The Old Customs House

As a special treat to meet friends, we spent Friday across the Solent in Portsmouth.  With almost 1000 years of history, Portsmouth is most notably home to a large naval base and to some, more importantly, their football club, Pompey.  Although we always "pass through" Portsmouth, we never really spend a lot of time there.  This may have to change.  They have a lot going on.

Amazingly, the weather has continued to be beautiful.  Seizing this rare moment of local perfection, I hitched a ride to the top of the Spinnaker Tower.  The Tower offers a breathtaking view of Portsmouth, the naval yard, the Solent and the north coast of the Isle of Wight.  On a clear day, you can see forever.

The observation tower's most interesting attraction was not out the observation windows.

It was on the floor.

I'm standing on glass and yes, those hoofs are mine.  Scary, I know…the view was frightening too.  

Although it didn't cause me a lot of vertigo, it did provide a great source of amusement, as I watched others scurry across the glass.  Some were certainly more adventurous than others.

After leaving the tower, we checked out the HMS Warrior.

Although the Warrior isn't going anywhere, we found another working sail ship that was.

It's crew was making last minute preparations for a tug boat to pull them out to the harbor.  

After our sightseeing jaunt was over, we made our way to lunch at The Old Customs House.  Part of Portsmouth's harbor renovation was selling off part of the naval yard to make way for new commercial development.

They did a nice job of blending old and new.  A channel leading to the harbor was lined with old world war relics -  mines, torpedoes, anti aircraft guns and to me, the most impressive sight: The Old Customs House.

Built in 1790, The Old Customs House originally served as the headquarters for the HMS Vernon and later the Commandant General Royal Marines.  The building screams history and inside, has been completely renovated.

The floor plan, as far as I could tell, seemed to be intact.  The entire pub is made up of different rooms.  Some only with tables and chairs.  Others with tables, chairs, leather couches and sofas.

We grabbed a sofa near a window and I slid over to the bar to grab a pint while we waited on our friends.

The Old Customs House is "tied" to Fullers.  So I had a nice opportunity to try a special style brewed for the Queen's Jubilee next weekend, Hope and Glory Jubilee Ale.  

Later on for lunch, I had a Fuller's Discovery.

I've had Discovery at home, but when you compare bottle to cask, there is no comparison.  No gas, just naturally carbonated fresh clean beer.  

Speaking of lunch, the menu was quite expansive. This always gives me trouble.  Too many choices can kill me.

As with most pubs, we placed our food order at the bar and then went outside with our friends to enjoy lunch under the wonderfully warm sun.

For food, I ended up turning toward standard pub fare with the sausage and mash.

Zoë had the bacon, cranberry and brie sandwich.  Although I wasn't allowed any of the sandwich, I did snag some cole slaw.

Finally, my regret. I should have gotten Keith's sausage platter.

Five sausages were served on a board with various mustards and chutneys.  Yes, it was meant to be shared, but I'm fairly certain I could have eaten it all myself…if I had ordered it.

The Old Customs House was great on all counts: ambiance, food and beer.  It served as a great location to catch up with friends we so rarely get to see.  We really couldn't have asked for a better time.  I believe in the future we are going to do more than simply "pass through" Portsmouth.