The Portsmouth Arms in Basingstoke and Deane - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Great food, excellent atmosphere. We were recommended this pub by the guys at ifly in Basingstoke. 14 of us arrived unbooked on a Sunday lunchtime and they were superb.

Nice pub, with good service and staff at lunchtime.

From the outside this pub is a lot more than inside, it has a nice garden with plenty of tables, a large play area for children and has a beautiful thatched roof. Inside it's just an average pub. The staff aren't too bothered about being there or whether you're there or not. Ordering food and drink is by a QR code, which didn't work so we had to then re&order at the bar anyway. The food was fine, served it's purpose as sustenance on a long journey but it's fairly basic and I don't imagine too much "cheffing" goes into it. But for a total bill of around £55 for 5 people, you can't ask for much. Service was pretty quick after ordering though.

First time visiting with a client for some lunch. Sat outside and ordered inside at the bar. It took a very long time to get served and even noticed. Someone was out the back packing away and oblivious to me things and then someone else came in and got served before me which is annoying. I had the steak ciabatta, wasn't worth £11.95 and felt like it was only half a portion. £3.95 for a large diet coke, felt like daylight robbery. Nice big garden and the atmosphere is the only thing that saved my lunch catch up with a client. Would I visit again, I would but would hope someone else is paying the bill!

We booked a table for 14 including 3 children, for a family birthday do. We were delighted with the pub, which we didn't previously know. We chose it because of its having a garden, a children's play area and an affordable menu. Our experience fully justified our choice as everything was excellent and the staff's efficient service made the event very enjoyable for all. They coped well with the very late arrival of two of the party due to train problems, and the allergy requirements of some of us. We would go again if in the area (we don't live locally).

Nice place, nice meal but uncomfortably pressed into settling the bill before retiring to the garden despite wanting to stay longer and enjoy further drinks on the tab sat in the sunshine... Sadly, that lack trust in ourselves, both mature respectable folks (myself in my 60's) unfortunately spoiled our experience there 🤨

Bit disappointed. Food not particularly tasty and burger bun inedible as rock hard. Not very busy in restaurant so no excuse really. Probably won't go again as there are other better places nearby.

I booked a private function area for 45 people on Wednesday night, the staff at The Portsmouth Arms were very welcoming and the service was very quick and efficient. We will definitely be returning again for work function's. Thank you so much.

Celebrated a birthday having dinner with family. Great price on Monday as 33% off and not busy so easy to talk and take our time. Tasty hot food, good service and great price.

Arrived to a very quiet pub. Starter came out quickly as it was Nachos and this was very nice. Long wait for the mains which were bland but passable however in one of the mains (ciabatta steak sandwich with salad and chips) in the salad was what can only be described as a tiny caterpillar crawling on it. The staff offered to do a completely new replacement, which we accepted however when it came back the markings on the top of the ciabatta which we had made to identify it were still there when it returned and the only replacement was fresh chips! I think the staff must have been crazy to think that we wouldn’t notice that we were getting the same meal back. We won’t be eating there again!

Service was amazing polite, helpful and professional, going the extra mile. A variety of popular beers and other drinks available. The food was really good and came out hot, delicious and quickly!

Always enjoy coming to this pub. Not only is it a gorgeous building that has been decorated with the perfect balance of country pub and modern. The food is always great and the service is spot on

came for lunch with my girlfriend on wednesday afternoon, the service was fantastic and when i found out a problem with my drink, the bartender happily gave me a new one which was flawless!

Bit of a meat market on our Sunday but we have booked for another, Saturday, this time

Cosy, welcoming pub. Fantastic roast and brilliant, friendly service.

My local pub and so it's going to be good. I have a allergy problem with dogs which is why I don't eat there. I don't think you should have dogs in a restaurant. But hey there's places you can sit where you're not exposed to dogs. I really don't understand why people with dogs think everyone likes dogs. You have menu's with nut allergies but people like me with asthma have dog allergies. Why not have a dog free zone?

Terrific Sunday toast with all the trimmings. Friendly and accommodating staff and an excellent selection of real ales too, all under a beautiful thatched roof. Would not hesitate to return!

Fab Sunday dinner and great service !

