Salisbury has lots of nice pubs but, in the short time were there last weekend, we knew we had to visit these two.
The Haunch of Venison
The ‘Aunch is the kind of heritage boozer (like the Old Cheshire Cheese in Fleet Street) we’re quite pleased to see tourists in. Not a tourist trap, but a bona fide tourist attraction. The tiny, warped old bar is very weird — pumps are mounted over the cellar stairs and on knackered old wooden boxes. Not that it has an effect on the beer, with the Summer Lightning being served in absolutely perfect condition. We drank it in one of the tiny panelled partitions, sitting on a pew that looked as if it might well have been there since the pub’s medieval founding.
The Chough
At first glance, this looks like a Carling-and-alcopops party pub, but it’s actually the main outlet for the Hidden Brewery. With eight or so Hidden ales on offer, ranging from weak and yellow to strong and black, it was an exciting find. Sadly, some of the beer wasn’t in good condition — maybe there were too many beers on offer for the small number of ale drinkers? Hidden Depths, however, was one of the juiciest, tastiest cask stouts we’ve had in a while and made it all worthwhile.