Contrary to what its name suggests, Phil Sampson finds a very down to earth pub in the far reaches of Portsmouth Harbour
CASTLE IN THE AIR
Folk singer Don McClean warbled in his 1981 eponymous song that he was tired of ‘Castles In The Air’. He’d obviously not visited the subject of this month’s Boat Cuisine review, the Castle In The Air pub, Fareham. OK, so they don’t do ‘American Pie’ but they do have a distinctly meaty beef and ale pie or, as part of its extensive vegan menu, a distinctly un-meaty mushroom and ale pie. They also have plenty of other meat and meat-free options too. And fish, including two variants of its freshly hand-battered fish and chips offer. In fact, with approaching 40 main course picks on the menu, there’s rather too much choice in this writer’s view. But on the other hand, I guess that means there’s little chance of getting tired here – so come on down and give it a try, Mr McLean.
The Castle In The Air enjoys a prime waterfront location adjacent to Fareham’s Lower Quay. On the wet and windy day we visited, the masts in the local marina were swaying, their halyards clanking as we stepped inside what immediately revealed itself to be a warm, welcoming traditional pub. Inside are reminders of how things used to be around these parts, with archive photos of the Fareham quayside and those who worked there dotted around the saloons.
A delightful mish-mash of furniture, with tables high and low, confirmed the unpretentiousness of the place. We took seats in one of the establishment’s three box-bay windows, giving us a great view of the windswept yachtscape outside. I should say there was also one of the pub’s large screen TVs immediately above us, which could have be