Lovely fish and chips and great service. Thank you, great alternatives for food allergies thank you 😊

We went on a Saturday afternoon, and it was very lively around the pool table. We ended up moving the restaurant side even though we weren't eating

We booked the restaurant but were put in the bar area as you had a private function which we were part of but still had to sit in the bar to listen to loud noisy groups shouting and burping out loud. The staff were constantly encouraging us to leave the area as quickly as possible until told to move and that's without seeing the desert menu. Poor overall and the worse experience we've had. We will not be back.

Very disappointed, beef roast was terrible, the meat was probably the worst beef I’ve ever had, wafer thin and brown very well done ( when it stated it comes medium rare) we couldn’t even chew through it or cut through it as it was so tough..we had a table at 12:30 so it wasn’t as if it has been sat there all day.. we then spoke to the waiter and explained the beef was so tough we couldn’t cut through it, and it was quite disappointing, he went away and we thought he was going to get us a fresher cut of meat or complain to the chef and resolve the issue but he came back with a steak knife and walked away.. we found this shocking but also quite funny at how bad the service was.. we decided to not complain again we thought they may take some money off the bill as the beef was un edible ( the rest of it was quite nice)but they didn’t offer a discount, so we paid in full but definitely won’t be coming back.

Friendly pub. Food of sausage and mash and fish and chips was ok. Great building. And easy parking

Fantastic pub with great food and friendly staff that are very helpful

I booked a table for lunch to celebrate my mum's birthday. We were shown to the table, given menus & was told they would be back to take our order. We waited for 30 mins, watching people who turned up after us getting served. We went to the bar to chase. Someone took our orders. Our drinks went to the wrong table! Waited another 40 mins only to be told there was an issue when they put the order through & it was lost. Ordered again & waited another 30 mins for food. We only had mains. The food was okay once it arrived. They waived the bill but it ruined my mum's day. I've visited this pub many times but won't be going back.

Lovely food and friendly staff here.

I had a great night celebrating my 50th birthday at the Portsmouth Arms. There were 17 in our group and Connor and his team were amazing. Accommodating our every request. The food was great all piping hot and absolutely delicious. We had live music and a great atmosphere.

The staff were very friendly and the food was pretty good. Great management team who are always happy to help.

I dont normally do reviews but the terrible managenent forced me to write one when i went to the bar and i spoke to the nice bar girl about how my fish tasted old and that it made me feel ill she said she would get the manger who was no help at all . My son had the same meal but his tasted better the manager didn't care how i felt but stared blankly at me and made no attempt to apologise or looked concerned it would have been nice as i wasnt asking for my money back but she just didnt do or say anything i got better customer care from the young barmaid. The fish has made me feel very sick and not at all well i will not be going back.

Could not find a table to sit down. Place was rammed out. Great sign for the pub. Didn't stay. One star is not a reflection on the quality of the venue. Just did not want to sit outside on a cool day

Every Sunday, Quiz Night! So fun!

Had a great time. My last night in the UK.

Everything excellent, food, service perfect, Connor went above and beyond

Excellent sandwiches with fries on the lunch menu. The service, speed, and decor are also great.

Since moving to Basingstoke I have visited the Portsmouth Arms on a few occasions for lunch, on my own, as well as Sunday lunch with the family. The food is very good, whether you are there for a full meal or snack, the staff are always friendly. There is a good variety of beers available.

Great service, good food, dog friendly, large car park.

Service was absolutely spot on. Connor went above and beyond making sure we had everything we needed. Smiling and talking with a cheerful manner. Food was very generous in portions tasty and hot. Unfortunately a roast potato slightly harder than I would have liked. Table was wobbly. Outside was broken glasses and a few bottles. A jagged piece of glass on the pathway which I kicked onto the grass as there may have been an accident.Bathrooms were ok but surfaces sticky. Floor was wet and did see a wet floor sign. Heating was too much as I was sat right next to it. Lovely lay out and great relaxed atmosphere. Would definately come again.

Hadn’t been here for some time & went on a busy Saturday evening. Food good - steak pie was perhaps a little chewier than it could have been - and service very good. Worth a visit.

