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Bristol Pubs
139° NORTH
139 North St, Southville, BS3 1EZ. Tel: 0117 963 4433
• Landlord David Bryant helms this huge pub with a large, sunny beer garden. The size of the place means that, even when it’s busy at weekends, it is never crowded. The central bar has plenty of service area, and the usual selection of commercial lagers, Guinness, Blackthorn and real ale (currently Hobgoblin). Smoking area.
A space to chill and relax in.
ADAM & EVE
7 Hope Chapel Hill, Hotwells, BS8 4ND. Tel: 0117 929 1508
• Fabulous old-fashioned pub, the Adam and Eve is perfect for idling away the afternoon and enjoying their chef-quality homecooked food. Complete with wooden floors and tables, management team Karen and James keep a selection of four real ales, plus keg beers, premium lagers, a full wine list, and a fair selection of spirits too. Cosy, non-pretentious atmosphere, within 10 mins’ walk of the centre. Smoking area, possibly heated during winter (TBC).
Pub quiz every Monday evening.
ALBION PUBLIC HOUSE AND DINING ROOMS
Boyces Ave, Clifton, BS8 4AA. Tel: 0117 973 3522, web: www.thealbionclifton.co.uk
• Refurbished in 2005, the Albion, with its modern British cuisine, fine wines and real ales, is a terrific addition to the city’s better eating and drinking destinations. The snug bar, with its exposed brickwork, open fire and comfy leather seating, serves a fine selection of local beers, ciders and premium spirits, and the menu makes the most of locally-sourced, organic ingredients.
Open Mon 5pm-12midnight, Tue-Sat 12noon-12midnight, Sun 12noon-10.30pm. No food Mon.
ALMA TAVERN
18-20 Alma Vale Rd, Clifton, BS8 2HY. Tel: 0117 973 5171
• Major changes were afoot as this guide went to press, with the owners of Alibi about to take over the Alma. The new owners promise frequently changing real ales, weekend breakfasts, Sunday roasts, pub theatre, Wi-Fi, outdoor smoking area, good choice of wines and regularly changing blackboard menu.
The Alma is the only pub in Bristol with a 50-seat theatre upstairs.
THE ANCHOR
323 Gloucester Rd, BS7 8PE. Tel: 0117 924 1769
• This trendy, upbeat sports pub is about to shut for a major overhaul - it closes on 4 June, reopening in early July. Check Venue for further details.
ANNEX
Seymour Ave, Bishopston, BS7 9EQ. Tel: 0117 949 3931, web: www.the-annexe.co.uk
• A converted skittle alley, and cricket-lover’s paradise, attached to the Sportsman (see below). Good-value food, including homemade pizzas for a fiver, and plenty of real ales: expect the likes of Doom Bar, Tanglefoot, Abbot Ale, Spitfire, Courage Best, Bass and Summer Lightning on tap as well as a rotating guest ale. Kid-friendly conservatory with disabled access, toilets and baby changing facilities, and a beer garden that’s open to kids until 8.30pm. Food served Mon-Sat until 7pm, and Sun lunchtimes. Smoking area.
Cash prize quiz Mon nights. Jackpot can roll over into hundreds of pounds.
APPLE TREE
27 Philip St, Bedminster, BS3 4EA. Tel: 0117 966 7097
• Dinky, unashamedly traditional backstreet boozer. Just the one bar, with simple furniture around the edge, and very much a cider house, full of great characters and some of the finest adult apple juice in the city.
Live music in the garden during summer months.
ARTICHOKE
Unit 1, Hill House, Lewins Mead, Broadmead. Tel: 0117 922 1622
• Savour a refreshing pint at lunchtime in the large beer garden. Enjoy the award-winning flowerbeds while tucking into homemade meals - roast pork with all the trimmings is just £6.95. Varied cross-section of punters enjoying equally varied draughts, including Courage Best, San Miguel, Kronenbourg, Budweiser, Strongbow and John Smith’s Smooth. Bottle offers in eves. Can get busy with pre-club crowd. Smoking area.
Just yards from Broadmead, a great place to unwind after braving the sales.
AVON PACKET
185-187 Coronation Rd, Southville, BS3 1RF. Tel 0117 987 2431
• Friendly, characterful hangout, with traditional bar games (dominoes, cribbage, snooker and darts), Bristol Beer Factory ales, lagers, Guinness, Murphys and plenty of cider, including the rather evil Natch. The hot meat rolls are infamous. Smoking area.
Boasts a rare tiled exterior and beer garden.
BAG O’NAILS
141 St Georges Rd, Hotwells, BS1 5UW. Tel: 0117 940 6776
• Traditional one-room boozer with no jukebox and no fruit machines, just a fine array of ales on offer with up to 10 guest beers at any one time. Specialises in cask-conditioned ales and more obscure brands of bottled beers, around 30 of which are available. Highly-rated port and stilton nights every second and fourth Tue. Voted CAMRA Pub of the Year 2000.
Unusual gas-lit inn. Watch out for the portholes in the floor.
THE BANK TAVERN
8 John St, BS1 2HR. Tel: 0117 930 4691, web: www.thebanktavern.co.uk
• A pub has stood here for 225 years. Compact, friendly, and a wonderful alternative to the many big-name chains nearby. Sympathetically refurbished last year, there’s real ale in the form of Courage Best, Bellringer and Pedigree, with a decent selection of lagers too. Small wine selection. Food served lunchtimes, the Sunday roasts are very good indeed and come in Cow, Pig, Hen and Squirrel varieties.
The first bank in Bristol opened on the site opposite, hence the name.
THE BEAR
261 Hotwell Rd, BS8 4FF. Tel: 0117 987 7796
• A real mix of clientele in this popular venue, from students and locals to visiting musicians. Beers: Courage Best, Bass and Spitfire, plus Stella, Guinness (cold), Blackthorn, Foster’s and John Smith’s. Suntrap courtyard and accommodation available. Good pub grub served lunchtimes, including pasta, fish, steaks, etc. Heated smoking area.
Renowned Bebop Jazz Club with international acts every Fri evening, live music most Sats, and early Sunday evening approx monthly.
BEAUFORT
21 York Rd, Montpelier, BS6 5QB. Tel: 0117 955 5216
• A warm welcome awaits when you step through the doors of this cosy family-run pub. Twin-barred, mid-terrace and packed with character and characters who, alongside the jukebox stuffed with blues, reggae and Irish standards, provide the entertainment while you enjoy a pint of Butcombe, Young’s or Young’s Special. Large selection of rums and spirits, small patio area.
Be prepared to sing along with the locals.
BEAUFORT ARMS
23 High St, Clifton, BS8 2YF
• Tucked away old-fashioned pub situated below Durdham Downs, packed with regulars, local sports teams and serving up real ale, lots of ciders (around a dozen at the last count) and several perrys. Food is served lunchtimes, there’s a decent Sunday lunch available, and water and biscuits provided for man’s best friend.
Huge range of ciders, many from local producers Thatchers.
BEEHIVE
112 Wellington Rd, Henleaze, BS9 4QY. Tel: 0117 962 3250
• Massively refurbished a couple of years back, this good locals’ haunt serves Bass, Courage, Brakspear and Marston’s Pedigree among other draughts, spirits and bottles. Large garden with children’s adventure equipment, skittle alley and barbecues on sunny days. Food served daily. The Sportsman’s Bar has a large screen telly for sports events and a dartboard. Smoking area.
Children’s area in lounge, kids welcome till 9.30pm.
THE BELL
21 Alfred Place, Kingsdown, BS2 8HD. Tel: 0117 922 1006
• Friendly free house on the backstreets of Kingsdown, a charming one-bar pub which has lost none of its old-fashioned feel, thankfully, with a genuinely warm welcome for all. Serving good homemade pub food lunchtimes and evenings, with simple wooden furniture and comfortable seating. Popular with locals, office and healthcare workers, and real ale connoisseurs, with regularly changing guest ales.
Open daily 12noon-2.30pm and
5-11pm.
THE BELL
16-18 Hillgrove St (off Jamaica St), Stokes Croft, BS2 8JT. Tel: 0117 909 6612, web: www.butcombe.com/bell.htm
• A classic wood-floored hostelry, boasting a supremely eclectic clientele. A refurbishment a while back introduced a range of local art to the walls, and the toilet graffiti art has to be seen to be believed. Menu features good pub fare at decent prices, while quality DJs play every night of the week in the back bar to keep those regulars coming back for more. Good beers, too: Butcombe Blond, Gold and Cold Filtered, Bath Ales Gem, Stella, San Miguel and Foster’s on tap. Ashton Press cider. Smoking area.
Good food, drink, papers and excellent beer garden.
THE BERKELEY
Berkeley Centre, Queens Rd, BS8 1QE. Tel: 0117 927 9550
• Big, busy Wetherspoons pub, one of the first of the ‘super-pubs’ to hit Bristol. Great location and plentiful space has made this a consistently popular choice, especially for students. Drop-down TV screens show all major sporting events, but quiet areas of the pub still remain. Large selection of constantly changing real ales on offer, all at decent prices.
Plenty of food promotions throughout the week.
BISHOP’S TAVERN
Cheltenham Rd, BS6 5QP. Tel: 0117 944 5169
• Due to its location in studentsville, it’s rammed with bright, noisy young things. Drinks: three real ales - two Greene King and one rotating guest - and a wide selection of wines by the glass or bottle. Cheap champagne, too. Stella, Heineken and Hoegaarden on tap. Good-value food: the 11½” stone-baked pizzas can be eaten in or taken away, and students enjoy a whopping 25% off food and drink on Mons and 15% off drinks at other times. All major sports shown. Drink offers change monthly.
A heated and covered beer garden is due by the end of summer 2007.
BLACKBOY INN
171 Whiteladies Rd, BS8 2RY. Tel: 0117 940 6130
• Courage pub with two bars, one for the sports fans, especially those keen to worship at the Bristol Rugby shrine. Lovely old pub steeped in history and character, serving beer since 1797. Courage Best, Doom Bar and Bass on draught, plus Red Stripe. No food, occasional live music, dogs allowed.
