please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Closed. This very old building is in need of a major refurbishment. Future is uncertain.
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Did exactly the same as Cellarbuoy last Thursday afternoon.
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Empty at 13:00 on an otherwise busy bank holiday. The place stank of toilet duck and domestos, probably from xmas eve. Walked in, walked straight back out again.Such a pity as it's a wonderful building and deserves better.
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Have to agree with previous reviewers of this pub. Though a foreigner I have a bit of UK pub experience (visited over 500 in the last 5 years), and this pub is in the bottom half. Splendid to look at, and with history to match, the place is let down with disinterested bar folk, limited range, and a disjointed interior. I have no idea if it is a buzzing night venue but daytime customers pay too and should be treated with a bit of courtesy. Very few in, probably drawn (like me) by its history & looks, but few had more than one drink.
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I agree with what's been posted previously. Fantastic building, took a lot of photos outside trying not to include the horrific "2 meals for a tenner" signage, inside though it is a lovely interior we were faced with the choice of one beer only, Hobgoblin, which is at best ordinary and much like Greene King IPA something you would only drink if there was nothing else! Luckily it is a short walk to The Cornubia and The King's Head so we won't be making that mistake again. A very poor experience.
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Echoing the previous posters, it is such a shame that a dismal chain runs this pub. It should be a classic instead of tragic.
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Agree with all of the below. Its a tragedy that a cynical property company only interested in profit was allowed to buy one of Bristol�s last ancient taverns and utterly destroy it. Amazing building, terrible pub. Tragically, if this building had been anything other than a pub, the local authority would have stopped it being bashed around quite so badly but as the idea of listed pubs is a relatively new-fangled invention, the damage was allowed to happen. A great shame.
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A dismal experience. Flat beer, zero atmosphere. Can we have a whip round and buy this pub back from Brewer's Fayre? This pub should be part of Bristol's heritage and this company have p*ssed all over it. Tragic.
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As a proud Bristolian living in Surrey this pub really really upsets me.
The building is so historic and beautiful and yet the management and owners of this building should hang their heads in shame.
The interior has been so badly neglected and the quality of the beers is so poor it makes you want to weep.
This "could" be such a cracking establishment is the owners had the slightest concept of what they were doing.
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Looks far nicer from the outside than it actually is inside, full of dark corners
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Chef and Brewered to within an inch of its life some fifteen years ago, and has never recovered in terms of decor, beer quality or ambience.
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This is a fantastic looking pub from the outside, probably one of the oldest buildings in Bristol. It�s in a great spot at the end of King Street, close to the river and with plenty of outside seating which gets packed in the summer.
Unfortunately the inside doesn�t quite live up to the promise of the outside. There�s nothing particularly wrong with it, but it certainly doesn�t have the quaint olde world charm that you might expect. There�s some impressive features such as the fire place and the staircase, but the overall feel of the place just doesn�t work somehow. There�s several different linked areas going all round the bar, and an upstairs restaurant area. It�s clearly starting to show it�s age in places, with the taps in the gents being held in place by nothing over than their pipes.
Beers on tap were Butcombe, Black Sheep and St. Austell�s Tribute. I tried this for a change but was a bit disappointed. Probably having it served through a sparkler didn�t do it any favours. The only cider was Strongbow unfortunately.
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Went in recently and was grossly disappointed. This is one of the oldest and most famous pubs in Bristol but is now infamous and just old. My pint of stale Butcombe was served in a plastic glass that was so soft you could barely drink from it. On a positive note we did get free peanuts. Unfortunately these were served in the bottom of the pint i ordered! Come on guys. Must try harder!
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Was forced to grab a pint of Butcombe last night, because of the slothful service in the Duke across the road. It was recognisable as Butcombe at least. They also had on Spitfire and Hobgoblin. A young off-duty manager and a supervisor were having a vocal discussion about not serving someone and losing personal licenses, which entertained me for five minutes.