We love the burgers and beer. Staff very friendly and helpful 👌

30 of us for a pre-booked Sunday lunch. The food was good and the staff coped well. Good selection of food and drinks. Nice location; outskirts of Basingstoke but with a rural village pub vibe

Food was good service was a little slow but to be far was a Sunday Lunch time . Atmosphere was pretty good

Nice atmosphere, good food that came quickly

Looking for a central venue for a family pre-Christmas lunch I came across this absolute gem. Every interaction with the staff from booking to speaking about one of the party with severe allergies was friendly and accommodating. We pre-ordered our food from the November Sunday menu and everything was perfect. 11 clean plates for starters, mains and desserts, what more could you ask for. Great with the two dogs with had with us too! Compliments to the chefs and all the staff

Been going to both Hall and WoodHouse pubs near me for years, Portsmouth Arms and Holly Blue, both are great pubs with super service and nice atmosphere. The food though in both pubs in my experience can only be described as consistently dissapointing. And I've tried and tried experiencing their efforts at least a dozen times in the past couple of years. Not once has it even been better then ok. Always something wrong with them. Always disappointed and leave wishing we hadn't given them another shot. Take today's meal ... it's making me gip thinking about it. Starters were BBQ chicken wings and chicken goujons. The goujons were ok, at least they were hot, still probably not as good as a serving of Bernard Matthews Turkey Twizzlers cooked in the oven at home but just about edible. The chicken wings however yuck yuck yuck - god knows how they cook the chicken, biting into them one could only assume they were boiled or steamed with such an unpleasant slimy texture, some of the wings had a fishy taste to them, the wings alternated in temperature, some hot and some luke warm, perhaps they where microwaved I don't know. Then to top it off a standard grade barely ok BBQ sauce is lathered over the top to mask the aboration. Awful. Then the main course, it got worse. Kids Fish goujons and chips was great, clearly they'd been freshly deep fried and looked and tasted super. Unfortunately the beans accompanying came out in a ramekin looking about as dry and shrivelled up as if they'd come out of Tutankhamuns coffin. Next up was Macaroni Cheese, billed as being gooey on the menu - it wasn't, it was dry, clearly overcooked and weirdly the portion size was tiny, I had to ask if it was off the kids menu - it wasn't. Then steak and ale pie and chips, chips were ok but the pie again all dry and crusty.....on the inside! I then had Sunday dinner, probably the worst Sunday dinner in the 45 years I've been on this planet. Absolutely I would of preferred to sit down to an Iceland £2 microwavable TV dinner - certainly would of been more succulent and tasty. The roasties were damp, the meat dryer then gandhis flip flop - every bite I had to swig down some lager to help it go down. Yorkshire looked nice but had no taste and texture like it's been made yesterday. This was all presented in a what can only be described as a lake of beetroot and gravy soup, it was horrible. Hall and WoodHouse wake up, you've got an affluent and captive growing market surrounding your pubs. I know not one person around here that speaks kindly of the food you serve. It's such a shame cause both pubs and service provided are great it's a travesty really that the food is like it is. You are missing out on a goldmine, all you need to do is make high quality freshly prepared food and I'm sure you'll get all your covers booked out every night. Aim to be a Fat Duck instead of settling to be a poor man's Harvester.

The food we had was ok we had the steak, only problem was that we didn't get given steak knives which would of helped cutting the slightly tough steak

Food was not brilliant but service was excellent

Great local pub. Good range of beers and gins, recommend the sunday roast.

Great place for social gatherings

Food is always lovely, good selection of drinks. The beer garden is lovely and service is always great

Quite disappointed on food quality with comparison to the Holy Blue nearby, which is under the same group. It is my fault to expect the tortilla chips was served under the carne and oven-cooked, but the truth is it is just served separately and missing from the beginning, and the carne looks cooked by microwave. We had ordered a mac and cheese, it seems very small and microwaved as well, not worth it's price at £11.95 The food was served really fast like 5 minutes.

I have recently moved to Basingstoke and The Portsmouth Arms is rapidly becoming my 'local'. Went for Sunday lunch with my family. It was busy but the staff were friendly and there was a good atmosphere there. The food was excellent and we all enjoyed the visit. Good value. Thoroughly recommended.

Very good and friendly place for getting together for a meal

Connor was a great server and the food was great :)

The staff all seemed happy and the food was good, so nothing to complain about and would go again.

Went for Sunday lunch. Glad we were reasonably early as they were running out of basics Roast Beef😳)

Cosy and great beer, lovely Sunday roast lunch.

Pre booked for my 50th birthday with family to be told no Sunday lunch left. Very annoyed and disappointed. We should have been told. Badly organised pub, blamed the sun coming out!!!!

