Cowherds Inn

Located on the edge of Southampton common this lovely pub has a great atmosphere
Outdoor seating available for the better weather but the indoor seating is nice and cosy in the winter months
A lovely menu with some delicious food meaning that this place can get busy
Parking out front and some around the back

The pub is lovely, warm and cosy atmosphere inside and plenty of outdoor seating for a nice day. :) We just went for a pint, which was pretty expensive, but enjoyable nonetheless. The food looked great, but I will have to return in future to try it.

Nice relaxing pub/​restaurant with good food selection — even for veggies!

The food is ok and the prices are pretty high, so I’m sorry I can only hand out 3 points for The Cowherds.
On the positive side: the Pub is really lovely inside and there’s a big park right next door with a playround so the kids can go off and play. I loved the great selection of regional beers! The service is very good, too.
Give the food a little extra something and I’m sure there’ll be more points to go round next time.

I came here again with some housemates when my mum came down to visit — we all enjoyed our food! I had their fishcakes with herbed crème fraîche and shared the giant profiteroles. They were a little slow to take our order, but the waitstaff are all very considerate. Our server was alerted by a colleague to move us to another table before he lead us to our seats because of a child crying all night — a thoughtful suggestion! PS I hope that child was okay at the end of the evening!!!

Ok, standardish food, staff took a bit long but nice location and was very full afterward!

This pub is in a great location, and offers very nice food. Being just next to the common makes it a great place to have a family lunch.

Sound place. Nice food. Specials on each day. Nice beer — well kept — draught Erdinger weiß beer plus 3 cask.
Go at least once a week early in the week. Service has been ok i. e what I ordered turned up 15 – 20 mins max, often less. However there seem to be a stream of ditzy young girls serving who I’ve seen totally cock up peoples orders eg. pasta with chicken served to a veggie. One asked me 30 seconds after I’d finished eating if I wanted the bill!
Manager seems on the ball so place mostly ticks over nicely.
Had a delicious lamb shoulder this eve. Will be back next week …

Been going here for years and years!!!
I have seen many changes over the years but to be honest it is still a great place with some fantaastic drink selections and the Sunday roasts are legendary. I have eaten hundreds of them over the years. Yummy
Bit pricey not to much though but hey you are out of the way in a park with loads fo outside seating, perfect place for a summers day pint!!!

I used to really enjoy going to the Cowherds and the food was very nice but it’s really gone downhill over the past couple of years. The last time I went in I was with someone that suffers from Coeliac disease and therefore can’t eat gluten. She picked something form the menu that appeared to be gluten free and then asked the waitress if she could check with the chef. The chef didn’t know. I have to wonder where the food is coming from if the person supposedly cooking it doesn’t know what’s in it. I can only assume that they have started buying in catering packs to save time and money. The Coeliac lady didn’t eat and I opted for a sandwich, which I didn’t enjoy at all.
The pub itself is very big and is in a lovely location and it’s certainly worth a visit if you’re just intending to have a drink.

This is probably the most convienient pub in the whole of Southampton. Situated on Southampton Common, it is the perfect stop off after a long stroll or other activities taken part in on the Common.
It has a family feel to it, both in clientele and in décor. It certainly has a relaxed atmosphere for you to relax in on a Summers afternoon. There is good outdoor seating too, and a large carpark.
Prices are affordable and the staff friendly and reliable. You can’t go wrong with this choice of venue.

I still enjoy going to the Cowherds but I don’t find it as good as it used to be.
The pub is on the common so it has nice surroundings but it isn’t that fat from a main road.
They have a car park just outside and there are tables just next to the car park to sit at which is nice in the summer.
They do some nice sounding food but I have also heard complaints from a number of people about receiving the wrong order or some part of the meal being cold or not tasting nice.
The prices are average.
Most of the staff are friendly.

The Cowherds is a great place to stop off on the Avenue on the way into and out of Southampton or if you’ve spent a lazy afternoon on Southampton Common.
Drinks wise they’ve been excellent for all the last several years I’ve been going, serving a good range of normal lagers at reasonable prices with some european and specialist beers on tap and bottled to tempt you. Great seating inside and out, I always love this place in Summer when you can sit outside and relax with a drink.
Food is different, about two years ago it used to be excellent freshly cooked food, even if it wasn’t all cooked on site it tasted as though it had and the service was excellentThen something happened, I don’t know what but the quality of the food changed, the prices went up, portion sizes down and I’ve been bitterly disappointed as the atmosphere in there is usually great, the seating is nice and cosy and if you’re lucky you can get next to the real open fire!
I wouldn’t now highly recommend it as I used to! I still go but not as often!

This is an edited version of my review that I wrote about Cowherds earlier, where I slated Cowherds a lot. I went to Cowherds again tonight with my girlfriend, after having not been there for few months due to previous disappointment.
Cowherds is a perfectly situated pub, near the main road that goes in and out of Southampton, and near Southampton common. On a Friday night it is a pub that is very popular, mostly with the slightly older generation.
On previous occasions at Cowherds the atmosphere has been very cosy and friendly and a great atmosphere, but disappointing food. Tonight however this was very different. Tonight there was very little atmosphere, and considering the amount of people that were there, it was very quiet.
The food took a while to order due to rather slow working and perhaps unmotivated staff. This was the only disappointment tonight however.
After the long wait to order food, the food arrived after only 15 minutes, which is the quickest the food has ever arrived on any occasion that I have been at the pub. The food tonight was a superb and mouthwatering. The only minor issues that I may have with dinner are due to personal preference with food, and therefore it is not of any interest. Overall, I would give the food a 7.5 out of 10.
The alcohol menu was very extensive, with a very impressive scotch selection and above Southampton average wine list at reasonable prices.
Another thing that will tempt you to go to Cowherds is their limited time offer of 2 meals for 10 pounds of the pub classic menu. More information regarding this can be found on:

Happy eating.

Great location. Good pub food. Friendly staff.

Lovely little pub sat right on Southampton Common (fields and fields of grass).
Absolutely perfect when youve just taken a 2 hour stroll around the common and your gasping for a pint, this pub is in the perfect place. Cosy little place with friendly staff, nice pub meals, and affordable drinks.