Best and worst Wetherspoons: Southampton, Fareham and more

The most well-known pub chain across the UK is known for their cheap pints, but does that mean the pubs themselves come highly recommended?

We've ranked all the Spoons pubs in Southampton, the New Forest, Fareham and Eastleigh from their scores on Tripadvisor.

When the scores were the same we ranked them by the percentage of reviews that were in the 'Excellent' category.

Here is the ranking from best to worst of the Wetherspoons pubs in the aforementioned areas according to their Tripadvisor scores.

The best and worst Wetherspoons pubs in Southampton, the New Forest, Fareham and Eastleigh

1. The Lord Arthur Lee

The Lord Arthur Lee was the highest-ranked pub in the areas analysed (Image: Google Streetview)

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Address: 100–108 West St, Fareham PO16 0EP

Tripadvisor score: 3.5/5 (from 276 reviews)

'Excellent' reviews: 82 (29.7% of all reviews)

The Lord Arthur Lee in Fareham is one of two pubs in the town and is the highest-ranked of the areas analysed.

Formerly a Co-op store, the pub is named after the former MP for Fareham and has received fairly solid reviews from its patrons.

One person wrote: "Great service, great location and great friendly staff, one of the best Wetherspoons in Hampshire and always a pleasure to visit."

Another shared: "Highly recommended. Most Excellent breakfast and service every Sunday now for several weeks of visits in a row. Same with Saturday afternoon lunches for weeks in a row. Compliments to the chief, kitchen staff, servers and the entire team."

Not everyone was so happy with the pub though, as one person posted: "If it wasn't so cheap no one would drink there the staff are blunt rude and look like they hate their job. The food is terrible honestly the crown I the best spoons in fareham"

2. The Six Bells

The Six Bells is the only Wetherspoons pubs in the New Forest (Image: Google Streetview)

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Address: 47-48 St Thomas St, Lymington SO41 9ND

Tripadvisor score: 3.5/5 (from 671 reviews)

'Excellent' reviews: 195 (29.06% of all reviews)

The Six Bells in Lymington is located on the edge of the New Forest and is ranked as the second-best Wetherspoons pubs.

It had the most reviews of all the pubs included in this list at 671, and many of them were quite happy with its offerings.

One person posted: "We try and use the Six Bells every time we are in the area and have never been let down. We just ate and drank in there again tonight and as usual we were welcomed and received exceptional service. I highly rate this place!"

Another wrote: "Very busy Friday lunchtime. We got the last table but constant turnover means you won’t wait long. Despite being busy food and drinks delivered in good time. Basic, cheap, enjoyable."

Some others were a bit more lukewarm towards The Six Bells, with one sharing: "It's a spoons. Wasn't expecting gourmet food. But burger and chips was pretty awful. Beer was decent. Staff lovely. Onion rings crispy so not sure how the chips managed to be duff."

3. The Bright Water Inn

The Bright Water Inn is Southampton's highest-ranked Wetherspoons (Image: Google Streetview)

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Address: 370-372 Shirley Rd, Shirley, Southampton SO15 3HY

Tripadvisor score: 3.5/5 (from 117 reviews)

'Excellent' reviews: 32 (27.3% of all reviews)

The Bright Water Inn is Southampton's highest-ranked Wetherspoons on this list, located in the district of Shirley.

One person wrote: "Stopped off at the Bright Water Inn for lunch after a busy time in Southampton. Easy to find a table. Ordered all our food using the app and the pub's own wifi - very useful! Our food was perfectly cooked and hot on arrival.

"Very happy with the quality and quantity of our dishes. This Wetherspoon has become one of our favourite eateries in Southampton."

Another posted: "I come here regularly. The food is always hot, fresh and very reasonably priced. The service is always excellent and the staff very friendly. I cam here by myself today and it did not disappoint."

Meanwhile, not everyone was so enamoured with the pub, as one person shared: "Food was cold sent back to come out covered in fat. Literally burger slid accross the plate. We told the manager who said oh well that's how they are. No refund. He was rude and smirking the whole time."

4. The Crown Inn

The Crown Inn is one of two Wetherspoons pubs in Fareham (Image: Tripadvisor)

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Address: 40 West St, Fareham PO16 0JW

Tripadvisor score: 3.5/5 (from 225 reviews)

'Excellent' reviews: 61 (27.1% of all reviews)

Fareham's other Wetherspoons pub in The Crown Inn was also fairly well-received, with 27.1% of its reviews being ranked as 'Excellent'.

