Few English cities pack as many good pubs into as small a space as Portsmouth. On a single island you can drink in a tiny backstreet ale house, a harbour-mouth inn where warships slide past the window, a rum-soaked curiosity full of antiques and a brewpub making its own beer, all within a short walk or bus ride of one another.
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To sort the best from the rest we leaned on what regulars say, weighing the things that make a proper pub: the beer and how well it is kept, the welcome and the atmosphere, the food where it matters, and that harder to pin down sense of character. A brilliant pint in a soulless room scores lower than a warm welcome and a well-kept cask.
Scores are out of ten across the whole experience, so a one-trick pub loses out to a genuine all-rounder. Here are eight of the finest, starting at the top with the best.
1. The Hole in the Wall
For all the harbour views and rum collections, the best pub in Portsmouth is a tiny backstreet ale house on Great Southsea Street. The Hole in the Wall is small, cosy and all the better for it, with a superb, ever-changing range of cask and keg beers, a good foreign bottle selection and pints that often come in under a fiver, better value than many of its neighbours. Tasters are offered freely, the staff know their beer, and there is even a jar of sweets for the kids.
It does the simple things better than anyone: proper beer, a genuine welcome and an atmosphere you cannot fake. There is little in the way of food, so it is a drinking pub first and foremost, but as a back-street boozer it is as good as they come.
Why it tops the list
Brilliant, well-kept, fairly priced beer and a genuine welcome in a cosy room.
The only snag
It is tiny and food is minimal, so it is for drinking, not dining.
If you visit one pub in Portsmouth, make it this one.
2. The Still & West
Perched at the very mouth of the harbour in Old Portsmouth, the Still and West has the best view of any pub in the city. From the upstairs restaurant and the outdoor terrace you look straight out at the narrow harbour entrance, with ferries, yachts and the occasional warship passing close enough to touch. The food has a strong local following, the welcome is friendly, and on a sunny day the terrace is one of the finest places to drink on the south coast.
It is popular, so booking is wise for the restaurant and the terrace fills fast in good weather, but the setting earns every bit of the attention. For a special pint with a view, this is the one.
Why it belongs here
An unbeatable harbour-mouth setting, good food and a sun-trap terrace.
Worth knowing
It is busy and booking-led, so plan ahead for the terrace or a table.
Few pints anywhere come with a better view than this.
3. The Sally Port Inn
The Sally Port Inn on Old Portsmouth’s High Street is the city’s great one-off. Behind its historic frontage sits one of the largest rum collections in the world, an extensive cocktail menu, table service that arrives in seconds with snacks, and a quirky, antique-filled interior that doubles as a shop: the floors above house a vast antiques emporium you can browse between drinks. The welcome, by every account, is warm and genuinely fun.
It is as much an experience as a pub, which is exactly why people love it, though the table-service, cocktail-led style is a little different from a traditional boozer. For something memorable in the oldest part of the city, nothing else comes close.
The draw
A quirky, historic inn with world-class rum, great cocktails and antiques to browse.
Bear in mind
It is cocktail-and-experience led rather than a classic ale house.
Go for the welcome and the rum, and leave an hour to explore the floors upstairs.
4. Ship Anson
Standing opposite Portsmouth Harbour station and a stone’s throw from the Historic Dockyard, the Ship Anson is the city’s great maritime pub. Its walls are thick with naval history, its clientele a lively mix of locals, sailors and visitors, and its taps carry real ales including the aptly named Pompey Glory. It opens early for a well-liked full English, which makes it a favourite first or last stop for anyone arriving by train or ferry.
Being a Greene King house it runs plenty of deals, including military and blue-light discounts, and the Sunday roast is a cut above the chain average. The location by the Hard means it can get busy, but the atmosphere is all the better for it.
What makes it special
A history-soaked maritime pub with good ales, right by the station and Dockyard.
Worth knowing
It gets busy with visitors, and it is a big, bustling house rather than an intimate one.
For a pint with a view of the harbour’s comings and goings, few spots beat it.
5. The Barley Mow
On pretty Castle Road in Southsea, the Barley Mow is the cask-ale lover’s choice. A regular in CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide, it keeps a changing range of well-kept ales, local favourites among them, and happily pours a taster before you commit. The interior is the proper unspoilt kind, far removed from any chain or sports bar, with a piano in the corner and fresh farm eggs for sale on the bar.
There is a lovely little garden, and off-peak it is a fine place to settle in with a book and a pint. It can be quiet at times, but that suits the mood of the place, and the beer quality rarely slips.
