Ship Inn, Alresford

Blue Scrumpy left this review about Ship Inn

Latest Visit: 23/9/26:

Having failed to gain entrance to the pub towards the end of its weekly opening hours, I made a second attempt to enter on a Wednesday afternoon when the pub opens for the week.

As with my previous attempt, there was plenty of activity in the kitchen but the entrance to the pub still had a closed sign. Nevertheless, the car park was full.

I managed to walk in anyway finding what appeared to be the landlady behind the bar and an elderly local already with a pint in front of them.

There are a couple of rooms to the front and one to the rear. The room to the left is the largest and has bare boards as well as access to the bar. The rooms to the front and rear right are tiled, with a rug filling up much of the space in the rear room. Music was playing and dogs are allowed.

I was pleasantly surprised to see 3 cask ales on the bar - Triple fff Moondance, Timothy Taylor Landlord & Bowman Swift One. Beavertown Neck Oil was on keg. The cider was from Hyde's. I opted for the Swift One and whilst I gave it a good go, it was in a very poor condition and I resorted to taking it back. The landlady told me it had only just gone on. I assume that to mean that it had been tapped 3 days previously when the pub had last been open. She said she had poured it through but agreed with me that it wasn't right and she did turn the clip around. My replacement Moondance was in a much better condition. I did offer to pay again, as I'd consumed almost half of the original beer but this request was declined.

Food does still appear to be the mainstay here but at least they attempt to keep some real ales. However, with the unpredictable opening hours, I struggle to recommend this one.

Original Visit 2/8/26:

We arrived at 5pm on a Sunday to find the pub having just closed up, despite a published 6pm closing time. We spoke to the one remaining drinker who had been thrown outside as they closed up. I will attempt a return visit but I assume this place is very much food-led and whilst it seems harsh to say, if any pubs have to close down, pubs like this which treat customers with disdain need to be top of that list.

On 25^th September 2026 - rating: 4
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