Ship And Castle - Portsmouth

This traditional pub is a hidden gem. The owner, Steve, was extremely hospitable and the ambiance was cozy and genuine. They offer a great variety of beer and the food menu looked incredible. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to try the food as we had to catch a ferry. We plan to arrive early next time to indulge in their cuisine. If the food tastes as good as it smelled and looked, I will be a satisfied customer.

We went here for a late lunch, and regretted it. For just under £35 we had fish and chips and a scampi and chips with cola. Barely a handful of chips with both. My partner said his fish was ok but I had two scampis in a row that weren’t deveined so the poop shoot was still in there and not something I’d expect to eat. I had eaten maybe 4 of them before that and there were 2-3 still uneaten before getting the two in a row that still had poop in them (I’m hoping the others didn’t, but not too sure). I brought this to a waiting to show, and he seemed unnecessarily aggressive about it, asking twice what I expected him to do about it and that “well you’ve eaten plenty of them already”. I hadn’t, the portions are small. Completely unacceptable and there was no need for the hostility when I’m just asking for a plate with food that didn’t have crustacean faeces on it. Seems like an ok place to drink, but don’t bother with the food.

We came to this restaurant because we were waiting for our ferry and decided to have dinner and a beer. However, it was a terrible experience as we had to wait 1.5 hours for our scampi and fries, and the toilets were very dirty.

The food was fantastic and the service was exceptional, even on a busy Sunday. We tried dishes from the Carvery as well as the main menu and would definitely suggest checking this place out.

Decent enough food, with plenty of choice, we chose from the smaller menu but the choice from the bigger portion was 18/20 pounds per meal which I thought was a bit over priced. Very limited condiments just mustard or brown sauce on offer. This pub is very spacious so no need to book, and does offer a carvery option (Sunday), no free parking anywhere nearby. Staff were very polite.