One person shared: "The Crown has to be in the top ten of the Weatherspoon's group Always busy, but well. managed by the incredible Lucy A brill fun place for drinking or eating."

On the other end of the spectrum, one person wrote: "Awful service. Waited ages at bar without apology. Staff not very friendly. Ordered chicken and bacon salad which came in a soup bowl and was size of a starter but priced as a main. No check in from staff if food was OK. Seems corners are being cut. Won't be returning."

5. The Wagon Works

The Wagon Works is Eastleigh's only Wetherspoons pub (Image: Google Streetview)

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Address: 28 Southampton Road, Eastleigh SO50 9FJ

Tripadvisor score: 3.5/5 (from 223 reviews)

'Excellent' reviews: 54 (24.2% of all reviews)

The Wagon Works is Eastleigh's only Wetherspoons pub and finds itself in the middle of the pack, with 24.2% of its reviews being in the 'Excellent' category.

One reviewer wrote: "Small pub with a great atmosphere and friendly staff. The food arrived promptly and it was decent for the price. Would return."

Not everyone was so happy though, as one person shared: "Absolutely no atmosphere, rude and disrespectful staff and a manager that has got a clue what they are doing."

6. The Standing Order

The Standing Order was mostly well-reviewed on Tripadvisor (Image: Google Streetview)

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Address: 30 High Street, Southampton SO14 2DF

Tripadvisor score: 3.5/5 (from 616 reviews)

'Excellent' reviews: 136 (22.07% of all reviews)

The Standing Order in Southampton was towards the lower end of the list, with just over 22% of its reviews being 'Excellent'.

One person who was a fan of the pub wrote: "For a Wetherspoons, this delivered great food and service. Ordered a veggie burger and also a BBQ chicken burger and they were cooked well. Watched the lady clear the tables, stack the glasses high and remove them and then clean them tables with a cloth, amazing hardworking lady. Extremely busy locals pub, but will visit again if in the area."

Some were not so complimentary though with one reviewer posting: "Full of kids very noisy and very drunk. Ordered food from app. Could only sit at a dirty table , food is cheep and very poor quality. Most of the staff look like they need a good wash . Some could do with customer service training."

7. The Red Lion

The Red Lion had mixed reviews on Tripadvisor (Image: Tripadvisor)

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Address: 55 High Street, Southampton SO14 2NS

Tripadvisor score: 3/5 (from 115 reviews)

'Excellent' reviews: 25 (21.7% of all reviews)

The Red Lion in Bitterne was the second-lowest-ranked pub in the list, with it being one of two to have an overall score of 3/5.

There were a few negative reviews with one person sharing: "Absolutely rubbish! Staff not very helpful, missing parts of our meal. Brought it out after we had finished. You would have thought they would have taken it back. And was warm. Guess you get what you pay for."

One person who enjoyed the pub wrote: "We have breakfast here many times and it had always been good, but today, in particular was brilliant. Although a bit of a wait, that was totally worth it, everything was well presented, staff were attentive and asked us if we enjoyed our food."

Recommended reading:

• Best Southampton pubs to visit according to Daily Echo readers
• Southampton pubs missed the most according to our readers
• Best cosy Southampton pubs according to Google Reviews

8. The Giddy Bridge

The Giddy Bridge was the lowest-ranked pub on the list (Image: Tripadvisor)

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Address: 16 London Rd, Southampton SO15 2AF

Tripadvisor score: 3/5 (from 309 reviews)

'Excellent' reviews: 49 (15.8% of all reviews)

The Giddy Bridge was the lowest-ranked of the Wetherspoons on this list, having a smaller percentage of 'Excellent' reviews than The Red Lion.

Many of the write-ups on Tripadvisor were not particularly complimentary, with one person sharing: "Very poor today, wrong food bought to table, took it back by the time they had rectified it my partner had finished his meal and the my food was cold. I know it's cheap but no need to give less than your best."

One person who spoke positively on the pub wrote: "Potentially a nice little Wetherspoons. Due to its location seems a real magnet for university students in Southampton which makes the place a bit rowdy and untidy. Credit though to all the staff who remained professional and friendly at all times and gave excellent service."