While finding and frequenting a favourite watering hole – “Norm!” – is an essential part of the pub experience, equally enticing is finding an amazing new establishment that was completely unexpected.
Consider The Olde Ship Pub and Restaurant – a British, family owned traditional pub located not in the cobbled lanes of the U.K. or Ireland, or even the nooks and crannies of Toronto, New York or Boston. The Ship is found in Fullerton, California, a short drive from Anaheim in Orange Country (hardly a renowned haven for traditional pubs) and close enough (about 15 minutes) to Disneyland to retire for a quiet pint after a day of chaotic crowds.
Open since 1993 (there is a second location in Santa Ana), the pub was fashioned to be a place for its founder – Dougie – to enjoy “a true imperial pint and authentic British meal,” a standard maintained today through home-made meals in “an era of pre-prepped and microwaveable packaging” and locally sourced food, ranging from seafood dishes (including Fish & Chips) to British staples like handmade pies, bangers & mash, prime rib and Yorkshire pudding, plus plenty more.
As for the pints, they are authentically 20-ounces (compared to typical 12- to 14-ounce versions) and poured with a nitrogen gas system designed to minimize the flavour-altering properties of adding straight CO2. The menu includes ales, lagers, stout, and ciders from the likes of Fullers, Boddingtons, Smithwicks and Guinness. There’s also an OIde Ship lager.
Management of the pub maintains, “You’ll be a stranger here but once!” but as one patron recently put it, perhaps a little more succinctly: “It’s an effing great pub!”
Located at 709 N. Harbor Blvd. in Fullerton, the Olde Ship is open 11-11 Mon-Sat. and an hour earlier on Sundays. There’s live music Thurs-Sat., soccer on the telly, quiz nights and Sunday is all-day happy hour.
(“Pub Crawl” is an ongoing series in which we reveal some of our favourite public houses, both at home and abroad – and, in the spirit of the establishment, invite you to share with us yours. Send suggestions to baginski@travelindustrytoday.com. Cheers!)