Blackboy Hill is named after this inn, which was probably named after Charles II (who was of a dark complexion), rather than having any direct links with Bristol’s slave trade.
BRIDGE INN
Passage St, BS2 0JF. Tel: 0117 949 9967, web: www.bathales.com
• Size isn’t everything when it comes to pubs, as the Bridge proves. Well-kept and well-served selection of Bath Ales beauties - Spa, Gem and a rotating guest, plus a range of organic brews and spirits -including Weston’s cider and Bath Ales’ lager. Homemade food includes enormous doorstep sandwiches (bigger than some people’s idea of a main meal), jacket spuds, chili and chips and a range of specials. Food served weekdays 11.30am-2.30pm, Sat 12noon-2pm. Smoking area.
New manager Luke has reintroduced regular quiz nights.
BRISTOL FLYER
96 Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, BS7 8BN. Tel: 0117 944 1658
• The old Goose at the Flyer is reinvented, with flavoursome, not flash, food very much to the fore. The refurbishment has made a vast improvement, with tables for couples, families and larger groups alike and the day’s selection chalked up on huge blackboards. Well-stocked bar with several real ales, including Bombardier and Old Speckled Hen, and plenty of top-end lagers. Food served at lunch and dinner daily, all day at weekends. Smoking area.
Beer garden with separate bar.
BRISTOL RAM
32 Park St, BS1 5JA. Tel: 0117 926 8654
• A friendly, relaxed and cosy atmosphere where you can enjoy a variety of wines by the glass, and a full range of Young’s and Well’s draught beers. Food now served all day, seven days a week, including traditional Sunday roasts in winter.
Live acoustic music every Wednesday.
BUNCH OF GRAPES
8 Denmark St. Tel: 0117 987 0500, web: www.thebunchofgrapes.co.uk
• L-shaped drinking haunt with well-chosen and well-kept ales - including Firkin Good Show, a 4% ale brewed exclusively for the Grapes by Blindman’s Brewery - alongside ridiculously reasonably priced bottles of wine. A no-fuss, down-to-earth, good old-fashioned pub with no TV and no kids to distract you from the drinking that needs to be done. Posters from Hippodrome shows plaster the walls. Now open all day, from 11.30am during the week, and Sun from 12noon, with a full menu available.
Excellent entertainment: live music six nights a week, with a quiz on Mondays.
CADBURY HOUSE
Richmond Rd, Montpelier, BS6 5EW. Tel: 0117 924 7874
• Legendary drinking institution in Bristol’s bohemian quarter, a vital part of the local community and home to a good mix of students, locals and virtual tenants. Always a good place for a hassle-free pint, even on the crowded weekends. Doom Bar, and one guest ale; Staropramen, Red Stripe, San Miguel, Foster’s and Grolsch, plus Blackthorn, Thatcher’s Gold, Weston’s Organic and Thatcher’s Pear for cider lovers. Good range of imported bottled beers too. Four-pint pitchers available. Open-air pool table in the deceptively large beer garden, and good, cheap food, including all-day breakfasts, with the emphasis on fresh ingredients sourced locally; all meat is free range. Smoking area.
DJs Fri and Sat eves.
CAMBRIDGE ARMS
Coldharbour Rd, Redland, BS6 7JS. Tel: 0117 973 9786
• Member of the Fullers family brewery, which means they have that glorious London Pride on tap, as well as Butcombe bitter and Discovery. Fine choice of premium lagers, bottled beers and an excellent wine list. Food is particularly good and recently improved further still, with fish in Discovery batter, daily specials and lighter bites. A real gem of a pub. Large beer garden is always popular; children welcome. Smoking area.
Major refurbishment due in September 2007.
CAT AND WHEEL
207 Cheltenham Rd, BS6 5QX. Tel: 0117 942 7862
• Big, busy two-bar pub run by co-licensees Scott and Jan, with pool tables and big-screen sports. Up to eight real ales now being served, including Courage Best, Bass and at least one alternating guest ale from Moles Brewery. Then there’s San Miguel, Kronenbourg and Guinness, and ciders including Strongbow, Thatcher’s Gold, Black Rat and many more in bottles, befitting a pub which hosts up to three annual cider festivals. Heated smoking area.
Live bands every Fri night and occasionally Sat too.
CHANNINGS HOTEL
Pembroke Rd, Clifton, BS8 3BB. Tel: 0117 973 3970
• A venerable Clifton institution, open daily from 12noon, with three rotating real ales (Courage Best always on, plus guests including Bombardier, Old Speckled Hen and Old Peculier) and an extensive wine menu. Downstairs, the livelier wood-panelled basement bar remains, while outside there’s a big, sunny, heaving beer garden that seats 150 for balmy summer evenings. Freshly prepared food, with a sausage of the day, served till 9pm. Background music, pool table in cellar bar.
The lively, wood-panelled cellar bar is open weekends only, with occasional acoustic music.
THE CLIFTON
16 Regent St, Clifton, BS8 4HG. Tel: 0117 974 6321
• Admirably attracting an 18-85 crowd, the emphasis is on floor service whether you’re having an espresso or a three-course meal. There’s the theatre of an open kitchen wherein decent food at decent prices is conjured up. A new menu will remain until summer’s end, with light/sharing dishes including whole camembert wedges with aioli. Sandwiches boast fillings like steak, the speciality meaty club and marinated halloumi. Three different real ales, and a range of draught ciders.
Watch out for the occasional appearance of Clifton Ale from those lovely Bath Ales people.
CLIFTON SPORTS BAR
Gordon Rd, Clifton, BS8 1AW. Tel: 0117 923 7971
• Roomy, comfortable and unpretentious local which used to be known as the Richmond Spring. With three sections, the most pleasant of which is dominated by a large open fire. There’s been a change of management since last year, but it’s still primarily a neighbourhood hostelry with a new, full food menu which happens to have a strong sports bias and, with two separate Sky feeds, you can watch rugby in one room and footy in another. Three real ales: Young’s, Doom Bar and Bombardier, plus ciders courtesy of Blackthorn, Strongbow and Thatcher’s Traditional. Smoking area.
The walls are decked with authentic, autographed sports memorabilia.
CLYDE ARMS
129 Hampton Rd, Redland, BS6 6JE. Tel: 0117 923 7936
• Popular, friendly old-fashioned boozer with lovely stained glass windows and a real community feel. Beers include Sharp’s Doom Bar and Butcombe Bitter, plus a good range of keg standards such as Stella, Guinness, Foster’s and Kronenbourg. Quiz night on Tue. Small, sunny patio, darts board and two great pool tables. Big and small TV screens show all Sky Sports and other programmes. Great jukebox. Smoking area.
Poker night every Sunday.
COACH AND HORSES
Highland Square, Clifton, BS8 2YB. Tel: 0117 974 5176
• Licensee Chris Lang helms this characterful former coaching inn overlooking the square, with a suntrap terrace out front, heated patio and pool room. Popular with students, local residents and office workers, beers include London Pride, Spitfire and Courage Best. Food served lunchtimes, and as soon as the sun pops out they fire up the barbecue. Smoking area.
Good food is a family tradition: Chris’s son Marcus is head chef at the Hotel du Vin.
COCK O’ THE NORTH
Northumbria Drive, Henleaze, BS9 4HP. Tel: 0117 962 4235
• Reputedly one of only two round pubs in the UK. Part of the John Barras chain, with their regular cheap meal deals and beer offers. Big and friendly, and handy for the rather wonderful Orpheus cinema.
Exterior was famously used as ‘The Young Ones’ local, the Kebab & Calculator.
COMMERCIAL ROOMS
Corn St, BS1 1HT. Tel: 0117 927 9681
• Wetherspoons biggie, in what was once an exclusive coffee house where merchants used to discuss stocks and shares. Butcombe Gold, Butcombe Bitter, Director’s, Courage Best, Pedigree and Abbot Ale are on draught, along with anything up to 11 guest ales. Kronie, Stella, Carling, Foster’s, Hoegaarden, Guinness, Blackthorn and Strongbow. Around 30 different vodkas, cocktail menu.
Loads of food offers - extremely reasonable brekkies, steaks, etc.
COOPERS ARMS
12-13 Ashton Rd, Ashton, BS3 2EA. Tel: 0117 902 0359
• Friendly, family-run one-bar Victorian hostelry with Bombardier, Butcombe and Courage Best on tap. A proper local drinking hole with comfortable seating, great stained glass and heavy curtains; a real local’s pub with no frills, and all the better for it. Thankfully free of yuppies and lager boys alike, there’s a nice beer garden out back and dogs are always welcome. Smoking area.
Good wheelchair access.
THE CORNUBIA
142 Temple St, Redcliffe, BS1 6AB. Tel: 0117 925 4415
• Re-opened by The Hidden Brewery on 1 December 2006, the Cornubia used to be the Executive Suite/Brewery Tap for Courage Bristol Brewery and is described as a ‘real ale Mecca’, serving guest beers from local microbreweries, traditional cider and, occasionally, perry. It now stands alone, tucked away between the old brewery site and offices, where it has a loyal following, particularly from Bristol CAMRA. The pub has one bar and two rooms with long shelves to rest your drink and serves a range of food at the bar at lunchtime and in the evening. The first floor area is also available to hire for functions and business meetings.
Highly recommended. If you don’t like this place, you don’t like pubs.
THE CORONATION
18 Dean Lane, Southville, BS3 1DD. Tel: 0117 940 9044
• Little local, popular with the younger crowd. Friendly, welcoming community pub with up to six different ales on tap, including Summer Lightning and Crop Circle from the Hop Back Brewery, and a cider or two too. General knowledge quiz, Scrabble matches and mucho money raising for local worthy causes. Open from 3pm weekdays and all day at the weekend. Subtle piped music which doesn’t detract from the beer and conversation.
Homemade pizzas available evenings only until 9pm.
