+44 1489 890954+ Add websiteImprove this listing
Hours
Sun
12:00 - 21:00
Mon
12:00 - 22:00
Tue
12:00 - 22:00
Wed
12:00 - 22:00
Thu
12:00 - 23:00
Fri
12:00 - 23:00
Sat
12:00 - 23:00
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Details
Someone from this business manages this listing.
Learn More
PRICE RANGE
£8.00 – £24.00
CUISINES
Bar, British, Contemporary, Pub, Gastropub
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
meals, features
Is this restaurant family-friendly?
Details
About
We are a family run independant Free house in the lovely village of Swanmore. Our cosy pub has a beautiful Italian inspired large courtyard, non smoking garden, open fire, a well kept cellar. We welcome dogs in our pub as we have two friendly pub dogs ourselves! Our extensive menu offers lots of freshly prepared locally sourced produce, with new specials every week including gluten free and vegan options. We serve food all day Monday to Sat 12noon to 9pm, Sunday lunch 12noon to 430pm. Offering a great selection of wines, local ales, GF drinks and non alcoholic drinks too. We pride ourselves on our service, friendly atmosphere and great standards of cleanliness. Pop in for a drink, or a leisurely meal, or just a coffee and a chat! We look forward to meeting you!
PRICE RANGE
£8.00 – £24.00
CUISINES
Bar, British, Contemporary, Pub, Gastropub
Special Diets
Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner, After-hours, Drinks
FEATURES
Reservations, Outdoor Seating, Seating, Parking Available, Free off-street parking, Highchairs Available, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Mastercard, Visa, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Dog Friendly, Non-smoking restaurants, Gift Cards Available
Contribute
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.5
343 reviews
Excellent
245
Very good
62
Average
27
Poor
3
Terrible
6
Annioes
Winchester7 contributions
Aug 2020 • couples
We dined at the Brickmakers last night and we were so impressed. Firstly the service was brilliant, all the staff were helpful, friendly, attentive. The atmosphere was great, very relaxing, it’s recently had a makeover which looks brilliant. The standard of cleaning and santitising was very high, all the recent COVID-19 procedures were put in place and we were very impressed how well it was managed and how thorough the staff were.
And finally the food... well it was just incredible, the slow cooked Ribs were to die for, best ribs my husband has ever had and my battered haddock and chips was delicious, perfectly done, all cooked to perfection, and presented beautifully. Even though we took advantage of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme so the meal was discounted we both said we would happily pay full price for such a great meal. Well done Bricks and thank you for a wonderful evening, we shall see you again very soon!
Written 19 August 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CarolineHampshire
Fareham74 contributions
Nov 2020 • couples
These guys have embraced the Covid Lockdown Take away amazingly well. Menu everything you could want hot accompanied by a very reasonably priced beer if you want.
Fish and home made chips gorgeous( could have had a few more as several nicked by others)Balti curry great too thank you.
They’ve got their timing right with phone bookings, five minute slots collecting at a social distance.
Well done !!!
Written 13 November 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dan T
11 contributions
Sept 2020 • none
We are very lucky in Swanmore to have two very good pubs, The Bricks and The Riser. We have frequented the Bricks more because we like the owners, the atmosphere, the food the drinks and the ambience. Gareth and Koren can't do enough to ensure that the customer comes first, from lovely menus (which are updated and changed), an interesting specials board, food for varied tastes (gf and vegan options - needed in our family), good choice of real ales, wines and spirits to a lovely atmosphere and village feel. We always bump into a friendly face.
If this pub is not to your taste then they've either had an unbelievably rare off day (I have never experienced one here) or it's just not to your taste.
It's our local and we love it.
Written 16 September 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RayJ50
Worthing164 contributions
Sept 2022 • none
We had two decent meals but the menu and wine prices on their website were completely different to what was available and prices much higher. We were charged £31 for a very average NZ Sauvignon which was too much, especially given the fact it was just plonked on the table for us to open and serve ourselves by some lad! Our female waitress was much better extremely attentive and helpful. Although described as a country pub it is surrounded by properties.
