Sharon Conway - 6 Jun 2005 17:44 |