CORONATION TAP
8 Sion Place, Clifton, BS8 4AX. Tel: 0117 973 9617, web: www.thecoronationtap.com Email: cider@thecoronationtap
• Not just a centuries-old local legend - Clifton's only ciderhouse is world-famous! Incredibly popular traditional bar with a brilliant atmosphere. Customers visit from all corners of the globe, and God and Elvis are regulars along with various other celebs! And of course there is the infamous Exhibition cider which is produced exclusively for The CoriTap. And we are the most popular live music venue in Clifton with a huge variety of amazingly talented artists playing every Sunday lunchtime. Have you been 'corried'?
COTHAM PORTER STORES
15 Cotham Rd South, BS6 5TZ. Web: www.cothamporterstores.co.uk
• Gorgeous little mid-terrace pub famed all over town as one of Bristol’s finest traditional cider houses, with six draught ciders including Thatchers and Cheddar Valley Red. Several guest ales on tap, but don’t forget the cider. Busy but cosy, with a real community feel. Truly unique. Open daily from 12noon.
History has it that the pub mural was painted by one John Winston Lennon when The Beatles played Bristol.
COTTAGE INN
Baltic Wharf, Cumberland Rd. Tel: 0117 921 5256
• Fabulous dockside location that’s just made for summer, with great views across the river. A full menu and specials include dishes like beef, ale & mushroom pie, cod & chips, lasagne, chili, bangers & mash and pork loins. It’s a beautiful spot for a Sunday lunch, whether eaten indoors beside the fire when it’s cold, or enjoyed outside overlooking the larks on the water when summer arrives. Real ales include Bass, a rotating selection from Bristol’s own Beer Factory and a guest or two. A real summer hotspot. Smoking area.
Ferry to the city centre goes from just outside.
THE CROFT
117-119 Stokes Croft, BS1 3RW. Tel: 0117 987 4144, web: www.the-croft.com
• One of the finest live music venues in Bristol: leftfield, cutting-edge acts to a whole cornucopia of up-and-comings of all descriptions, with live music pretty much every night of the year. Good drinks promos, and lots of lager on draught. Pool table, retro games consol and an enormous 18ft cinema screen. Front bar opens from 7pm, and entry is free before 10pm Sun-Thur.
The Liquid Cocaine shooter includes Jagermeister, Goldschlager and over-proof rum. You have been warned.
THE CROSS HANDS
1 Staple Hill Rd, Fishponds BS16 5AA. Tel: 0117 965 4684
• Sport-free real ale haven with 12 of the blighters on offer at any one time plus plenty of top-quality lagers too. Smart but informal restaurant area, although food can be eaten throughout the pub, with an excellent menu served both lunch and dinner. Smoking area.
Originally a coaching station, a pub has been on the site for over 200 years.
DOWNEND TAVERN
125 Downend Rd, Fishponds, BS16 5BE. Tel: 0117 987 3413
• Old-fashioned, single-bar, street-corner boozer serving Courage Best, plus three guest ales - currently Doom Bar, 6X and Directors - alongside a few keg beers and lagers. Small patio area for alfresco drinking, with bar snacks available daily and a decent Sunday carvery.
Live music every Thur, Fri and Sat.
DUKE OF YORK
2, Jubilee Rd, St Werburghs, BS2 9RS. Tel: 0117 941 3677
• Lively, fun hangout which has seen much improvement since Yosh Coe and Jane Pow took over the reins at the end of 2005. Three rotating real ales, and a huge selection of ciders –up to 12 at any one time. This year they opened a great games room upstairs, and the beer garden has a small covered area. Open evenings only; no food but great atmosphere.
Thanks to the fantastic mural which covers the external walls, you can’t miss the place.
ELDON HOUSE
6 Lower Clifton Hill, BS8 1BT. Tel: 0117 922 1271, web: www.theeldonhouse.co.uk
• Co-managers Emma Harper and John Gregory have managed to recreate a wonderful community pub here. A new addition to the Bath Ales family, with Gem, Spa and a rotating seasonal (currently Wild Hare, but Festivity will return later in the year) plus a wide selection of unusual, imported bottles and a very original wine list. Food is very much to the fore: John likes to conjure up what Emma calls “hearty pub food with a gourmet twist,” and all meat and eggs are free range. Huge Sunday lunches, with four options including vegetarian, served from 12noon-4pm for £7.95.
Music every Sunday, alternating between live bands, open mic and Breton folk.
EPI BAR
Bristol University Students Union, Queens Rd, Clifton, BS8 1LQ. Tel: 0117 954 5856
• Much improved, the remodelled Epi now hosts theme nights all week, including live jazz on Mon, pound-a-pint Tue, sport on Wed, Spank (playing cheese and chart sounds until 2am on Fri) and a quiz on Sun.
Cheap, cheap, cheap drinks for card-carrying studes and their friends.
FAMOUS ROYAL NAVAL VOLUNTEER
King St, BS1 3EF. Tel: 0117 929 1763
• Stalwart presence on King Street, the Volly is still as popular as ever. Manager David Lee presides over this historic (dating back to 1673) city centre beauty and considers customers as guests in his front room, so make yourself at home. With five cask ales on, you won’t need press-ganging into spending time here. Comfy seats and sofas, a library, separate rooms: whatever you want your pub to have, it’s here. Good-value menu. Separate function room available to hire.
The real ale selection includes an occasional rare appearance from the formerly Bristol-brewed Smiles.
THE FARM
Hopetoun Rd, St Werburghs, BS2 9YL. Tel: 0117 944 2384
• Run by live-in manager Adam Smith, the Farm is a vast, funky, laid-back but lively community pub in the heart of boho St Werburghs – a stone’s throw (literally) from the City Farm and Café. Tasty, wholesome, locally-sourced and wallet-friendly food is available lunchtimes and evenings, and the Sunday roasts (with veggie option, naturally) pretty much always sell out. As well as running a charity barbecue for the annual St W’s City Farm Summer Fayre, they have one pretty much every Saturday afternoon if the weather’s decent. Three real ales on tap, with regulars Gem and Old Speckled Hen joined by either Butcombe Blond or Gold, and along with the usual range of beers and lagers come flavoured Absolut vodkas, Goldschlager and that deadly Jagermeister stuff.
Nice big sloping garden with adjacent play park, so you can keep an eye on the kids.
NEW
THE FULL MOON AND ATTIC BAR
Stokes Croft, BS1 3PR. Tel: 0117 924 5007, web: www.fullmoonbristol.co.uk
• John (JJ) and Anna Gorman, owners of the Prince of Wales on Gloucester Road, took over the Full Moon last year, re-establishing it as an eco-friendly backpackers hotel, pub and dining destination with the emphasis on locally-sourced and organic food. All of the meat is at the very least free range, there are always loads of vegetarian options available, and they’ll happily pull out the stops to provide vegans with top nosh too. The Full Moon opens at 9am each morning, serving from breakfast right through to dinner, with the Attic open from 4pm, with big-screen sports, pool, games machines and a soon-to-launch internet café. Courage Best, Directors and Butcombe bitter on draught.
Loads of live music, DJ sets and theme nights - don’t miss the firewalking!
GLOUCESTER ARMS
635 Gloucester Rd, BS7 0BJ. Tel: 0117 951 4925
• Huge pub, with full menu available all day. Very big on televised sports, with all the main footy and rugby games on the big screen. Cheap booze and food offers all week. Smoking area
Big prize quiz every Mon at 8pm.
GOLDEN GUINEA
19 Guinea St, BS1 6SX. Tel: 0117 987 2034
• A treasure well worth tracking down. Proper, neighbourhood boozer with free live entertainment every Saturday night. Bitters include the excellently-monikered Rucking Mole and Moles Best, with a fair selection of keg lagers. Good jukebox, big-screen sports. Open 12noon-11pm all week. Smoking area.
Free pool lunchtimes.
GOLDEN LION
244 Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, BS7 8NZ. Tel: 0117 924 6449
• Located in a bustling area with a strong residential and student population, the Lion changed hands last year. With three real ales on tap - Courage Best, Spitfire and Old Speckled Hen, plus DJ sets every Friday night, live local bands every Saturday and work by new, local artists displayed on the walls. Smoking area.
Formerly known as Finnegan’s Wake.
GOLDEN LION
641 Fishponds Rd, Fishponds, BS16 3BA. Tel: 0117 958 6446
• Standard neighbourhood boozer on the busy Fishponds Road. Courage Best is there for real ale drinkers, and keg offerings include John Smith’s Smooth, Foster’s, Guinness and Blackthorn.
Strong emphasis on music.
THE GREYHOUND
32 Princess Victoria St, Clifton, BS8 4BZ. Tel: 0117 973 4187
• A very tasty refurbishment at this characterful pub, and a pleasing lack of pretentiousness. Real ales include Bath Ales’ Gem, London Pride and Courage Best, with plenty of premium lagers, Stowford Press cider and a small wine list. Food - traditional with a modern twist - served Tue-Sun from midday-9pm, with a cracking Sunday lunch which routinely sells out.
Apparently Elizabeth Taylor and Sean Connery have popped in for a pint in the past.
THE GRIFFIN
41 Colston St, BS1 5AP. Tel: 0117 930 0444
• Odd, wedge-shaped building that’s been one of the most important venues in Bristol’s gay scene since time began. There was a change of hands due as this guide went to press, with a new management team heading in to the old girl.
Bristol’s longest-serving gay pub.
HARE ON THE HILL
41 Thomas St North, off Dove St, Kingsdown, BS2 8LX. Tel: 0117 908 1982
• A connoisseurs’ drinking den, where you’ll always find four award-winning Bath Ales on tap alongside rotating guests. Organic Devon Cider for those who want to throw caution to the wind, with San Miguel, Budvar and Bath Ales’ organic lager on draught for the others. A staggering 40 single malts also on sale. The menu changes on a daily basis, but the quality is a permanent fixture, with robust pub staples such as chili or sausages to the fore. Sun brings an exceptional roast, live music weekly.
They screen silent movies on Mondays.