Best for
Serious, well-kept cask ale in a characterful, unspoilt setting.
One caveat
It is more about the beer than the food, and can be sleepy midweek.
For a proper pint in a proper pub, the Barley Mow is a Southsea institution.
6. The Eastney Tavern
Out at the quieter eastern end of the seafront, the Eastney Tavern is a wood-panelled traditional pub that has built its name on food. Reviewers return again and again for generous, well-priced plates, from a show-stopping tomahawk steak to a proper Sunday roast, served in cosy rooms hung with football memorabilia. There is a large outdoor area too, handy when the nearby beach empties out at the end of the day.
It is a little out of the way if you are based in the city centre, but that is part of the appeal, as it rarely feels as rushed as the busier spots. For a sit-down meal in a proper pub setting, it is one of the most reliable in Portsmouth.
The appeal
Hearty, good-value food in a warm, traditional pub with plenty of space.
The trade-off
It is away from the centre, so you will need to make the trip out to Eastney.
Go hungry, and the Eastney Tavern rarely disappoints.
7. Brewhouse & Kitchen, Southsea
Up near Southsea Common, Brewhouse and Kitchen does something none of the others on this list can match: it brews its own beer on the premises. The result is a rotating range of fresh, house-made ales alongside the usual guests, and you can even book a brewing experience day and make a batch yourself. The space is bright and roomy, and the kitchen turns out a solid menu with a well-regarded Sunday lunch.
It leans more towards a modern food-and-craft-beer pub than an old-school boozer, and prices sit a touch above the backstreet locals, but for anyone who likes to see where their pint came from it is a treat.
What you get
Beer brewed on site, a bright room and a dependable kitchen.
Keep in mind
It is more craft-and-food pub than traditional boozer, and priced to match.
For fresh, house-brewed beer with a proper meal, this is the pick of the bunch.
8. The Lawrence Arms
Tucked onto Lawrence Road in Southsea, this is the community local at its best. It is dog-friendly and board-game stocked, with a paved garden that has shade in summer and heaters in winter, and a rotating line-up of real ales and ciders from breweries around the region. Regulars treat it as a second front room, and newcomers tend to be welcomed into the fold quickly.
The food headline is the Sunday roast, widely rated as one of the best value in the city, with a build-your-own approach and an early-bird deal that fills the place from midday. For a proper neighbourhood pub with a kitchen punching above its weight, it is a lovely spot.
Why regulars love it
A genuine community local with good ales, a garden and a cracking value roast.
The catch
It can be quiet off-peak, and the best roast slots go early on a Sunday.
Come for the beer, stay for the welcome, and book ahead if it is a roast you are after.
How the pubs score
Rated across beer, welcome, atmosphere and food, this is how the eight compare:
The pubs at a glance
To match a pub to your evening, here is the quick version:
| Pub | Area | Best for | Score |
| The Hole in the Wall | Southsea | Real ale and atmosphere | 9.4 |
| The Still & West | Old Portsmouth | Harbour views and food | 9.1 |
| The Sally Port Inn | Old Portsmouth | Rum, cocktails and quirk | 8.8 |
| Ship Anson | The Hard | Maritime history and ales | 8.5 |
| The Barley Mow | Southsea | Cask ale and character | 8.2 |
| The Eastney Tavern | Eastney | Pub food and space | 7.9 |
| Brewhouse & Kitchen | Southsea | Beer brewed on site | 7.6 |
| The Lawrence Arms | Southsea | A community local and roast | 7.3 |
So where should you drink?
If you want the best pint, head straight for the Hole in the Wall. If you want a view to go with it, the Still and West is unbeatable, and the Sally Port Inn turns a drink into an occasion. For history there is the Ship Anson, for cask ale the Barley Mow, and for food the Eastney Tavern or a house-brewed pint at Brewhouse and Kitchen, while the Lawrence Arms is the local many of us wish was on our own street.
The honest truth is that Portsmouth has far more good pubs than any list can hold, so treat these eight as a starting point and go exploring.
How we chose and ranked these
Our order reflects the things drinkers mention most often, from beer quality and the welcome to atmosphere and food, cross-checked against each pub’s character and setting. We aimed for a spread of styles rather than eight versions of the same pub, so an ale house, a brewpub, harbour-side inns and a community local all feature. Opening hours, beer ranges and menus change, so check before a special trip, and remember the best pub is often simply the one with your friends in it.
