The Ship & Castle — Restaurant in Portsmouth

2021 Disable access is poor. We were on the opposite side of the street to the pub. On the side of building there's a massive sign saying ENTRANCE with a big arrow pointing to the front of the building. Get down there to discover a tiny step and therefore inaccessible on a small mobility scooter! A tiny sign states disabled entrance is at the rear. I set back off up the street in the direction I've just travelled. A small pale green sign states this is the disabled entrance. I'm facing a set of outward opening double doors with no handles just a tiny metal eye for a hook. They're locked, but there's a sign on the door asking you to dial the number displayed for entry. 🙄 Thankfully I have a mobile phone but not everyone does or is able to use one!!! Rang twice but the line was engaged. C'est la vie. It's drizzling lightly so it's not too bad having to wait. Rang my husband to see if he could find a member of staff to open the door. He said he hadn't seen a soul since he'd entered the front door. I rang the pub again and got an answer. Within a minute the doors were opened by a smartly dressed very friendly young man. Gaining entry took 7mins 😕 The Ship & Castle needs: Clearer signage everywhere for disabled patrons. A bell for disabled patrons to use! An immobile deaf person may not have a phone but if they do, they'll rely on texts and I doubt the phone system accepts texts. Once we both gained entry we ordered tea for two and lunch. When the tea arrived one of the cups had dried tea stains on the handle, the rim and body of the cup. I quietly pointed this out to a member of staff who looked at it and said "I'll get you another" then walked away. She gave no sign of shock, surprise or dismay! When she returned with a clean looking cup her apology came across as an afterthought.

All of the above is such a shame because the meals we recieved were pipping hot...

The staff were actually lovely - we had just done family day at the navy base and wanted somewhere to have a nice drink. They were accomodating, sorted us with a table with a booth so I could lay my baby down and drinks were quick. However, the owner himself - very very rude. He was wondering around (which is good he actually does that as a lot of owners would leave the employees to it). However, took it upon himself to tell off the children I was looking after while their mum popped out. He made a few comments which we all just brushed off but while I was in the bathroom and they waited for me - I heard him tell them to ‘stop running around it’s not a playground’. These are two well behaved girls who were only sat at the table other than when I was in the bathroom and they were outside the door. He did not speak to myself or the two other adults and his approach was not just rude but so inappropriate to take it upon yourself to tell off someone else’s children. A polite word doesn’t go far - but yet again there was no need for a word - these girls were not being a hassle. We were going to order food but took our money somewhere else after the encounter. It may seem dramatic but these girls were speechless and felt uncomfortable being there because they were worried for being ‘told off’ again.

However as said, bar staff were great and cocktails were a great price and...

We came in this bar-restaurant with our five children. 5 minutes after our arrival, a man comes and abruptly and furiously explains us that our children must not seat in the bar because of the law on alcohol (they were just standing a moment in front of the tv of the bar). We explain that they will seat with us in the restaurant part and it will be ok. Next, the same man comes and tells us, furious, that our baby can not move and that we would be ashamed to be such parents. Angrier and angrier, he tells us that he does not want us to come back in his restaurant. Maybe, we would better take our baby on ours knees but we tell ourselves that it is a shame to welcome so badly a family, with reproaches and insults without any world of politeness. We advise strongly against this restaurant for a family. Fortunately, several other clients say us their shame for him...