THE HATCHET INN
27 Frogmore St, BS1 5NA. Tel: 0117 929 4118, web: www.thehatchet.co.uk
• Lays claim to being the oldest pub in Bristol, established at the beginning of the 1600s. A rambling old building with two bars, games room with satellite TV, pool tables and a separate function room, complete with bar, used for club nights and available for private hire. Hugely busy when there’s a decent gig at the nearby Academy or Colston Hall. Butcombe and Courage Best on tap, DJ sets every Thur, Fri and Sat. Open until 2am at weekends. Heated smoking area.
Apparently, the door was originally covered in human skin. Ugh!
HEN AND CHICKEN
210 North St, Bedminster, BS3 1JF. Tel: 0117 966 3143, web: www.thecomedybox.co.uk
• The upstairs room is a permanent fixture on the comedy scene in Bristol, home to the Comedy Box club since 2000, hosting some of the country’s finest comedians. The pub itself has recently been bought by Black Sheep Bars who plan a complete refurbishment in August, moving away from its current sports-bar style and giving it a more café/bar-type feel. Good selection of draughts, bottled beers and traditional pub grub at lunchtimes.
Good food offers, separate bar upstairs open between acts.
HIGHBURY VAULTS
St Michaels Hill, BS2 8DE. Tel: 0117 973 3203
• Renowned and highly regarded pub, popular with conversationalists due to the lack of music, with a snug bar for those who want to get away from it all. Good selection of Young’s beers, guest ales and terrific-value food. Large rear patio doubles the capacity and is incredibly popular all year round, thanks to numerous heaters. Tabletop arcade game features Space Invaders and other classics, but with no sound, and cards and dominoes are available at the bar. Once the site of a gallows, prisoners were kept here overnight before execution, and legend has it that this was where they ate their last meal. Heated smoking area.
Every August sees the annual Party on the Hill.
HILLGROVE PORTER STORES
53 Hillgrove St North, Kingsdown, BS2 8LT. Tel: 0117 944 4780
• Cosy, candlelit community pub in the heart of Kingsdown. This is an unpretentious, old fashioned bar of the highest order, serving real ales including Goff’s Jouster, Hidden Potential and Matthew’s Brassknocker, plus four regularly changing guest ales. Lager comes from Budvar, San Miguel and Amstel, and there’s Guinness, Erdinger and Thatcher’s Gold cider on tap, plus more to choose from in the fridge. Quiz night on Sun. Major rugby matches (Six Nations, etc) screened. Open eves only from 4pm, with a nice beer garden; CAMRA Good Beer Guide rated. Heated smoking area.
CAMRA Pub of the Year for Bristol and District 2007.
HOBGOBLIN
Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, BS7 8AS. Tel: 0117 942 9534, web: www.hobgoblin-bristol.co.uk
• Venue’s local is a popular boozer with Fullers London Pride, Wychwood Hobgoblin (natch!) and one guest ale on tap, and loads of good-value promos. Comfy seating, good beer. Lots of sports shown on a drop-down screen, plasma TV and three other screens too, but it also has a small all-weather courtyard if you want to get away from the action.
Sunday night is free poll night, Monday and Tuesday evenings
free jukebox.
HOGSHEAD
Colston Ave, BS1 4ST. Tel: 0117 929 8210
• Very large pub and, being slap-bang in the heart of the city, attracting a wide clientele. Much stronger on beers than your average central hostelry, with a selection of cask ales, including Bombardier and 6X, plus a minimum of six white and five red wines by the glass and even more by the bottle. Regular drinks promos. Open plan, with music played at a level that allows chatting (except Fri and Sat, when it gets turned up a bit). Pub grub with a few twists, some bargains to be had.
Part of the national chain that also owns the Yates’s and Slug and Lettuce brands.
NEW
THE HOLE IN THE WALL
2 The Grove, Queen Square, BS1 4QZ. Tel. 0117 926 5967
• This historic building, situated on the dockside, has been extensively refurbished to provide a beautiful, informal pub and eatery. The comfortable, cosmopolitan design can be enjoyed whilst sampling a variety of freshly cooked contemporary foods, including salmon, prawn and dill fishcake with roasted tomato relish and slow cooked Welsh shoulder of lamb with pearl barley, baby onions and new potatoes, or there’s a selection of hearty sandwiches at lunch. There are also numerous beers on tap including continental pilsners and English ales and the draught wine is always served perfectly chilled. Smoking area.
The name refers to the small window pubs had for customers to keep an eye out for advancing press gangs. The Hole in the Wall has an entire ‘spy house’ on the dock side of the pub, still visible today.
THE HOPHOUSE
Kings Rd, Clifton, BS8 4AB. Tel: 0117 923 7390
• Victorian pub with sunny front patio area, good vibe, a mixed crowd and wide choice of drinks. Plenty on draught, including 6X, IPA, Hoegaarden and Stella, plus Heineken, Carlsberg, Guinness and Stowford Press cider. Food, of excellent calibre, served 12noon-3pm daily and midweek nights. General knowledge quiz on Wed. Bookings taken for functions for up to 50 - buffets available. Good drinks promos. Smoking area.
Stunning floral displays in summer.
HOPE AND ANCHOR
38 Jacob’s Wells Rd, BS8 1DR. Tel: 0117 929 2987
• Permanently popular due to way-above-average food and drink, delightful decor (wooden floors and panelling) and very nice bar staff. Little touches, such as the candlelit terraced garden, make you fall in love with this place. Welcomes everybody. Always six real ales on tap, including Beer Factory No 7 and BF Gold, plus more esoteric guests such as Blind Man’s Buff and something called Butt’s Barbus Barbus (apparently it’s Latin for barbel). Excellent-value food, served all day every day, that’s way beyond your regular pub menu, including marvellous Sunday roasts with huge portions. Just go there. Smoking area.
No machines, no pool tables, no jukebox. Just a warm, friendly and relaxing atmosphere. And top grub.
HORN AND TRUMPET
14-15 St Augustine’s Parade, BS1 4UT. Tel: 0117 929 8391
• Vast, dark and always busy pub, perfectly positioned next to the Hippodrome for a quick pre-theatre pint. Regular offers on pints and bottles.
Food deals all day every day.
HORTS
49 Broad St, BS1 2EP. Tel: 0117 925 2520
• A deceptively large pub that seems to go on forever, with lots of nooks and crannies for intimate chats and a quiet meal. A choice of five real ales, with Young’s Bitter, Bombardier, Bath Ales’ Gem and Butcombe Bitter among those on offer, and four different ciders, including Thatchers Traditional and Cheddar Valley. Food, from a modern, British menu, is served all day. Smoking area.
Large function room available for meetings and parties.
THE IMP
2 Alpha Rd, Southville, BS3 1DH. Tel: 0117 953 5188
• Originally known as the Southville, this is a well-kept neighbourhood boozer with decent pub grub - everything from sarnies through to gammon, fish and chips and the like - and a couple of real ales in the form of Bass and Courage Best, plus one guest. Darts, crib and a Thursday night quiz keep the locals happy. Smoking area.
Open all day every day.
THE INN ON THE GREEN
2 Filton Rd, Horfield, BS7 0PA. Tel: 0117 952 1391
• Big, cheerful pub with a fearsome reputation for real ales. There are 13 available at any one time, with regulars Butcombe, London Pride and Butcombe Gold competing with the ever-changing guest ales. Four ciders: Thatcher’s Heritage, Traditional, Weston’s Old Rosie and Cheddar Valley, plus perry in the form of Weston’s Herefordshire County too. Food menu changes daily, but includes staples such as bangers & mash and steak & chips. Decent-sized beer garden.
Won the CAMRA Bristol & District Pub of the Year 2006.
NEW
THE IVORY
20 St Nicholas St, BS1 1UB. Tel: 0117 927 2292, web: www.theivory.co.uk
• There can’t be many pubs with their own, and rather good, Italian restaurant upstairs, but that’s just one of the major attractions of the Ivory which earlier this year replaced that Bristol institution The Elephant. A very smart, but sympathetic, refit has given the place new life, and the premium lagers and top-notch spirit selection certainly add to what the owners call: “a decent gaff” in the heart of the city.
Italian bar menu, Natch, DJs Fri & Sat, jazz on Sun.
JERSEY LILY
193 Whiteladies Rd. Tel: 0117 973 9037, web: www.jerseylily.co.uk
• Historic pub on Blackboy Hill which last year saw a rather tasteful makeover. Run by Marc Casey (formerly of the Hobgoblin), the food is a notch or two above pub grub, with an emphasis on well-sourced, quality ingredients, and there are plenty of discount offers throughout the week. Three real ales, including Courage Best. Sundays see a cracking, traditional roast and an evening quiz. Smoking area.
Smart, contemporary pub which still keeps sports fans happy.
NEW
THE KENSINGTON ARMS
35-37 Stanley Rd, Redland, BS6 6NP. Tel: 0117 944 6444, web: www.thekensingtonarms.co.uk
• “A real contender for those end-of-year awards” is what Venue’s Food and Drink editor called the Kenny, “the best example of a gastropub yet to open in Bristol.” Great food, sensibly priced (where else are you going to see toast and dripping on a menu, and at just £1.50?), plus an excellent wine and beer selection (three real ales, including Moreland and Ruddles, cider and perry on tap) and tons of atmosphere. Heated smoking area.
Open Sat from 10am for brunch. Try it.
KING WILLIAM
20 King St, BS1 4ES. Tel: 0117 926 8672
• A very cosy pub, thanks to the real coal fire crackling away, with a romantic feel courtesy of the fitted booths. Samuel Smith’s ales on draught, plus a fantastic, eclectic selection of drinks you’ll probably never have seen before. The ground floor bar serves up great pub fodder which, like the drinks menu, includes a smattering of organic, Fairtrade and vegan options. Quality beers and wines. Relaxed ambience and reasonable prices mean that this venue always attracts a large group of regulars and newcomers. Three pool tables and table football upstairs.
Don’t ask for alcopops!