Written 28 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fablandlady1
Hi Ray many thanks for your review. Firstly we accept full responsibility for our rubbish website. We've been trying to get it amended but have been unable to contact the website provider. We are currently in talks with a company to redo the website soon. It's unfortunate and very annoying for us as we can't take down out of date menus. Hopefully will be rectified very soon. I'm sorry you did not find the wine to your liking, there was a less expensive Sauvignon (albeit a French one) that you could have asked to taste if you thought the Nz one was too expensive. Unfortunately due to Brexit Nz wine prices have risen drastically, our wine supplier is a small independent business in the Test Valley. They sell exceptional wines but have been hit hard by Brexit and the pandemic so we want to continue to support them although we could use a less expensive big company.
I must take responsibility for the wine as you say being dumped on the table. My son was working last night, he has recently moved from being a chef to a barman and I haven't had time to train him up properly in the art of serving and wine pouring. I will address this immediately.
I'm glad to see that you enjoyed your meals but were disappointed that we were not really a country pub as we are surrounded by houses. Well we are the main pub in a village in the country. When we acquired the pub almost 12 years ago it wasn't built up, we had no houses behind us. Unfortunately we have no control over the buildings erected so a few houses have been built. I think there is four behind us now, so hardly in a town estate! I don't think people always expect a rolling hills view if somewhere is described as in the country, but its out of our control!
Anyway many thanks for your custom, we really appreciate the support as we are a small independent business that does not belong to a brewery.
Written 28 September 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
David N
3 contributions
Oct 2022 • none
I rarely every do reviews.
As a family of 5 we go out to eat rarely as it tends to be an expensive treat. Too often in the past we have then been disappointed by the quality of the food and/or the prices charged.
However, the Brickmakers has made me totally rethink.
The friendliness of the owner, the interesting specials board supplementing the menu, the quality of the food all made this an amazing birthday lunch for my 88 year old mother. At the end, the landlady brought my Mum a birthday ice cream with a strawberry and candle which was a lovely touch.
Thank you for a really pleasant lunch - we will return.
Written 12 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
RICHARD D
Gosport21 contributions
Apr 2022 • none
Four of us went for an evening meal. Two had the curry, one pie of the day (steak and mushroom I think) and I had the Pork Belly. Two glasses of white wine served with glasses out of the freezer, you don't get that in many restaurants let alone a country pub. The pork belly was superb, it could not have been improved in any way. Absolutely delicious. The three girls shared two desserts didn't want one each as the mains were so delicious and perfect portions. We all thoroughly enjoyed our meals. Going back again soon. To describe our meal as a pub meal does not do the food justice. The chef obviously takes a huge amount of pride of what leaves the kitchen which was reflected in our thoroughly enjoyable visit.
Written 20 April 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fablandlady1
Hi! Thanks so much for your brilliant review! We really appreciate it! Hope to see you again soon.
Written 16 May 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
RetiredAldershot
Aldershot94 contributions
Jan 2022 • none
We thoroughly enjoyed lunch at The Brickmakers. The pub was spotless as were the tables. Cutlery was also sparking which, unfortunately, is too rare these days. A warm welcome and seated quickly. Nicely broad menu. Service from most helpful staff was attentive but not intrusive. Food was very well prepared and presented and served hot. Thank you to all in the team for making us so welcome and extremely well fed!!!
Written 6 January 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lawrence B
Southampton4 contributions
Oct 2022 • couples
Honestly just outstanding!! My girlfriend & I popped in for an evening meal. The food was so fresh & well prepared,the waitress was extremely attentive & polite. My girlfriend had the hunters chicken,the sauce was sublime and the bacon was lovely and thick. We are now regular visitors thanks to its outstanding food,well served beer & attentive service 😍
Written 15 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Lynn H
Reading56 contributions
Oct 2022 • none
We were out and about, at 2.30pm decided we needed to eat and this was the second place we tried as previous pub didn't open kitchen until 5.30pm. What a find! Such a lovely and warm welcome, the food was excellent and well prepared, it came steaming hot and very tasty. Would definately recommend and go back.
