If you’re looking for a pub with great food – the sort of place to take your mum for Sunday lunch or just drop in for a coffee and a chat, then the Cork is just the place for you. If you’re after a chill-out with friends, or to party the night away, then the Cork could be right for you. If, however, you want to enjoy a few al fresco beers whilst tucking in to a plate of nibbles, then I’d suggest that the Cork would be the perfect choice too. For, with its trendy, buzzy Vault bar, smart outside terrace and neat ground-floor pub and dining area, the Cork has just about everything you could want from a city-centre pub.

The booze offering is excellent: top-of-the-range wines and spirits, a vast selection of bottled beers, lagers and ciders, plus five lagers and two real ales on draught. Food, courtesy of head chef Dan Edwards and his team, is based – where possible – on locally sourced produce and the menus change seasonally. It’s good-quality, robust British cooking, with crowd-pleasing favourites (steaks, burgers, bangers, fish and chips) alongside a few out-of-the-ordinary plates (roasted butternut squash and thyme risotto, with parmesan crisps and a rocket salad, for example), as well as a selection of daily specials and lighter bites.

As General Manager Jim Carpenter (formerly of the Elbow Room and The Woods) tells us: “It’s unique, having these distinctly different areas within the same building, but I think you can feel at home in any of them. The Vault bar tends to attract a younger crowd but we get a real mixture of customers, families, students, people coming in after work and lots of regulars. During the summer we put four TV screens outside for the World Cup and the terrace was packed.”

With a popular quiz night every Sunday, DJs in the Vault bar on Saturdays, discounts for card-carrying students and a slew of theme nights lined up – including a DJ set from the Stereo MCs and both Xmas and New Year parties – why would you want to go anywhere else? (Darryl W Bullock)

The Information

Beer Box Steam Brewery’s Derail Ale and Golden Bolt. From £3

Lager Amstel, Erdinger, Fosters, Heineken, Kronenbourg 1664. From £3.30

Cider Orchard Pig, Strongbow. From £3.30

Guinness £3.50

Large selection of premium spirits, bottles beers and ciders.

Wine: International selection (around two dozen, plus sparkling/Champagne) from £3 gls, £11 btl.

Food: Served daily, 12noon-9.30pm. Starters from £4, mains from £7.50; bar snacks (chips, potato wedges, nachos, sandwiches etc) from £3.

THE CORK 11-12 WESTGATE BUILDINGS, BATH, BA1 1EB. TEL: 01225 333582, WEB: WWW.THECORK.CO.UK Open 12noon-12midnight (Mon-Wed); 12noon-1am (Thur-Sat); 12noon-11pm (Sun).

 Copyright Darryl W Bullock