KING’S HEAD
60 Victoria St, BS1 6DE. Tel: 0117 927 7860
• Wonderful pub with a long history, dating back to the mid-17th century. Charming and narrow bar from a bygone era, with ornate decoration behind the bar and old photographs of Bristol covering the walls. Doom Bar, 6X, Gem and Courage Best on tap, plus Thatcher’s Gold cider. Food - curries, toasties, burgers, Yorkshire puds - served Mon-Fri 12noon-2pm. Small amount of seating out front on warmer days. Smoking area.
Good pub grub, but absolutely
no chips!
THE LANSDOWN
Clifton Rd, Clifton Village, BS8 1AF. Tel: 0117 973 4949
• Very friendly little pub on the edge of Clifton Village with cracking food to match. The specials board changes regularly, boasting delights like warm spiced sausage salad, and then there’s vegetable curry, great sausage and mash and grilled goat’s cheese and Mediterranean vegetable salad. They’re proud of their Sunday lunches, seasonal meat with at least three carnivorous and one vegetarian option. Real ales include Barnstormer, St Austell Tribute, Sharps’ Cornish Coaster and Otter, and there’s San Miguel and Kronenbourg Blanc on tap too, as well as ciders from Addlestone’s and Stowford Press. Vast range of spirits, and an interesting selection of soft drinks. The coffee’s top-notch as well.
Upstairs room is hired out for regular live acoustic music evenings.
THE LION
Church Lane, Cliftonwood, BS8 4TX. Tel: 0117 926 8492, web: www.thelion.biz
• Great selection of real ales - usually five on tap - plus Beck’s Vier, Hoegaarden, Stella, interesting soft drinks (including Luscombe organic juices and iced teas), at least one cider - currently Thatcher’s Gold - and an extensive wine list. The chef-prepared menu provides restaurant-quality food in a relaxed atmosphere, and a big choice for a little pub. Open from midday, with light meals and snacks lunchtime and a full evening menu. Superb Sunday lunches, log fires in the winter, sunny courtyard for summer.
“A place where quality and quantity are not mutually exclusive. It oozes class,” according to The Guardian.
LLANDOGER TROW
1-4 King St. Bs1 4ER. Tel: 0117 926 0783
• One of Bristol’s oldest and architecturally distinctive pubs, and the granddaddy of the vibrant King Street district. Built in 1664 on marshland, it was in here that Daniel Defoe met Alexander Selkirk, who inspired ‘Robinson Crusoe’. The pub also provided the inspiration for the Admiral Bembow in Stephenson’s ‘Treasure Island’. Nowadays attached to a new Premier Lodge, it retains its dignified charm with its distinct drinking areas and restaurant. Outside seating, quiz nights in winter. Separate 100-capacity restaurant upstairs serves mainstream pub food and a full a la carte menu, and all-day Sunday lunch till it runs out. Smoking area.
Reached national fame this May when it featured in a ghost hunt on Living’s ‘Most Haunted’ show.
LOUISIANA
Bathurst Parade, Wapping Rd, BS1 6UA. Tel: 0117 926 5978
• Excellent live music venue, with plenty of top local/touring bands performing each week in the room upstairs - huge variety of styles. Just down from the Arnolfini, it’s very popular with students (especially at weekends) as well as locals. Downstairs, the environment is hassle-free and welcoming. Beers: London Pride on tap, plus the usual keg selection, wines, spirits and bottles. The New Orleans-style balcony is fabulous. Open evenings and Sunday lunch (for a cracking roast) only.
Landlord Schillache has been at the helm for 20 years now.
THE LUCKWELL HOTEL
Luckwell Rd, Bedminster, BS3 3EW. Tel: 0117 907 1108
• In 2005 The Luckwell went through an extensive £140,000 refit which removed all traces of its rather shabby past and reinvented this huge and dominating edifice as a pub to be proud of. Now it’s a light, bright, airy and welcoming hostelry full of friendly people with a palpable community feel. Sports fans are well catered for, with darts and pool teams, Sky TV and a huge pull-down screen for major events. Decent pint of Bass.
The weekly quiz night is
incredibly popular.
THE MALL
The Mall, Clifton, BS8 4JG . Tel: 0117 974 5318
• As befits its upmarket address, the booze here is well above average. There are around 15 different beers, lagers and ciders on tap at any one time, including Staropramen, Hoegaarden, Grolsch and Carling, along with London Pride, Timothy Taylor’s Landlord and regularly changing guest ales, not forgetting Guinness and Franziskaner, a wheat beer which was voted one of the best in the world at last year’s Munich Beer Festival. Around 30 wines to choose from, and a spirit range taking in everything you can think of. Smoking area.
Light lunches, full evening meal and a selection of light bites and snacks available after the kitchen closes.
THE MARDYKE
Hotwell Rd, BS8 4UB. Tel: 0117 907 7499
• A favourite staple, friendly and unpretentious, servicing the residential and student community. Cheap Courage on tap, currently just £1.44 a pint, plus loads of student-friendly offers: Fosters at £1.72 a pint, for example. Quality jukebox. Open until 12midnight all week, Fri-Sat until 12.30am.
There’s no food, but you’re welcome to grab something from the chippy next door and eat it here.
MASONIC
110 North St, Southville, BS3 1HF. Tel: 0117 902 0132
• Proper local boozer with a social club vibe, which thankfully does not require you to roll up your trouser leg and put on a silly apron before going in. Untouched by the gentrification of other parts of North Street, you’ll more likely find the local old geezers clutching their meat raffle tickets than soulless new media types propping up the bar, and hurrah for that. Smoking area.
Small paved seating area out front for balmier days.
MERCHANT’S ARMS
Merchants Rd, Hotwells, BS8 4PZ. Tel: 0117 904 0037
• Being part of the Bath Ales family, they naturally take their beer seriously here, with at least three of the brewery’s beers plus a guest ale always on, plus a couple of ciders and a fair selection of lagers. The food’s of the light bar snacks, pies and toasties variety. On a Sat afternoon, you might spot a more discerning, well-behaved football follower here before journeying to Ashton Gate. Two rooms, both furnished with dark wood seating.
Chess, draughts, cribbage, dominos and other games available in the back bar.
MINERS ARMS
Mina Rd, St Werburghs. Tel: 0117 955 6718
• Popular locals’ hostelry (particularly with the local climbing club), with many original features warmed by an open fire in the winter months, and offering Butcombe, London Pride, St Austell Tribute and Sharps’ Doom Bar, as well as Stowford Press cider, seven red and seven white wines. Thursday night is quiz night. Huge selection of quality bar snacks. The three rooms include a quiet, comfy sofa lounge and a games room with pool table. New room upstairs available for free hire for parties. Smoking area. Sells Venue on site!
Last orders at midnight Thur-Sat, DJ every other Sunday.
THE MOUSE
Waters Lane, Westbury-on-Trym, BS9 4AA. Tel: 0117 940 5554
• Suburban beauty with a friendly, country cottage pub feel, complete with two log fires. Meal deals running Mon-Thur 12noon-3pm, with dishes like cod & chips, gammon & chips or sausage, mash & onion gravy. Jacket spuds and sandwiches. Children can enjoy smaller helpings of everything on the adults’ menu for £1 off. There’s poker every second Wed, accumulator quiz every Thur, darts team and Sky Sports. They also proclaim the beer garden to be Westbury-on-Trym’s best, with its lovely view of Henbury golf course. Sun lunch. Three real ales on tap, currently Theakston’s XB, Sharps’ Doom Bar and a guest in Ringwood Fortyniner, plus Blackthorn, Guinness, Miller and Stella on tap. Good wine selection. Smoking area.
Quiz night Thur.
NOVA SCOTIA
Nova Scotia Place, Hotwells, BS1 6XL. Tel: 0117 929 7994
• Dockside drinking den, providing a cosy bar or great alfresco seating if you prefer. Plenty of real ale, including a couple of guests. The specials change throughout the week, and the food is a hearty mix of traditional English pub grub with slight continental influences: pan-fried tilapia fish, chicken breast served with chorizo, hot and cold baguettes plus Sunday roasts. Traditional interior with original maritime memorabilia. Even the walls are covered in ship’s charts rather than wallpaper. Smoking area.
Regular live music, including a folk club that meets on Mon night.
OLD CASTLE GREEN
46 Gloucester Lane, Old Market, BS2 0DP. Tel: 0117 3300 9140, web: www. oldcastlegreen.com
• Popular L&G bar, open until 4am at weekends, with wi-fi access, barbecues on Sunday (weather permitting) and a welcoming attitude. Regular theme nights, DJs every weekend.
Plasma screens throughout, very reasonably-priced accommodation available.
THE OLD DUKE
King St, BS1 4ER. Tel: 0117 927 7137, web: www.theoldduke.com
• Popular and highly esteemed traditional jazz and blues pub hosting live music nightly and on Sun lunchtimes too. Free admission, so dig deep when they pass the hat around. Expect large numbers whatever day you choose to visit. Real ales include Courage Best, Directors, Doom Bar and Gem, with the usual array of keg favourites, cider and Guinness. Massive courtyard out front where kids are welcome. You can easily spend a day reading the jazz ephemera, which papers the walls throughout. An institution. Smoking area.
Annual jazz festival over the Aug bank holiday weekend.
OLD ENGLAND
Bath Buildings, Montpelier, BS6 5PT
• The Old E, as it’s affectionately known, is a large old community pub set a little back from the health centre, with a diverse clientele from social workers to students, artists to artisans. Beers: several on offer including 6X, well-served Guinness and regular guest beers. Large pool room, and great for outdoor drinking on the terrace in summer. Bar snacks served lunchtimes and eves. TV sports, great reggae and ska jukebox. Smoking area.
Regular barbecues on weekends throughout the summer.
