Workid's comment regarding Bristol can also be applied to Southampton.
Only ever done matchday drinking in assorted shit pubs in Southampton, but did have a few nights out in Winchester many years ago.
Can remember being in what I was told was the only nightclub in Winchester, on a Friday or Saturday night and the JJATFP 'classic' Boom, Shake the Room came on. Almost everyone in there started doing that wave your arms thing as per the video. Don't think they were being ironic.
Wiltshire The Red Lion Free House - East Chisenbury
A very nice little restaurant that pretends its a pub. They have a pretty decent chef and a seasonal menu. Its a great place to go for lunch in the summer due the having a nice little garden out the back. That's where they keep their pigs and chickens. You can feed the pigs apples that have fallen from the trees if that floats your boat.
The Shears - Colingborne Ducis
A nice little pub that pretends its a restaurant. Again really nice food from a good chef, but probably a notch lower on the gastronomy scale that the Red Lion but it has a cosier atmosphere and there are always a couple of locals propping up the bar. Again good in the summer as it has a nice little courtyard to eat in. No pigs but the owners sheep dog is usually knocking about. A very shy dog whilst also being incredibly inquisitive.
Anooka - Salisbury
A wonderful Indian place that does very good, modern Indian food. They have a magician in on Thursdays for some reason.
Right, so this is quite odd. Or maybe it isn't, and this is very simplistic computer wizardry, but I'm still confused by it. When I type 'Catford Bridge Tavern Arcade Machine' into Google, the third image is a photo of the cabinet that I took, as posted in the Trials thread on this forum. Obviously I mentioned what it was/where it is when posted it, but how does the Google search know that that pic is what it is? My imageshack link/tag was just called 'arcade' or something. I suppose their search engine results are confirmed by proper human beings at some stage?
Anyway, aside from the fact that the CBT is a dog friendly pub less than 20 metres from Catford Bridge station, with a decent assortment of guest beers/ales/cider, friendly staff and good food, it has one of those moody arcade machines with 1000+ games on it. 50p per go, £1 for three credits. They also sell a stout with port already added, but even I've got to admit that the arcade machine is the main draw. Not long ago they had a Super Mario Bros (arcade version) high score challenge, for which the top prize was a £50 bar tab.
It's the sort of pub I'd genuinely travel to, so I'm quite pleased it's practically on my doorstep. It's not cheap, but that just means the scallywags stick to the Spoons.
Yeah, I've been. Not much to recommended unfortunately. How long are they there for? What are they after? Pubs, clubs or restaurants and how far are they willing to travel?
For a casual lunch villagio in the Guildhall is quite nice. I haven't been for a while so I can't guarantee the quality but it should hopefully still be decent.
As for a decent dinner near the centre of town your options really are limited. I can't think of a single place I would want to eat in Andover in the evening. Your best bet would be to choose a nice country pub near by that won't cost too much in a taxi.
I can't recommended The Shears enough, although it is a fair trek from Andover. (Just checked, its a 20 minute drive, but worth it IMO)
Oh, and I wouldn't recommend drinking in the town centre at night. Its a nightmare, full of little twats or pissed up squaddies usually. Although the White Hart, which is in the centre, doesn't attract the twaty crowd so could be an option, and it does do half decent food come to think of it.