H.O. Ward is our occasional columnist. Read more pub reviews by H.O. Ward.
Taking the King's Shilling
The site of The Ship Anson in Portsmouth, England - home of the Royal Navy - has been associated with pubs and ale houses since the 1600s. If you're an anglophile, you've probably heard the expression "to take the King's shilling". The Ship Anson pub is right next to where the expression originated.It seems one Louisa Walcott ran a pub called the London Tavern there. She dropped coins into her unwary customers' tankards. Traditionally, once they drank, they had taken the King's shilling and were recruited into the Navy. According to some reports, she recruited 26,572 men into the Navy that way.
The Luftwaffe put an end to the London Tavern in WWII.
What's that got to do with the Ship Anson today?
The beer garden of the older pub, the Ship Anson, is where the London Tavern once stood. Though it too has a pub landlady, and though the Royal Navy is still very much in evidence here, you can down a pint without worries about being drafted, press ganged or shanghai'd. It's a great place to stop for a drink and a cheap to moderately priced meal if you are visiting some of Portsmouth's great sites - HMS Warrior, Nelson's HMS Victory and the new Spinnaker Tower, built for the Millennium.To Drink:
I had a very nice lager and lime (that's beer with a squirt of lime cordial to Yanks; very popular in these parts). The bar stocks Fosters, Ruddles, Heineken, John Smiths, Carling, Stella Artois, Guinness, Extra Cold and Strongbow. In a special offer, if you buy two 250ml glasses of wine, for £3.65 a glass, they give you the rest of the bottle free. No offence mate, but seems to me you've already paid for it
To Eat:
The Ship Anson's extensive menu, includes 14 House tapas at £1.55 each or three for £4.35. With a side order of chips or a fresh mixed salad for £1.95 you've got a nice, cheap meal.They serve filled baguettes with crispy nachos and fresh mixed salad and make a nice burger plate with floured bun, chunky chips (that's fries to those of you across the pond), mixed salad and tomato relish.
The big selection of 15 main courses ranges from such British classics as Steak and Ale Pie, Mixed Grill, Cumberland Sausage and Mash, to more modern and vegetarian choices like Butternut Squash and Ginger Bake and Salmon with Sundried Tomato Butter.
They also do brunch, for example, two rashers of bacon, a premium Cumberland sausage and a bubble and squeak potato rosti, served with roasted cherry tomatoes, baked beans and a fried egg. Add to this a choice of four wraps and five "rustic roasts" - potatoes roasted in their skins with fillings - plus five desserts.
Of course, a baguette filled with prawns in Marie Rose sauce always makes me happy.
The Cost:
The cost of main courses is between £5.15 and £8.65. A big glass of wine from a nice selection costs around £3.50 . A pint of beer costs between £2.05 and £2.60.
Special Feature:
The Ship Anson is right around the corner from Portsmouth's Spinnaker Tower, a major new tourist attraction. And, if you sit in the once notorious beer garden (see above, King's shillings and all that), you can enjoy a view of the HMS Warrior, Britain's first iron clad war ship.
The Bottom Line:
The Ship Anson's venerable half-timbered exterior belies an interior that is a more modern mix - there are, for example, the inescapable fruit machines (Britain's one-armed bandits) that blight most pubs nowadays. They jostle for space with ribbons from sailors hats off various ships and old timey notices to leave cudgels at the door.
Nevertheless, service is old fashioned, friendly and attentive (Two different people asked me how I liked my meal) and the food is good and good value. I shall visit Ship Anson next time I'm in the area, to explore the menu further. If you are visiting the Old Dockyards along Portsmouth's historic waterfront or the new attractions around the Spinnaker Tower, this pub is worth a stop.
