The Rockstone

Having recently moved to Southampton and being outraged at myself for not visiting The Rockstone before (being a local of the area my whole life), I decided to seize the opportunity as soon as the last box in my new house was unpacked. I must say, I was not disappointed.

We went on a sunny Wednesday evening which meant it wasn't too busy and there were plenty of seats both inside and outdoors. The bartender was happy to recommend cider to us, asking us questions about what we liked. We went for the safe option of an Angry Orchard (an old favourite) however there were lots of different local ales, beers and ciders to try.

The location of the pub is lovely, situated on a fork in the road with the pretty garden out front and the pub standing triumphantly behind it.

We opted for a drink and a couple of menus first, and then sat out in the sunshine - paying for our drinks as we went which I prefer. I was most impressed with the amount of vegan options on the menu - I ended up opting for the Guac To The Future burger (guacamole, nachos and sriracha sauce on a sweet potato burger with sweet potato fries) but there were loads of options for both plant-eaters and meat-eaters. It was a bit pricey for me however the portions were huge and it was delicious - I couldn't fault the food at all. This is definitely somewhere you'd go for a treat though, not every day.

All in all, it was a great first visit to The Rockstone and to top it all off, it's also a PokeStop! Highly recommended.

An unusual pub experience. Table service for drinks, pay at the end. It was good but it really threw me.

We went on a Monday. It was billed on their website as open mic night, this was half true. They were open, but there was no mic to be seen. This wasn't the reason for our visit so it made no difference to me but if you are going with your guitar in hand in the hope of being spotted by a talent scout then you could be disappointed.

They seem to specialise in burgers, and the stream of them which kept coming out looked good, as well as big. The Volcano is billed as being their ultimate hot offering, a claim most places can't back up when it comes down to it. Not here though.

I saw a guy obviously struggling with his burger and figured it must be a Volcano so I asked him if it was hot. He offered me a piece to try. This was a total stranger, and total strangers don't often share their food with you, this was an indication of what was to come.

Anyway, being a sucker for free food as well as hot food I snatched his hand off. All I can say is the Volcano is not for the faint of heart. The poor guy who shared his with me couldn't finish his, and when they offered to box it up for him to take home he came up with some half arsed excuse as to why he didn't want them to. If you like hot food then go for it, if you are a pretender to the throne then give it a miss.

Outside the pub is a small garden in the rear, it's semi covered and has a few cushioned benches to sit on. There is an outdoor pizza oven but it wasn't doing anything when we were there. Although the garden is small it was a nice space to be in, which you enter through the smallest door in the world.

It's a nice pub, little bit quirky but that's what I liked about it.

Stayed at a hotel not too far from the Rockstone and was glad I decided to find my way there. I had an early dinner so it was relatively empty but it is a very cosy place with outdoor seating for nice days. They had a nice selection of rum so I opted for a dark rum with ginger beer. It was so good I ordered another. Also ordered their classic burger with chips. First of all it is huge. 10 ounces of wonderfully seasoned and cooked beef. I wanted mine medium and it was perfectly done and very juicy. The classic comes with bacon, cheese, carmelised onions and their sauce. To say all of the flavors melded together into tasty goodness wouldn't do it justice. One of the best burgers I have had in a long time. Also one of the messiest but who cares when the burger is that good. Chips had a nice seasoning to them also. All around terrific meal. So glad I made the trek to the Rockstone. I highly recommend you do also.