OLD FISH MARKET
Baldwin St, BS1 1QZ. Tel: 0117 921 1515
• Attracts a diverse following, from the young things to the more mature folk. This Fuller’s pub is all polished wood and brass. Beers: good range of cask ales including London Pride, ESB, Butcombe and Discovery, plus Carling, Grolsch and Kronenbourg. Choice of 20 wines. Food is served lunch and dinner, all day Sat and Sun until 6pm, based on authentic Thai cuisine. Sporting events on the two plasma screens mean a good atmosphere come match day.
Now open until 12midnight Fri-Sat, 11pm Sun.
OLD FOX
301 Gloucester Rd, BS7 8PE. Tel: 0117 940 1145, web: www.theoldfoxpub.co.uk
• Single-bar pub, with Bass and Butcombe on tap, popular with the biking fraternity. That might have something to do with the real Harley and selection of bike mags inside. Good darts and pool teams, lots of charity events.
Occasional live entertainment,
good jukebox.
OLD MAIL HOUSE
56 High St, Staple Hill, BS16 5HW. Tel: 0117 956 6654
• Recently taken over by newbie licensees Alan and Tracey Kershaw, who have spent a fair few bucks tidying the place up, renovating the garden area and generally improving things. Butcombe Bitter on tap, as well as San Miguel, Kronenbourg, Fosters and Blackthorn, and, being a good Irishman, Alan is looking to extend his range of whiskies. There’s live music Sun lunch and a headscratcher of a quiz fortnightly. Car park. Heated smoking area.
They’ll be offering simple, well-cooked and locally sourced food from 1 July.
OLD MARKET TAVERN
Old Market St, BS2 0HB. Tel: 0117 922 6123
• Fabulous old-fashioned Wadsworth boozer with good-quality ales - the best pint of 6X in the city? - as well as a variety of lagers, beers and spirits. Graham and Chris have just celebrated their second year here, and have managed to turn it into one of the busiest lunch destinations in the area, thanks to a small but excellent menu full of good-value homecooked meals and a bargain Sunday roast (from just £6). Hugely popular with office workers by day and part of Bristol’s thriving gay scene by night. Now open until 2am at weekend. Smoking area.
Warm, friendly, with secluded beer garden and glazed conservatory to make the most of the sun.
THE OLD TAVERN
Blackberry Hill, Stapleton, Bristol, BS16 1DB. Tel: 0117 965 7309
• Fine old boozer, now under new ownership and specializing in local real ales, including those from on-site microbrewery Arbor Ales. Old Knobbley and Trendlewood are regular brews, and there’s a full homecooked menu (using local produce wherever possible) on Mon, Tue and Fri, with tapas on Wed to complement the acoustic music sessions, fish & chip deals on Friday nights, and steak night every Sat. Naturally, there’s a traditional Sunday roast to enjoy on the day of rest, too.
You can’t get more local than an on-site microbrewery.
THE ORCHARD
12 Hanover Place, Spike Island, BS1. Tel: 0117 926 2678
• Small, well-established and well-liked one-bar pub near to the ss Great Britain and noted for its lunches. Sells Thatchers’ Draught, Heritage and Cheddar Valley ciders on draught, plus three local real ales.
Spike Island’s favourite cider house.
THE OSTRICH
Lower Guinea St, BS1 6TJ. Tel: 0117 927 3774
• Characterful, unspoiled dockside Courage house. Sit among the masses on the quayside, viewing the harbour and sampling a fine pint of Pedigree, Bath Ales’ Gem or whatever else you fancy. Selected house doubles a quid extra. Great food, including marvellous Sunday roasts, tapas and more. Expect the crowds from the booze cruises to descend at any moment, though. Food served all day Mon-Sat, and Sun lunch. Smoking area.
The Baby Ostrich, a mobile bar with a reduced version of the main menu, pitches up outside during the summer.
PENNY FARTHING
Whiteladies Rd, BS8 2PB. Tel: 0117 973 3539
• Cosy, traditional pub, refurbished last November. The atmosphere is welcoming, they’re CAMRA-approved and hold the highest Cask Marque honour. No wonder, with up to 12 real ales at any one time, including four from Wadworth’s, and a couple of regular guests. Henry’s IPA and 6X are permanent fixtures. The extensive wine list will keep anyone happy, and there’s a plasma screen for sports fans too. It’s extremely lively come the weekend. Tiny front patio very popular in summer. Good, homecooked food served all day, Sun lunch £6.95. Heated smoking area.
Open until 12midnight Fri-Sat.
THE PINEAPPLE
37 St Georges Rd, BS1 5UU. Tel: 0117 9544 794, web: www.pineapplebristol.com
• One of the city’s longest-established and most popular gay pubs has undergone a rather nice makeover in the last year and is now bigger, brighter and friendlier than ever. Cabaret every Sunday, theme nights most evenings, lots of booze offers. Now open until midnight during the week and 1am at weekends. Exceedingly popular with the pre-club crowd.
Yet another change of management as this guide was being prepared. Check Venue’s L&G section for
further details.
PIPE AND SLIPPERS
118 Cheltenham Rd, BS6 5RW. Tel: 0117 924 7711, web: www.thepipeandslippers.com
• Pieminister pies and Portuguese tapas are on the menu, and the real ales include a selection from Bristol’s own Beer Factory. Plenty of imported bottled beers and cocktails, with Lowenbrau and Thatchers cider also available on tap. Interesting selection of drinks, and equally wide range of punters. This winning formula has recently been extended to their second venture, The Windmill (see below). Open from 4pm daily. Smoking area.
DJ sets every Fri & Sat.
THE PLOUGH
223 Easton Rd, Easton, BS5 0EG. Tel: 0117 955 9290
• Hugely popular local, where both new arrivals and long-established locals make for an interesting social mix. Definitely one of Easton’s better boozers. Beers: Kronenbourg, 6X, Foster’s, Guinness and Stella. Really great party atmosphere at weekends, with live DJs. Lethal range of rums. Two pool tables and table footie. Sports on big-screen TVs.
Great neighbourhood pub.
PLUME OF FEATHERS
135 Hotwell Rd, BS8 4RU. Tel: 0117 929 8666
• No-frills real ale haven, with up to six on tap, including Timothy Taylor’s Landlord, Bass, Old Speckled Hen and Deuchar’s, plus several guests and a fine selection of whiskies. Two Irish folk evenings a week, with live music every weekend and a weekly quiz. Bar meals available lunchtimes, and a corking Sunday roast.
The Bristol Harbourside Ferry Service has a stopping point alongside.
PORT OF CALL
3 York St, BS8 2YE. Tel: 0117 973 3600
• Slightly off the Whiteladies Road beaten track, there’s a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere here. One room is kitted out with lobster pots and fishing nets (husband-and-wife team Roger and Carol Skuse always wanted a pub by the sea), and as far as food goes, there’s an ever-changing specials board full of homemade goodies as well as a couple of fish dishes. With 12 real ales on tap, and something like 750 different brews from 14 South West breweries available over the year, this is a beer drinker’s paradise. No jukebox or piped music, just real ale and good food. Open lunch and evenings Mon-Fri and all day Sat, with a cracking Sunday roast (closed Sun from 5pm).
There’s been a pub on the site since 1788, trivia fans.
PORTCULLIS
3 Wellington Terrace, Clifton, BS8 4LE. Tel: 0117 970 6886
• Four real ales always on tap, including Courage Best and at least one local brew and, since last September, their very own eponymous bitter available locally in bottles but here - and here only - on draught. Set amongst Clifton’s historic Victorian crescents, the pub is on two levels, with the entrance and small furnished bar downstairs, and an additional lounge at the top of the winding staircase.
Open evenings only, Sat & Sun
from midday.
POST OFFICE TAVERN
Westbury Hill, Westbury-on-Trym, BS9 3AG. Tel: 0117 940 1233, web: www.post-office-tavern.co.uk
• The POT at WOT (to its many friends) is a bright, lively, air-conditioned pub, pulling in a good local clientele with a truly excellent selection of well-kept real ales, currently including Bass, Butcombe, Gem and Otter. Pizzas well worth writing home about, along with sarnies, all-day breakfasts and substantial main meals. Also boasts Bristol’s smallest beer garden. Quiz on Tue, Thur sees a second quiz devoted to music and general knowledge. Smoking area.
There can’t be too many boozers with a red phone box (sans phone, sadly) in the bar.
PRINCE OF WALES
5 Gloucester Rd, BS7 8AA. Tel: 0117 924 5552, web: www.powbristol.co.uk
• The Prince of Wales is firmly established as one of Bristol’s best boozers. You’ll find Butcombe and Butcombe Blond, Directors, Courage Best, Foster’s, Kronie, San Miguel and Becks all on tap, plus Blackthorn and Ashton Press ciders. The pub’s organic policy offers up an extensive range of organic spirits, organic beer on tap and organic dairy products in the modern fusion cuisine. There’s even hangover-free organic wine, and good food at affordable prices with lots of vegetarian options, served from 10am-9.30pm, with bar snacks available until 10.30pm. Most produce is organic, and the meat comes from a local, free-range butcher. Their cracking Sun roasts offer beef, chicken, lamb, fish and vegetarian choices, and the covered garden remains a terrific spot for a bit of alfresco dining. A Venue favourite, and long will it remain. Now open from 10am-12midnight, seven days a week. Heated smoking area.
Try a pint of Charlie’s Pride, an organic lager brewed specifically for the PoW and named after the landlord’s dog rather than the other Prince of Wales!
PRINCE OF WALES
Stoke Lane, Westbury-on-Trym, BS9 3SP. Tel: 0117 962 3715, web: www.princeofwales-butcombe.com
• Butcombe-owned boozer popular with local sporting teams - some sponsored by the pub. Quantity and quality are held in equal regard here, with plenty of real ales (Butcombe Bitter, Gold, Brunel and Blond, plus Spa, Bass and London Pride), Fosters, 1664, Heineken Export, Guinness, Ashton Press cider and around 20 different wines. Unfussy, good-quality pub grub menu. Large garden with patio and a small children’s area. Smoking area.
Open daily, all day, from 11am.
