The Seymour Arms is, in the opinion of many, quite simply the greatest pub in Plymouth. This entry is devoted to a pub which many people in the Greenbank Area consider their favourite.

Location

The address of the Seymour is 10 North Street, Plymouth, England, PL4 8DL. For those of you who don't know North Street, you can find the Seymour by walking along the road behind Charles Cross Police station which runs parallel to Ebrington Street, until you see the sign inviting you to turn left for the Seymour. If that makes no sense to you then try Streetmap.

About the Pub

The landlord and lady of the pub (at the time of writing) are Sue and Steve Launder (Steve was once on the books at Plymouth Argyle football club). They do a sterling job of running a fantastic pub, and also of supporting local sports teams such as Greenbank Wanderers. The bar manager is Dennis Devlin, a very personable and efficient bar manager. Dennis is also a quality pool player.

One of reasons why the Seymour is such a great pub is the clientele. At the Seymour, there is a very good mixture of different types of people who all get along quite well. Primarily, the Seymour is a student pub - every year the pub gets an influx of new faces (although, it has to be said, not too many freshers) coming in. However, the great thing about the Seymour is that there is also a core of locals who attend the pub. There is no animosity between the two groups. This gives a great feeling of the soul of a proper local pub eg, locals and sports teams, without any of the unfriendly atmosphere you sometimes get at very 'local pubs'. But you also get lots of new faces, interesting conversations, the sort diverse jukebox you might associate with a 'student pub', without any of the soullessness some feel in normal student pubs.

Facilities

At the Seymour you get all the amenities you would expect from a local pub. They have a very nice pool table, which is quite reasonable at 50p a game (pretty cheap for near the town centre). A match dart board for the many teams the Seymour has, and a practice board for ordinary folks. The Seymour has a fine jukebox, and you can generally enjoy a rather eclectic mix of music while drinking there.

The Seymour has satellite television and a projector screen television for excellent sports coverage, as well as two 'aux' televisions so that more than one event can be covered at a time. However the Seymour isn't set up to be a sports pub - just one in which you can enjoy sport. When there is no sport on TV, or the sound is muted, then it is a nice pub for having a quiet drink in.

Food

One of the fantastic things about the Seymour is the excellent range of cheap but decent pub grub. One of their slogans is 'don't come here if you are on a diet.' This is true - for your money you get excellent portions. Some of the better dishes are their fantastic burgers, the great pork and leek sausage with onion gravy and mashed potato and, of course, pub favourite cheesy chips. Even when the pub is busy your food is almost always delivered very quickly. The best bit is when you buy two meals and two pints and get change from a tenner!

The Important Bit... Alcohol

This is what it knuckles down to, the reason why you are going to the pub - to have a drink. The Seymour does not disappoint - there is a large selection of draught beers, ciders and lagers, all that you would expect from a good pub. Pretty much all the spirits you can shake a stick at, wine of several varieties and several different types of alcopops. One slight criticism is that there are no cocktails. However, some might see that as a good thing.

Conclusion

The Seymour isn't perfect at all - when you have been drinking there for several years, you nitpick about the few faults it has - but generally it is top drawer, and no doubt there are many satisfied customers who would recommend that anyone visiting Plymouth should check it out.

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