The Old Ship — Restaurant in Fareham

Well I have to say that my last visit has really destroyed it for me.

Arrived to a fairly busy but still lots of space environment, got served drinks and told that they are still doing food.

We decided what we wanted and ordered at the bar (within 5 minutes of getting drinks). all seemed ok.

Then we get approached by one of the staff telling us that she is the bearer of bad news. the news was that they cant serve us any food as the kitchen has an electrical fault and when they turn anything on it blows everything.

Ok, thats a shame as we were looking forward to a meal. but these things happen.

However, this is the bit that has inspired me to write this review and never visit again.

We were in eye line of the kitchen and whilst we finished our drinks over the next 30 minutes, meal after meal after meal came out of the kitchen. So we had been lied to. probably because the chef didn't want to cook anymore meals was our guess.

On going to the bar and getting a refund for the meal, the staff didn't know how to do it and we were stood around waiting for that to happen (would have expected some form of action on this before we went to leave and not as we were leaving).

On exiting we noticed that a reserved table as you enter the main door now had people sitting on it. They arrived after we had ordered food and they were being served food.

I have no idea what went on or why we were denied any food at all after being charged for it. but at the end of the day, a list of lies and bad customer service has now left us in the view that we will never visit again.

------- PREVIOUS REVIEW -----

Great food, great service and a lovely venue with some really nice views no matter what the weather.

The old ship has many little hiding spots to have a quiet meal or drink with friends. The atmosphere is always vibrant and energised. Plenty of space inside and out to enjoy especially in good weather.

The team are very friendly and always willing to accommodate or help.

Waiting time is spot on, no matter how busy they are they set expectation at the start of your experience. Bar service is always very quick and the team always know who's next to be served. No only that, they acknowledge you and make you feel at home.

They have space to hire for events, parties, meetings. So if you want your own space, they can accommodate. However, I highly recommend booking.

All in all. Top notch experience,...

There's a sign in this pub above the steps leading down into one of the small bar seating areas. It's perhaps one of the few signs in the world that needs its own sign telling you, to read the sign. This occurred to me as a few feet from us, apparently the 4th person that evening banged their head on the, "Please mind your head" sign, so the flabbergasted lady behind the bar told me. Anyway, this is a quirky pub that from the outside seems like your standard, fairly inviting pub, but once inside, its nautical themed décor and old oak beams give it a nice oldy-worldy feel with a few sizable tables to sit at. Although from the seemingly slightly undersized bar area, you can see down a small flight of steps into a snug with leather armchairs and a real log fire, all helping to continue the traditional feel of this Tudor boozer. Beyond that is another small passage. This is where it gets weird because if you pass through here, you'll come to another smallish seating area, which is fine so far but then head towards the light of the next passage and you'll find yourself in a large open dining area that looks like something not too dissimilar to a Harvester. It's all part of the same pub, you may need to convince yourself, but this is where many come to dine giving you almost a drinks area and a restaurant area of the whole establishment. Not that it's the case but it just feels that way.

Anyway...drinks prices are reasonable, car park is the right size, toilets are clean. Not sure what the food is like as we only had drinks but by all accounts, it seems OK and I can't tell you much about the outside seating area as we went during a dark winter's evening.

So, if you like beer, food and ships and stuff, you’ll enjoy it here. Although, if you're more than 5 foot 9 inches, be sure not to regret ignoring the sign about knocking yourself out on a...

In summary, "Suspected food poisoning x4".

I ate here with a team from work on 20th March 2019. There were 10 of us in the group and we came for a lunch time meal.

First impressions was that the portion sizes were big. Between us we ate various dished such as whitebait; lamb; burgers; chicken and fillet steak. The food really wasn't very exciting and tasted pretty bland. The burger that I ate tasted a little strange (where was a taste I couldn't quite place but I put it down to little or no seasoning).

Unfortunately, between 3 - 4 days later, four of us were hit with suspected food poisoning. It started with some very strange goings on in my stomach and feeling sick for a couple of days followed by several days of very bad diarrhoea. The people who became ill (including myself) ate a range of dishes: two guys ate burgers; one guy had fillet steak and another girl ate a chicken.

When I phoned the pub the following week to complain, they were fairly polite with me but I got the impression they weren't really bothered that almost half of my group had become ill after eating here. I understand that proving this 100% is difficult but I have a strong suspicion that the way the pub was preparing food on this day was not great and led to our food poisoning. None of us spend time with each other outside of work. I also work in a large open plan office with hundreds of other people; the only people who became ill with an upset stomach (within 24 hours of each other) were people who attended this work lunch. I feel the evidence is pretty conclusive.

In summary, I will never eat here again and I would advice others to avoid unless you want to become...