Great venue for adult birthday party. 🎂

Had Sunday lunch, roast beef!!! The meat supposedly 28day, my guess 28yrs it was so tuff. Roast potatoes, some needed a chisel to break the skin. AWFUL meal. Would we go back, never!!!

Lovely lunch with friends today.

Lovely staff and pub, however it was disappointing that by 12:45 they did not have any veggie roasts left on Sunday which was the point of our visit. Also seemed to be several food choices not available from what I could hear across other tables. Not a problem if there was a genuine issue, but being told 'it's just been really busy' - surely that's to be expected on a Sunday? Unlikely to visit again to be honest if there's not much food choice available and little reasonable explanation.

Went for a family catch up and a bit of lunch. We prefer to sit in the bar where it is more relaxed. Very polite and attentive staff, food very tasty. Had an issue with one of the desserts but that was quickly resolved with a replacement being provided.

Sunday early evening, a limited menu was very limited. Food was nothing special. Better value meal deals from supermarkets. I know it’s tough out there for hospitality but they’re in danger of destroying themselves without a better offering.

Fantastic looking pub cosy great staff

Definitely the place to go if you like bare chested men and kids running round. Everyone was clearly enjoying it which is the main thing.

Super large portions. Delicious food. Great pool table. Friendly staff

This is a great looking pub, well maintained with plenty of space outside. We booked a table for Sunday lunch (seven of us including three kids). It did seem to me like a lot of people were waiting for food but we received no warning about any delays. 45 min after ordering I had to get up and find a waitress who didn't seem to have an idea what's going on with our food. We then waited another 10 min before it arrived. The food was just ok (after nearly an hour wait I would eat anything anyway). I am not sure if this is standard in this place but 55 min wait for food without any update is not acceptable. Please train your staff to communicate with customers. A warning about the long wait would have made all the difference.

I'm due to move to the area and decided that I would try this pub / restaurant. I was there at lunch time opening (12 mid day) and there were a handful of customers. A friendly warm welcome. I ordered a fish finger sandwich. This turned out to be very substantial with chips and salad. Excellent! There is a full lunch / evening menu which looks good. I will no doubt be there again.

We held my daughter's 18th birthday at the Portsmouth Arms and everyone had a great time. Zoe and her team were brilliant - very accommodating and attentive, allowing us in early to decorate with banners and balloons. Food was great, especially the scotch eggs - they went down a treat!! We had a couple of coeliacs coming along and the kitchen team worked out specific food for just for them. All in all, a great celebration at The Portsmouth Arms, all thanks to Zoe and the team.

Although in the same Badger chain as the Holly Blue this really is not a very pleasant experience. Bar staff are more interested in their trainers than serving. Lots of smokers. Outside tables are various angles that mean your pint slides off.

Not brilliant really. I have eaten here a few years back and it was nice. My lunch was fine but others in our group had burnt food. Also my Husbands burger and chips was the same size as my Sons childs portion! Most portions were pretty poor. It also took a very long time to get the food. Obviously sadly short of staff like everywhere. We will not be back.

Used to love eating here but the menu is too restrictive for special diets and now the dinner sizes are too small. The food is not up to standard with too much cost cutting, would have more taste with microwave meals. Hall and Woodhouse need to try harder.

Portion sizes are laughably small. I thought I ordered a kids meal. We sat out side and the plates were not cleared from our table for over 2 hours. Great pub, lovely location but the management need a boost.

Love this place Good food and friendly staff

Good beer and large beer garden. Country style pub with thatched roof and heated outside area for the chillier times of year. Reasonable prices and great roast dinner.

Staff always friendly, polite and helpful. Food was excellent

Food was poor. Service was even worse , waited half an hour for our dessert order to be taken and went to the bar to give it to the bar staff. Waited another half an hour and cancelled it in the end and asked for the bill.