Written 30 October 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SurferDude
4 contributions
Jul 2022 • none
Myself and my colleagues are regular visitors of this fantastic, privately owned gem of an establishment in Swanmore. Koren and Gareth both very genuinely care about customer experience and the quality of their food and their service. The team around them are equally brilliant.
Gareth serves up some of of the best food in Hampshire and there are some first class (and very well looked after), beers on tap too.
I've lived in the area for more than 10 years and recommend the Brickmakers as the absolute pinnacle of Public Houses that Hampshire has to offer!
Written 1 September 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fablandlady1
Many thanks for your amazing review. We are trying very hard to be the best pub in our area. We do take pride in our menu and love it when people vocalise that! Thank you so much for your continued support.
Written 28 September 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
bluejonny
Southampton135 contributions
Oct 2024 • family
The Brickmakers comes with a good reputation and reviews, so we decided to test it out for ourselves. We booked a table of 6 and arrived to be shown to our enormous table. It was like King Arthur and roundtable! We promptly ordered, with a mix of nachos to share, king prawns and buffalo wings. On the whole, each dish was very good, tasty and had a fair portion size. Onto mains.
I opted for the Steak cut of the day, which was ribeye, served with triple-cooked chips and a side salad, we also had a range of burgers including the chicken version, and the boom-boom salads whilst on opted for the lamb.
The steak dish was OK., The steak was cooked well, but was very small and quite fatty, but the biggest disappointment for me was the overall size. I could literally count the chips on one hand, and the side salad was a few lettuce leaves and dressing. All for £29.
The report on the hamburgers was mixed - one guest could not eat their one due to being overcooked, whilst another reported a great meal. The lamb looked good, and the report came back it was very tasty and well cooked. The chicken burger was simply "meh" with the salads being nothing out of the ordinary. We finished off with some desserts, the warm variety (such as toffee pudding, and brownie) were obviously microwaved so this was really disappointing. Blazingly hot in the middle, cool on the outside .
The most disappointing aspect for us was portion size when compared to the price.
With drinks, it was around £280 for the six of us. The steak was the most disappointing, served with a handful of fries, and a tiny salad made up purely of mixed leaves. The boom-boom salads were nothing short of poor value at £14 for largely lettuce leaves.
Whilst food quality was on the whole reasonably good, for the price you would expect a lot more in terms of quantity. It seemed as though no effort had gone into accompaniments to the dishes (side salads, mash, fries etc) which were basic. No complaints on service, which was excellent and attentive.
Overall, we all felt that the price of the food was not reflective of what was actually served.
Written 2 October 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Koren Blake
Hi I'm quite intrigued and slightly confused re your review. You haven't stated when you came in but from my workings out it seems to have been quite a while ago. Firstly we don't sell our Boom Boom salad anymore and haven't done for well over a year. We also haven't had lamb on for a while with exception of a lamb curry. Confusing.
Anyway I was very surprised to see that you were disappointed with your steak and it's portion size. Whenever we have a Hampshire bred, aged Ribeye on its always a 10oz steak which is big. If you are familiar with steak you'll know that Ribeye is a fattier cut of steak, it's also marbled with fat which makes it a tender cut. I never chose ribeye as I don't enjoy fattier cuts. The steak is accompanied by triple cut Chucky chips (not fries, unless requested) a side salad and a homemade peppercorn sauce. For under £30. If you go to many restaurants you will be charged that just for the steak with no accompaniments, you would be charged extra for them, we don't agree with that and charge for the entire meal. We do offer sides of veg if you feel salad won't fill you up enough.
I wonder if you mentioned to our staff your concerns? All our staff are trained to check back on you, would it not been easier to ask for some extras if you need them? If your burger was overcooked did you ask to exchange it that we would have been happy to do? Our food is never called basic, Billy Owton, owner of Owtons Butchers says our burgers are the best he's ever had on his social media. Our food is all prepared from scratch with homemade stocks, with great pride.
I'm so glad that you thought the service was excellent, I just wish you had expressed your concerns to the staff as they would have ensured you left happily.
