..Boutique at Butcombe

 I was surprised to come across a Butcombe pub in Hampshire, as I thought they were confined to the west country...

photo from 'Whatpub website'

...but having subsequently checked their website, it seems there are actually five in the county.

 The Mayflower, Lymington, SO41 3QD, is a large pub with tudor style frontage and tall, ornate and seemingly top-heavy chimneys.  At first glance it has the appearance of an 'estate pub', but on their website Butcombe refer to their pubs as 'boutique inns'.  The same term does not appear on the web page they have dedicated to the Mayflower, where it is a 'traditional pub'.  Split personality then...?

The inside is generally one or two large open spaces and certainly it has a dining pub feel, with the large bar area just having two stools for bar drinkers.  It is situated close by Lymington Yacht Club and marina-land, so is probably more 'boutique' than 'traditional' - pitched at the Helly Hanson and Musto clad owners of the gleaming white slabs of white fibreglass, bobbing on the Lymington River.

 Today I was on a wander of Lymington hostelries with my youngest son Martin, and starting with the Mayflower at lunchtime, we also planned to have a bite to eat. 
First up a beer.  There was a selection of Butcombe beers on cask (ok - two actually and one duplicate?)*. 

   I choose the Original 4%., which was nice...er...I mean Good.

The 'original' Butcombe beer

We sat next to one of the front windows, giving us a nice view of Lymington's expensive suburbia in various pastel shades.    

Shades of blue and white...

The pub was quite empty on this Saturday lunchtime, and there seemed to be more staff than customers eying us attentively, in their black work uniforms, which perhaps seemed to have an unfortunate resemblance to vultures eyeing their (potential) prey (or perhaps it was just my imagination).

Staff....waiting...

 So we ordered a 'light' lunch as the prices were a tad on the expensive side as might be expected for the location and target clientele.

Brixham Fish Finger Bun and Salt and Pepper Calamari

So we paid up our tab and left the still quiet pub.

A little later on, I had another look at the bill/receipt I had received, which I was surprised to note included a 'voluntary' service charge that had been automatically added to the bill and left for me to discover.  

Serves me right for not checking my bill carefully enough when paying.  Call me old fashioned, but isn't that an interesting interpretation on the meaning of 'voluntary' at Butcombe pubs then? 

If a service charge is part of the bill then fine, but surely it is not voluntary unless I decide whether it's added to the bill, rather than have to ask for it to be taken off?  

Perhaps it's de rigueur amongst the sailing classes?

* The Mayflower entry on Whatpub tells us that 'in some Butcombe pubs [one of their keg beers] is being sold from behind a handpump complete with handpump style pump-clip; this is not real ale or cask beer.'