Pubs in Chichester
Real ale, pub food and historic drinking establishments
Chichester has a solid selection of pubs for a compact cathedral city, ranging from historic coaching inns to more modern bar-style establishments. The four main streets radiating from the Market Cross each have at least one or two pubs, and the side streets and lanes harbour several more, giving the city a pub scene with enough variety to keep both locals and visitors content.
The Dolphin and Anchor on West Street is one of the most prominent pubs in the city, occupying a handsome building close to the cathedral. It has a long history as a coaching inn and hotel, and today serves as a popular meeting point with a decent food menu and a range of ales. The Eastgate, at the eastern end of the city walls near the Hornet, is another well-known establishment with a good beer garden that catches the afternoon sun.
The Park Tavern on Priory Road, close to Priory Park, has built a reputation for its food and its selection of cask ales. It draws a mixed crowd of families during the day and drinkers in the evening, and the proximity to the park makes it a natural stopping point after a walk or a game of cricket. Several other pubs around the city centre serve real ale, and the overall standard of beer in Chichester is good, reflecting a region where independent breweries thrive.
Pub food in Chichester ranges from standard bar menus to more ambitious gastropub cooking. Several pubs offer full restaurant-quality meals alongside the usual burgers, pies and fish and chips. Sunday lunch is a strong tradition, and the better pubs fill up early, particularly during the winter months when a roast and a pint by the fire is a powerful draw.
The city also has a handful of more modern bars, some of which blur the line between pub and restaurant. Wine bars and cocktail bars have appeared in recent years, particularly along South Street and the Hornet, catering to a slightly different crowd from the traditional pub-goers. These tend to be busier on Friday and Saturday evenings and during theatre season.
Chichester's pubs are sociable places, used for quiz nights, live music, charity events and informal gatherings throughout the year. The university and the theatre both contribute to the evening economy, and on performance nights the pubs near Oaklands Park see a noticeable uptick in trade. For a city of around 30,000 people, Chichester punches above its weight in terms of the quality and range of its drinking establishments.
The country pubs within a short drive of Chichester add significantly to the drinking options. The villages of Lavant, Bosham, Funtington and the settlements along the foot of the Downs all have pubs that attract Chichester residents looking for a change of scene or a drink in a more rural setting. Some of these village pubs have become destinations in their own right, with food menus, beer gardens and log fires that draw customers from the city throughout the year.
The loss of pubs that has affected so many English towns has been less severe in Chichester than in some places, partly because the affluent local population supports a thriving evening economy and partly because the pubs themselves have adapted, investing in food, real ale and the quality of their offer to remain relevant and viable.