I wish guests would express concerns on the day, instead of being a keyboard warrior on these sites. We work so hard to be the best we can and go over and above people's expectations. As a small independent business we are competing against big companies that can afford to do vouchers and deals as they are backed by the big boys. It's just us, doing our best. When we get reviews like this it's damaging and makes us think is this legitimately a complaint (why wasn't it addressed on the day) or is it someone trying to influence people to not come in. In future if you had issues where ever you eat please inform the manager on duty. We all much prefer to deal with issues on the day.
Written 4 November 2024
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Julie T
Denizli19 contributions
Jul 2023 • family
This is the third time we've been to The Brickmakers for a meal since moving to the local area. The food is always delicious and this is definitely becoming a go-to place for food.
Last night, spoilt for choice, I was convinced to go for the chicken and chorizo pasta from the Specials board. It was excellent with cream, white wine, pesto, home made pasta, rocket and other delicious ingredients.
We shared a dessert, brioche bread and butter pudding, which was also delicious.
It is obvious the owners know their stuff. The food surpasses most pub meals you'd experience with ambience and we'll trained staff too.
Highly recommend this excellent independent country pub.
I have to agree with the owner on the last comments here about not enough choice etc etc. The reviewer must have been expecting Tom Kerridge or Gordon Ramsey to be in the kitchen ... although in our experience we've tried both and neither are as good, (possibly more about the name than the food) the menu choices are more limited and both are way, way more expensive.
Written 3 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Koren Blake
Thank you so, so much for such a fabulous review. We are so glad you've loved the food and you're right we do take a lot of pride in offering high quality dishes at a reasonable price (although it's tricky in the current climate)! As a small independent business we are so grateful to guests like you that keep coming in and spread the word! Also welcome to the village! Koren
Written 25 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sam O
4 contributions
Mar 2022 • family
We had heard that the Brickmakerts was good so decided to give it a try. We were greeted in a friendly way - we were 20 mins early which wasn’t a problem. The pub felt super cosy with a roaring fire. We had looked at the menu previously, but were
Pleasantly surprised with an extensive specials menu. My daughter chose the pork ribs and substituted fries for dirty fries and I opted for the house chicken curry. Both were superb. My daughter finished with a sticky toffee pud, and we have booked to return for Sunday lunch - highly recommend
Written 9 March 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fablandlady1
Thank you so much Sam. It's great when we have guests that haven't visited before and they want to come back. Look forward to seeing you soon. Koren
Written 10 March 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ruth T
7 contributions
Jun 2023 • couples
We had a wonderful lunch here. The food was excellent, I had Nachos and the portion size was HUGE and the best I have ever had. The lady serving was very attentive and made sure everything was perfect for us. We will definitely be back and recommending this place to friends.
Written 17 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Koren Blake
Hi! Thanks so much for taking the time to review. So glad you enjoyed everything, I have to agree the nachos are so popular. Our guacamole and salsa is home made, and proper cheese melted in layers not cheese sauce makes all the difference!
Thanks again, Koren
Written 25 September 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
ANNE G
1 contribution
Sept 2023 • friends
Didn't have high expectations - it's quite hard these days to find anything much better than basic pub grub these days unless one looks hard, and we only saw the "usuals" menu on the website (mind you, the fish and chips and burgers being taken to other tables looked great). So we were pleased to be handed a specials menu (3 starters and 3 mains) to choose from, along with the website menu. We both chose pheasant breast, which was utterly delicious - I have not had it better anywhere else. Lovely chive mash, various greens including asparagus tips and leeks, a delicious little celeriac frittery thing, and a divine savoury cream sauce served separately in a little jug. Beautifully presented too. Reasonable prices and service with a very nice smile. I wish I lived nearer but, even so, I may soon be back before the pheasant runs out!
Written 27 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
…
Showing results 1-15 of 343
Best nearby
We rank these hotels, restaurants, and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Best nearby hotels
See all 
Best nearby restaurants
See all 
Is This Your Listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim Your Free Listing