Rai D'or, Salisbury

Rai D’or, Salisbury

Posted on 27. Oct, 2010 by Robert Gale in Pubs

Rai D'or, Salisbury

The Rai D’or is a LocAle accredited pub located in Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was Salisbury CAMRA’s pub of the year in 2008.

The Pub

Thought to date from 1292, the pub used to be a brothel in the Middle Ages and was built to service the needs of the craftsmen constructing Salisbury cathedral. Agnes Bottenham, a brothel keeper, gave part of the extensive brothel property in Trinity Street behind the pub to found Trinity Hospital in 1370 to house retired prostitutes.

It is not known how long the property was used as a brothel but the present building is believed to date from the 16th century and was constucted from two tenement houses.

The corner tenement still retains traces of the external double staircase with a balcony where the prostitutes could show themselves. The smaller inner tenement has a fine inglenook fireplace which is now the centre of the main bar area.

The main bar area contains around 7 bar stools, one large table and one smaller table. As the pub’s main business is the Thai restaurant, most of the space has been devoted to seating for that. People are welcome to pop in just for a drink but with just a few seats it could get busy. According to reviews and beer guide books, the Thai food is good and reasonably priced but if you plan on eating there on a weekend, you many want to book in advance.

The Beer

The pub usually serves 2 ales from local breweries. Available when I visited in October, 2010 were Downton Honey Blonde and Andwell Gold Muddler. The Downton ale cost £2.90 a pint and the Andwell ale cost £2.70. If you are a CAMRA member and stay for more than one pint you can get a 50p discount per pint.

Venue Location

Rai D’or

69 Brown Street

Salisbury

SP1 2AS

Tel: 01722 327137

www.raidor.co.uk

View on Google Street View

Robert Gale (Twitter: @awv)

Beer Taster, Pub Attendee, Photo Taker

Robert Gale likes beer, pubs and beer festivals. He also likes to take photos of beer, pubs and beer festivals. Most weekends of the year you can find him travelling around the UK (and sometimes beyond) photographing and reviewing good quality pubs and beer festivals. He also has a day job in the form of a web developer for Ozum.

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As well as good beer this pub also serves excellent, reasonably priced Thai food. Booking is advised as it does get busy, particularly at weekends, although the ” hands on” owner will always try to fit you in. Drinkers can also book a table to guarantee a seat.