PRINTER’S DEVIL
10 Broad Plain, Old Market, BS2 0JP. Tel: 0117 926 4290
• A great, homely atmosphere singles out this lovely little pub, much used by office workers and happily benefiting from the massive redevelopment of the immediate area. Real ales Hobgoblin and Brakspear, plus premium lagers, Guinness and Blackthorn, and an extensive wine list, many available by the bottle or the glass. There’s an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients, and the curries are renowned. Vegetarians enjoy a wide choice including lasagne, mushroom stroganoff and spinach & ricotta cannelloni. Heated smoking area.
Now serving Sunday lunches with veggie option.
QUINTON HOUSE
2 Park Place, Clifton, BS8 1BT. Tel: 0117 907 7858
• Homely, friendly one-bar pub tucked away behind the Triangle. Real ale pub - Abbot, 6X, Butcombe and Courage Best on offer - with wood-panelled walls, bare wood floors and simple, wooden furniture, popular with office workers, shoppers and residents alike. Small menu of robust, good-value pub food. A small pub with a big atmosphere.
There are plans afoot for the pub’s own Quinter Olympics.
RED LION
Worrall Rd, Clifton, BS8 2UE. Tel: 0794 148 6726
• Lovely little backstreet boozer, with two bars, flagstone floors, hops hanging from the ceiling and some dangerously comfortable sofas at the back. An undiscovered gem just yards from the Whiteladies strip. Popular with rugby and footie fans - they’ve got their own team - and local students alike. Spa, Bass and Courage Best on tap, ciders from Thatcher’s and a decent wine selection.
Occasional live music, quiz every other Thursday.
ROBIN HOOD
56 St Michaels Hill, BS2 8DX. Tel: 0117 929 1334
• Long, single-bar Wadworth’s house with an attractive frontage and a small patio out back. Four real ales and one guest. Popular with local healthcare and office workers, as well as with students and local residents. Food available lunchtime and early eve weekdays only. Smoking area.
Stripped floorboards and dark wood furnishings make for a traditional feel.
ROBIN HOOD’S RETREAT
197 Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, BS7 8BG. Tel: 0117 924 8639
• A real surprise awaits inside, with a cosy, comfortable and friendly ambience and eight real ales on tap. Head chef Nathan Muir has earned a fearsome reputation for the quality of his food - his slow cooked shoulder of lamb comes highly recommended - and Sunday’s menu offers diners a choice of three starters, three excellent puds and five mains, with at least one fish and one vegetarian option. Plenty of choice drinks-wise, small patio area for alfresco wining and dining. Smoking area.
Open until 1am at weekends.
ROPE WALK
5 Nelson Parade, BS3 4JA
• Lovely old Georgian building, where unpretentious décor and a warm welcome await. There’s real ale courtesy of Young’s and at least one guest. Decent beer garden, crackling fires for wintry nights. Don’t let its close proximity to Asda or the roundabout put you off, this is a real gem. Smoking area.
Great quiz every Sunday night.
ROSE OF DENMARK
6 Dowry Place. Tel: 0117 940 5866
• The Rose didn’t win Venue’s Top Banana award for nothing you know. There’s a genuine family-orientated feel in this community pub where sing-songs, board games, chess and shove ha’penny help create an all-inclusive atmosphere. The inviting ambience is enhanced by the lovely open fires and chunky handmade tables, and the cellar restaurant serves up quality food from a small but perfectly formed menu, and at sensible prices too. Sunday lunch sees lamb, pork or beef on the menu - and a fine nut roast for the less carnivorous. Real ales include Bass and Butcombe, plus a seasonal guest - Deuchar’s IPA is due in time for summer - served straight from the wood.
Live music every Sun afternoon,
from 4pm.
THE ROYAL OAK
50 The Mall, Clifton, BS8 4JG. Tel: 0117 973 8846
• Friendly 19th-century one-bar pub, with Bath Ales’ Gem, Courage Best, Doom Bar, Butcombe Bitter and a weekly-changing guest ale on draught, as well as four lagers, two ciders and Guinness. This Cask Marque-rated pub attracts punters from all groups - a mix of suits, locals, tourists and students - while retaining its own simple charm.
Good food, served lunchtimes only, with lots of vegetarian options.
THE RUMMER HOTEL
All Saints Lane. Tel: 0845 004 3206, web: www.therummer.co.uk
• The new-look Rummer opened at the end of 2005, and the makeover is indeed stunning, with owner Brett Hirt and manager Danny Walker creating a venue in keeping with the affection which was held for this old girl by Bristolians. Chesterfield sofas surround the huge fireplace, the food is all sourced locally, and the bar has a selection of 13 bottled ales, beers, porters and stouts - including Nigerian Guinness at a whopping 7.5% ABV. The wine and spirits selection is massive, too, with around 80 - yes, 80 - different rums.
There’s been an inn on this site since 1241.
SCOTCHMAN AND HIS PACK
20 St Michaels Hill, BS2 8DX. Tel: 0117 929 1327, web: www.thescotchman.co.uk
• New management just announced as this guide was being prepared, so expect a few changes at this popular, two-level pub. The veranda/roof terrace is a sun-catching delight - watch Bristol bustle by while enjoying traditional pub food at decent prices. Four real ales, including Bombardier, plus all the usual keg suspects. Food now served all day until 8pm, Mon-Sat.
Food deals include Beer and a Burger for £4.99, and, on Curry Night, curry and a pint for £5.49.
SEAMUS O’DONNELLS
St Nicholas Market, BS1 1UE. Tel: 0117 925 1283, web: www.seamusodonnells.co.uk
• Very popular pub in the heart of St Nicks. In this 250-year-old building, you’ll find a genuine, very friendly Irish bar serving great Guinness. A splendid pre-club meet-up point. Beers: as expected, with Guinness, Caffrey’s, Carling, etc, plus 22 Irish whiskies. Also serves up Irish poteen - 70%, just like they make it in the hills. Free live music every Thur night.
Pub games available, including
giant Jenga.
SEVEN STARS
1 Thomas Lane, BS1 6JG. Tel: 0117 982 1207, web: www.7stars.co.uk
• Open since 1760, and tucked away on a cobbled street in the shadow of St Thomas Church in Redcliffe and just around the corner from the Fleece. Largely unchanged in the last two and a half centuries, and open all day, the place serves up a selection of real ales and decent, home-cooked food from an ever-changing menu. Smoking area.
Occasional live music.
THE SHAKESPEARE
Henry St, Totterdown, BS3 4UD. Tel: 0117 907 8818, web: www.theshakey.co.uk
• Traditional pub serving five real ales. DJ sets Thur-Sat, excellent music quiz every Wed evening. Organic Sunday roasts available, but punters must book in advance to avoid disappointment. Heated smoking area.
Open mic on the last Sunday of the month from 3pm.
THE SHAKESPEARE
Lower Redland Rd, BS6 6SS. Tel: 0117 973 3909
• Traditional old-school pub, popular with all ages. The two bars bring a cosy feel, along with a small garden out back, which provides a little respite from the crowds. Huge pride taken in the quality of their pints, from cellar to glass: Bath Ales Gem, Courage, and Butcombe Original, Blonde and Gold. Quiz night on Mon - win a box of ale. Sunday lunches also available. Open midday-11pm, Sunday until 10.30pm. Food served lunch and early evening. Smoking area.
Food menu is all-encompassing, with plenty of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes on offer.
THE SHAKESPEARE TAVERN
Prince St, BS1 4QD. Tel: 0117 929 7695
• Good old-fashioned Greene King pub, which offers a fine pint of their IPA, plus Old Speckled Hen, Ruddles County and Abbot, with hearty pub food served daily from an extensive menu which includes favourites such as steak & ale pie. A 17th-century pub with traditional features, regulars include dockers and boatmen relaxing after a hard day at work. Nice patio out front, heaving in the warm weather. Smoking area.
Now open until 12midnight
at weekends.
SHIP INN
7-9 Lower Park Row. Tel: 0117 926 5022
• Large single bar pub, popular with students, healthcare professionals and businesspeople alike, with a series of drinking areas on different levels, and comfy sofas in front of the windows. There’s a pool table, reached by heading down a spiral stairway, and pretty decent food, in robust portions, served from midday until around 7.30pm. Regular quiz nights, at least five real ales on offer at any one time.
Ask landlord Tony about the suckling pig roasts.
SOMERSET HOUSE
11 Princess Victoria St, Clifton, BS8 4BX. Tel: 0117 923 7214
• Popular neighbourhood pub that gets very busy at the weekend. There’s a dedicated no-smoking area (the cubby, at the back). Real ales include Old Speckled Hen and Courage Best, and there’s always a guest ale on tap. Food served lunchtimes and early evening, Fri-Sun midday-7pm, with a great-value Sunday roast.
Great reputation for live music: acoustic jazz, folk and pop Fri eves and Sun afternoons.
THE SPORTSMAN
Seymour Ave, Bishopston, BS7 9EQ. Tel: 0117 942 7525
• The name kind of says it all; big Victorian pub that’s a Mecca for sports fans, with a dozen pool tables, five plasma screens showing as many different sports channels at a time, darts and a jukebox. Courage Best plus one guest on tap, and plenty of draught lagers. Smoking area.
Enjoy a handmade, stone baked pizza, eat in or takeaway, for just a fiver.
STAG AND HOUNDS
74 Old Market St, BS2 0EJ
• Landlord Tim Endall has overseen an incredible transformation of the 17th-century inn, and the S&H now offers a comfortable, inviting atmosphere complete with occasional live jazz and blues evenings, excellent food served breakfast and lunch, a couple of real ales including Sharp’s Doom Bar, and a genuine, welcoming atmosphere. Smoking area.
The leather tub chairs are so comfortable you won’t want to leave!
NEW
THE STAR AND DOVE
75-78 St Luke’s Rd, Totterdown, BS3 4RY Tel: 0117 300 3712
• Formerly the Cumberland, about the only thing that remains from those days are the sausages of the same name. Owned and run by Jamie Oliver protégée Eamon Fullalove, it’s another great addition to Bristol’s burgeoning gastropub scene. Restaurant upstairs, serving food lunch and dinner, with the main pub on the ground floor, serving two or three real ales, including Bath Ales’ Gem and Butcombe Bitter, and a decent, well-priced wine list. Smoking area.