Everything was great until we asked for desserts & after at least 45 mins we cancelled the order & they were not mega busy 🤷‍♀️

Visited here for lunch today as it's our local but in recent times we have opted for the Holly Blue. We should have gone to the Holly Blue today too. They run the same menu but the standard of food is not. Today we ordered 1 of the Club sandwich (no mayo or butter) and 2 ham and cheese toasties (but one as a sandwich with no mustand mayo for toddler). Nice & easy. After paying I was told that the club sandwich is mixed chicken mayo. Menu says "Toasted Club Sandwich: crisp streaky bacon, succulent chicken breast, tomato, shredded cos, mayonnaise, on sliced white or wholemeal bloomer, skin on fries" and this is what you get at the Holly Blue. It doesn't say chicken mayo. Staff really couldn't have cared left and as a result I ended up paying more for an alternative as they aren't selling what they advertise. I ordered a chicken burger (no mayo) and the girl came back after I'd ordered to confirm it had BBQ mayo and was that ok....... obviously not as it's mayo - proper hard work! The Ham and Cheese sandwich came out covered in mustard mayo and was sent back when it came back out it came out with no butter just ham, cheese and bread - £6.75 that cost! No apology. This pub has massively gone downhill since the former manager has moved on and we won't be returning.

Came in for a couple pints and got a bit peckish so order some chips, £3 for a bowl of chips sounded good so we ordered. Portion size for the chips was just silly, maybe 10 chips arrived at our table… was confused because a few days before we had a bowl of them for the same price? Completely understand there’s inflation but that’s simply extortion.

Only stopped in for a beer. Nice little garden area for the children

Went out for a meal with a friend. The overall experience was nice, food was pretty good and enjoyed it. The menu was a little limited for me as I am a little boring when I eat out and tend to always go for steak, but decided on fish and chips for some reason. Staff were friendly and seemed to be very helpful when serving. So all in all a thumbs up from me.

Nice roast which came out in good time, lovely and helpful staff.

Very disappointed. We all had the Sunday roast which was described as "the best Sunday Lunch in Basingstoke". Not only did we have to wait over 40 minutes for our food as there was a large party that ordered just before us, when it arrived it consisted of SIX different vegetables and an enormous yorkshire pudding sitting on top of just 3 small slices of rather tough, overcooked beef. Service however was impeccable.

Disappointing Sunday Roast. Consisted of SIX different vegetables (brocoli massively undercooked) and just 3 small slices of overcooked and tough roast beef hidden under a massive yorkshire pudding. To add insult to injury, we had to wait over 40 minutes for this to arrive as a large party had ordered just before us! Staff were excellent though.

Very disappointed and the women serving me Jayde was rude and not very friendly at all .. I’ll not be coming back. Don’t know what her problem is but she also needs to get off her phone and concentrate on her customers !!!

Basingstoke's finest .....NOT What could be a nice pub but aims at attracting rough cliental leaves it a unappealing rough drinking pub. Staff reaked of cigarettes which was off putting. Won't bother going back.

Lovely lunch last week. Friendly service and great food. Difficult combination to get nowadays

Always has a great atmosphere and the food is nice. Plenty of outside seating and parking is ample.

It was nearly 3pm on a Thursday and we wanted to celebrate a bit after a great hospital appointment. We wanted a good pint and some triple cooked chips. Most pubs stop food around 2:30pm. My wife suggested The Portsmouth Arm, Basingstoke. We had a great pint of Badgers, and a double cheese burger and fries. I asked if they could swap out the fries for Tripple cooked chips ... of course we can sir... Yummy 😋 The Portsmouth Arms is a really nice thatched roof pub great staff, food and beer. Just the ticket👍

Food really lovely but more expensive than similar pubs in local area and smaller portions. Didn't feel full after a main and dessert which was a shame. If I'd ordered the same meal in a different pub I would have got more chips. Was very quiet when we were there but this was what we wanted for a celebratory meal. I reserved a table but really didn't need to. Also food was supposedly 33% off on Monday (when we visited) but this wasn't applied to our order for some reason.

Tasty food, good service, 4 happy customers.

Not impressed with the amount of salt that come on the kids meals. Usually chips don't come with salt for adults let alone the amount that came on a meal for a few toddlers.

The pub was ok but the DJ on the Saturday night wasnt so good someone really needed to come and pick there Dad up

Nice pub, good atmosphere, friendly staff 👍

Incredibly friendly staff, good food for the price - had the Sunday roast. Good idea to book in advance though - no free tables by 12:30!

My second visit and still as happy as I was on the first visit. We will be back. Staff efficient, pleasant and food outstanding

The staff were attentive. The food was extremely good and reasonably priced. The atmosphere was great. I would recommend going as it has recently changed management.

Good local pub, lovely food and good friendly team

We had a lovely lunch today. There were 11 of us. Meals were served all together. Very efficient. The food was very enjoyable. Staff very pleasant. We all loved our meals and would definitely go again. There was also a play area for the children. Thank you