The Wyvern, Lee-on-the-Solent
Pub signs are quintessentially British and the one outside Lee-on-the-Solent's Wyvern features an aircraft. The pub is named after a single-seater strike aircraft used by 830 Squadron during the Suez invasion.
But the link ends with the sign. There is no RAF memorabilia to be found in the pub. Instead modern technology has taken over with a large plasma TV, games machines and even an ATM.
But the smart Fuller's Brewery pub is much more than a place for viewing and gaming.
It boasts a fireplace, sofas, burgundy-painted dining area, tongue-and-groove ceiling and well-kept gardens, plus a splendid and keenly-priced menu and specials board.
The lunch menu does a fine line in good-looking sandwiches including roast British beef; smoked salmon; and pork and herb sausages with rocket, fried onions and chips.
Or choose croque monsieur or French brie toasts (griddled bread with brie and asparagus and baked in the oven until oozing), honey dew beer-battered cod fillet, trad fish pie or fusilli pasta with yet more unseasonal asparagus, olives, feta and tomatoes.
Dinner ups the culinary game with Thai crab cakes; asparagus (yup) with Hollandaise sauce; chicken breast stuffed with smoked salmon, avocado and mozzarella and maybe Hampshire rump, prices ranging from 4.50 for a sandwich to just under 13 for the rump, most mains in the 8-10 bracket.
A specials board with around five other dishes is a further option, some duck, fish or a salad maybe, a cod loin with pancetta, mash and petits pois sauce (9.50) my vote.
And, no, if you're looking for a quick fix, a microwaved one, you'll just have to sit it out. The kitchen, run by award-winning Matt Parkinson, wants to cook, not just heat 'n' serve.
Matt won Fuller's Hampshire Dish of the Year in August, beating 26 other Fuller's pub chefs for the title. He's a believer in local produce too.
The fish, wrapped in Italian bacon, was rather overcooked but it came with a totally moreish excellent mash, the petits pois sauce a gutsy one covering some admirable courgette sticks. With just a little less time in the oven, this fish dish would have scaled the heights.
Matt cleverly puts different kinds of desserts on the menu.
You'll find an orange marmalade and raisin bread and butter pudding, an elderflower and summer berry jelly or, highly imaginatively, three English cheeses served with three different shots of Fuller's ales. Wonderful.
My strawberry and white chocolate tart with New Forest ice cream was almost ace, the pastry needing to be thinner, the chocolate barely discernible.
The Wyvern is one of Fuller's' outstanding community pubs thanks to its excellent management, genuine hospitality and staff who care.
And it's no wonder Matt took the competition crown. He's a chef ready to soar like the Wyvern aircraft.
My bill came to just under 18 including a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
The Wyvern, Common Barn Lane, Lee-on-the-Solent, PO13 9DS. (023) 9255 2375.
Food served Mon-Sat midday–3pm; 6pm-9pm (9.30pm Fri-Sat) and midday–6pm Sun.
Food: ****
Service: ****
Atmosphere: ****
Disabled access: Yes, plenty of space for wheelchairs.
How to get there: Follow the signs to Gosport until the right fork on the B3385 towards Lee. The pub is on the left down a small lane. There is a car park.
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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