Sunday afternoon DJ sessions from local rising stars.
STAR AND GARTER
33 Brook Rd, Montpelier, BS6 5LR. Tel: 0117 940 5552
• A legendary Montpelier institution - and rightly so. Lively, friendly multicultural inner-city pub that affords a warm welcome and great prices, and an experience not to be forgotten. Decent range of lagers, plus Courage Best and at least one guest ale.
Live music, guest DJs, cool reggae and ska classics.
TAP AND BARREL
43 Dean Lane, Bedminster, BS3 1BS
• Recently reopened after an extensive refurbishment. This large turn-of-the-century community pub is very much student- and family-orientated, with a sports bar complete with pool table and darts, plus the promise of quizzes, live music and food to come soon. Smoking area.
Perfectly positioned for a trip to the Dean Lane swimming pool or Dame Emily Park.
THREE SUGAR LOVES
Christmas Steps, BS1 5BS. Tel: 0117 929 2431
• This is where they made sugar cones in pre-granulated times. Three-part pub dating back to the 17th century. The roaring fire, warm orange walls, wooden beams and deep leather sofas make you feel very at home. Wide drinks selection, with Doom Bar and Barnstormer on draught, and there are seven whites and eight reds. The food’s good, too, with Pieminister pies, pasta/soup of the day, a wide choice of doorstep sarnies plus a changing home-cooked chef’s menu. Smoking area.
Regular quiz and live music nights.
THREE TUNS
George St, Hotwells, BS1 5UR. Tel: 0117 926 8434
• You’ll find extremely welcoming bar staff behind the single bar in this traditional wooden-floor-and-panelling interior, very popular with the local students. Blackthorn, Foster’s, Bass, Guinness, Carling, John Smith’s Smooth and Stella on tap. Decent bottled selection includes Newcastle Brown. Six wines. Food available lunch and early evening.
Acoustic music on Thur.
THE TROOPER
Bryant’s Hill, St George, BS5 8QT. Tel: 0117 967 3326
• Unpretentious, friendly community pub, with three real ales on tap (Bass, Courage Best and 6X) plus all of the keg regulars. Good-value food served daily, with live music and quiz nights weekly. Popular with sport fans, with major rugby and footy games shown. Smoking area.
Good-natured Wednesday evening quiz, £1 per player with a mid-game chocolate raffle.
THE VICTORIA
426 Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, BS7 8TX. Tel: 0117 987 3725
• Simple, no-frills, one-bar pub also known as the Queen Vic, obviously. This small brick-built boozer is popular with local residents as well as supporters of Bristol Rovers and Bristol Rugby. Courage Best on tap, three ciders and the regular lager suspects.
Quiz every Thursday night.
THE VICTORIA
Southleigh Rd, Clifton, BS8 2BH. Tel: 0117 974 5675
• A 19th-century street corner pub next to the old Clifton open-air swimming pool. Recently refurbished and reopened as the third pub in the Dawkins Taverns group, now a free house with six handpumps and a strong emphasis on real ale from local breweries and unusual lagers. Light and airy in summer, yet intimate and cosy with a real fire in winter. Wide selection of wines by the glass, malt whiskies and other quality spirits.
Eclectic beer selection includes favourites such as Brassknocker and Jouster.
THE VICTORIA
James St, St Werburghs, BS2 9US. Tel: 0117 941 3682
• Mrs Beckham is still there, as is landlord Aidan Lynch, looking down from the pub sign on this community boozer that boasts a brilliant juke box (Velvet Underground an’ all) and an over-subscribed pool table. Barbecues in the summer, cracking Sunday roasts available from 12.30pm “until they run out”. All the usual beers and lagers, with draught Bass on tap.
One regular describes it as having “the rough-and-ready community spirit of inclusivity”. Quite.
THE VICTORIA
20 Chock Lane, Westbury-on-Trym, BS9 3EX. Tel: 0117 950 0441
• Lovely little Wadworth’s pub which can truly be called a community hostelry, with an ambience akin to the warmest guest house. No piped music or jukebox, dogs allowed. Keeps some very decent beers, including 6X and Henry’s IPA, plus guests, and has been awarded a Cask Marque for the last seven years. Freshly made home-cooked pizzas served every day, lunch and evening.
The lovely staff will happily provide welcome packs to new residents in the area.
THE VITTORIA
57 Whiteladies Rd, BS8 2LY. Tel: 0117 974 1842
• Small, lively, traditional pub tucked away amid the larger Whiteladies venues, with Courage Best and Directors on tap. Great jukebox, often free. Open all day, every day.
An essential stop-off for any Strip pub crawl.
WALKABOUT
40 Corn St, BS1 1HQ. Tel: 0117 930 0181, web: www.walkabout.eu.com
• A huge Australian theme bar in a converted bank, with a never-ending party atmosphere. Large televisions show all the sport you could want, with DJs keeping the party mood going most nights of the week. Terrace to the rear is a pleasant suntrap, and leads to the Walkabout Hotel, with en suite double rooms under £50 a night. Smoking area.
Now open until 2am (Sun 12midnight) all week.
THE WELLINGTON
Gloucester Rd, Horfield, BS7 8UR. Tel: 0117 951 3022, web: www.bathales.com
• Sitting proudly atop Gloucester Road, the Wellington is easily handsome enough to justify its distinguished name and place within the renowned Bath Ales chain. A beautiful boozer; the beer is excellent, with Gem, Spa and Barnstormer on tap, all available in money-saving four-pint jugs, and a guest ale, too. The lager is equally well-appointed, with Budvar and Becks, and plenty of European bottled varieties. Food, all prepared freshly on the premises, uses locally-sourced ingredients wherever possible and is available lunch and evenings. Live blues and jazz every Sun and Mon, a lovely patio for enjoying warmer evenings and an upstairs hotel. Truly a grand old duke. Heated smoking area.
Annual beer festival in spring.
THE WHITE BEAR
St Michaels Hill, BS2 8BS
• Popular student hangout, due partly to proximity to the uni, but also to the relaxed, friendly atmosphere, copious drinks offers and excellent food. Scampi and chips, toad in the hole, bangers & mash, lasagne, burgers and baguettes are offered alongside Indian dishes, thanks to having the Rajpoot Express restaurant upstairs. Highlights include tandoori mixed grill and chicken or lamb achari. Four vegetarian specials offered. Live bands monthly, pool table and top jukebox. This White Bear puts other pubs in the shade - a veritable polar eclipse.
The lovely people here have just taken over Stark on Whiteladies Road.
WHITE HART
Brislington Hill, BS4 5BD Tel: 0117 977 7148
• Big, Barras pub where value is always on the menu. There are a couple of real ales, sensibly priced wine and ridiculously cheap food. Very sport-friendly, with major football, rugby and cricket matches shown on the big screen. Food served all day, every day. Open 11am-11pm weekdays, 11am-12midnight at weekends.
Live music Thur, prize draw Sat, quiz on Sun.
WHITE HART
Lower Maudlin St, BS1 2LU. Tel: 0117 926 8747
• Lovely old pub, first licensed way back in the mid-17th century, which was recently taken over by landlady Rebecca Ellis. She’s spent a fair few bucks bringing the Hart up to scratch. Big on food, with meals served midday-6pm, and with a decent selection of real ales - including Greene King IPA, Abbot, Old Speckled Hen and Ruddles County - plus loads of keg favourites and plenty of seating out front. Smoking area.
Boasts the oldest pub cellars in the country, dating from 1190.
WHITE LION
Colston Ave, BS1 1EB. Tel: 0117 925 4819
• Small one-bar pub right in the centre of the city, owned by the Wickwar Brewery. Superb real ales, open all day from 11am during the week (closes 6pm Sun eve), with bar snacks available lunchtimes. With a small alfresco area out front for summer supping, this is a cracking little pub. Smoking area.
Hosts Bristol’s annual Smallest Beer Festival in March, a late Summer Beer Festival in September and a two-month Winter Ale Showcase.
WHITEHALL TAVERN
30 Devon Rd, Greenbank, BS5 9AD. Tel: 0117 955 6798
• A step back in time, and not only because you don’t have to shout above some god-awful ‘chilled beats’ to make yourself heard here. Loads of character, with individual wooden booths, a free quiz Tue night, and booze - including Courage Best and all the usual keg suspects - at almost pre-decimal prices all add up to a place where that old journo cliché ‘cosy yet uncluttered’ really can be used correctly.
A real community pub, with a
rural feel.
THE WINDMILL
14 Windmill Hill, BS3 4LU. Tel: 0117 963 5440, web: www.thewindmillbristol.com
• What a fabulous find! The team behind the Pipe and Slippers took over The Windmill after it had fallen into a state of disrepair and reopened in March last year, much to the relief of the local community. The food is excellent, there’s an all-vinyl jukebox (all too rare these days), and board games, newspapers and magazines, attentive staff and Beer Factory ales all serve to remind you of just how great a pub can be. This funky, friendly and fabulous place took the runner-up spot for Venue’s Pub of the Year crown last year. Smoking area.
The jukebox won’t take newfangled coinage. Buy tokens at the bar.
YE SHAKESPEARE
78 Victoria St, BS1 6DR. Tel: 0117 949 7708
• Old Bristol establishment (third oldest pub in the city - 1636, since you ask) with impressive history and interesting architecture. Four new ales monthly (six during the winter) plus Natch and Blackthorn, and a small wine selection, available by the bottle. Standard bar food favourites - good fry-ups, cottage pie, lasagne, etc, as well as veggie equivalents (which might start appearing of an evening). All freshly cooked, with excellent prices covering the lot. Pool in back bar, dartboard. All-day breakfasts come in Full Monty and Little Monty sizes.
Four-pint pitchers available Mon & Tue for £8.
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