The Rockstone — Restaurant in Southampton

Was pleased when when I've been recently as the new owners are really nice, and have had some really nice exchanges with the staff when I've been for drinks - I go maybe about two/three times a month for drinks?

However not been for food since the new owners took over until last night, but was pretty amazed that they've re-done the menu the way they have. The Rockstone has been known in Southampton as a place to get the best burgers in town (arguably), then menu was great before and had loads of great beef, chicken and vegan options. Lots of combos, and great loaded fries/sides.

As a caveat, I am not 100% if it was just a smaller menu as it was a Friday night when we went there, but it's been drastically reduced and the format of the menu is all a bit unnecessary.

Example: It's £13.50 for the basic burger (and chips). You then have a long list of (admittedly tasty) additions you can add in in to your burger. It quickly stacks up. They're all additions between £0,50 and £3, I can't remember exactly, but the ones that stood out, Avocado +£2, Cheese +£1, Bacon +£1, BBQ Pork +£3. Anyway, quickly the totals add up if you want a burger comparable to some of the old menu creations . Generally seems like it's too much to ask for £2 addition for what ended up being a couple slices of avocado on a burger?

Not to criticize too much, the food was pretty good, and the chips are definitely better, I'd also like to say again that the staff and establishment is great and the drinks are a solid price. However it seems a bit crazy to me that such an institution has had such a change - maybe they couldn't keep the old menu for some reason? Or perhaps the sheer extent of the old menu wasn't that profitable? This seems like a step in the wrong direction in any case.

Not to be too lazy, but would be nice if they had some sort of concise menu or burger options instead of a create your own only menu - (its the same format for their loaded fries too so you end up wondering why it is £1.50 to add olives on loaded fries, and then the same price to add them on a burger, surely different quantities are used?).

Maybe a more complete menu is coming, and maybe things improve over time, but felt this review would be a signal to previous customers expecting the old rockstone burgers.. that they're not. Obviously things change and I'd be fine with the changes the new owners have made if they made a few tweaks (like i say, the food was nice).

Tldr: Sadly the Rockstone appears to be turning into a more generic pub - nice as it is, and less of a great food establishment in the city. I'll be back for a beer...

An unusual pub experience. Table service for drinks, pay at the end. It was good but it really threw me.

We went on a Monday. It was billed on their website as open mic night, this was half true. They were open, but there was no mic to be seen. This wasn't the reason for our visit so it made no difference to me but if you are going with your guitar in hand in the hope of being spotted by a talent scout then you could be disappointed.

They seem to specialise in burgers, and the stream of them which kept coming out looked good, as well as big. The Volcano is billed as being their ultimate hot offering, a claim most places can't back up when it comes down to it. Not here though.

I saw a guy obviously struggling with his burger and figured it must be a Volcano so I asked him if it was hot. He offered me a piece to try. This was a total stranger, and total strangers don't often share their food with you, this was an indication of what was to come.

Anyway, being a sucker for free food as well as hot food I snatched his hand off. All I can say is the Volcano is not for the faint of heart. The poor guy who shared his with me couldn't finish his, and when they offered to box it up for him to take home he came up with some half arsed excuse as to why he didn't want them to. If you like hot food then go for it, if you are a pretender to the throne then give it a miss.

Outside the pub is a small garden in the rear, it's semi covered and has a few cushioned benches to sit on. There is an outdoor pizza oven but it wasn't doing anything when we were there. Although the garden is small it was a nice space to be in, which you enter through the smallest door in the world.

It's a nice pub, little bit quirky but that's what I...

Upon entering the Rockstone we were greeted by songs from out childhood! The mighty mighty bosstones, rancid, the pixies and more. There was one guy behind the bar clad in black with a gray flat cap whom I asked about their famous burgers. He recommended the hellboy and my wife had a plain ish burger with bacon and sweet potato fries. When the food came out I was amazed at the size of the burger, seriously taken aback it was effing huge and had chilli's, cheese and thick cut chorizo spilling out of its sides. The fries were great, the table sauces were unlabeled and possibly home made, which was interesting and quite delicious! But the burger, oh my gods! It was the greatest burger I have ever eaten. If that thing had been my final meal I would have died a happy and somewhat bloated man. The burger itself was moist, charred and slight pink in the middle, the way a burger should be. The fresh chilli gave a nice sweetness and bite, the chorizo a smokiness followed by a rich cheese and tasty sauce. Seriously I'm getting hungry thinking about it. I will say its not the cheapest place on earth but frick, you get what you pay for without a doubt. Sadly we had to eat and leave quite quickly and it was a lunch time so I didn't get to sample the many ales and ciders they had to offer. But I will definitely be going back to...