LukeD - 13 Jul 2009 11:06 |
This is a typical pub that plays host to a Premier Inn stuck on top of it. Designed to amaze easily impressed tourists from abroad, locals seem to steer clear (apart from those that fancy a 'decent pint of cold Fosters' - I mean for ****s sake does this exist?)
Their Butcombe beer was as still as a Scottish lake and tasted like one. I would gladly shut this place, buy it from Brewers Fayre and re-open it with a smaller menu and a larger ale list - and no sodding lager except Staro and Budvar....A few Belgians and big bowls of proper chips plus packs of pigscabs and fresh fish dishes. Easy money.
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Very disappointed to hear the comments about the Trow, came to Bristol for the first time in 2004 and had a great night on King Street - including the Trow!
Can any of you locals recommend anywhere similar - ie good real ales, not too loud and in the city centre?
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Popped in again because there was a beer festival advertised. A quick count revealed that all but three of the beers could almost certainly be purchased within a 10-15 minute walk elsewhere of the Trow.
Nice one, manager.
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It looks great from the outside, but once you get in you realise that huge efforts have been made to remove whatever character and ambience the pub could ever have. Sterile and boring.
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Neddy,, Why are you shocked that this pub is so rubbish. it has been absolutely terrible for years now. All the staff have had a sense of humour bypass, that ambience seems to have been sold to the Apple for a cut price and if I am forced to actuallly spend some time in here, I have to run across the road and get a pint of Gem from the Old duke. now those are desperate times !!
The most hisoric 'pub' in Bristol is a tourist sham. Avoid.
LukeD - 16 Dec 2008 10:12 |
I'm a bit shocked by tonight's experience, due to the fact that when I've been in before, it was never fantastic, but an avergae boozer. However, tonight's experience was worse than I have ever had before
First off, the pub was using sparklers on the ale pumps, which is ever-so-slightly staggeringly weird when you have southern ales on the bar which are staunchly against sparklers (namely butcome and brains) When I asked a member of bar staff why sparklers were being used, neither him or his assistant manager could answer the question, but refused to un-attach the sparklers (personally I don't like the concept, call it OCD, but ah well!)
Secondly, and shockingly, the Butcombe was definately off! It was yeasty, with no flavour whatsoever, but despite what was obviously an off-beer, the members of bar staff refused to serve another pint. Lame
Third. The Brains I had ordered was served in a pint glass with a quite frankly humungous crack in the middle of the glass. Talk about health and safety.
And another point for great service and presentation, but the fact that the orange juice was just a plastic bottle of fruit shoot (unopened) placed next to a glass, will never win you credit.
Shame, because with the history and architecture behind it, you would hope this pub would be a gem, but alas, tis not the case
Overall, this pub = FAIL
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An uninspiring choice of GK IPA , Directors Best and Old Speckled Hen when visited on Saturday. Sat outside in the unseasonally warm October sunshine admiring the dog ends, street drinkers and general air of hopelessness felt in such a litter strewn environment. Will try to avoid on my next trip to Bristol.
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Agree with most of the comments below - only Green King IPA on last night - given the size of this place, there should be AT LEAST 5 real ales on....instead they pander to the scruffy scarecrow type of lager drinking students, with prices to match! Shame really!!
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They only had Green King IPA when I last visited. Nice pub though and cheap.
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What a disappointment! Sat outside on a nice Friday afternoon, amidst the brilliant reflections of all the broken glass artfully arranged all over the ground. Not surprised that there were no other punters.
This really looks like the owners or managers just can't be arsed. It ought to be easier to make this a great pub in this location, rather than a tip.
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Uninspiring and lacks anything to make it stand out from other, similar, pubs in the area. Given it's history, it should be good, but isn't.
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A good and well presented pub, but sadly lacks something when it comes to atmosphere. The beers are good and a couple of ales are on sale. The pub also sells reasonably priced food and has a relatively large interior even though the seperate rooms individually are not that large. The pub boasts a restaurant upstairs which is very good, but apart from the food this pub needs a couple of added incentives such as a pool table or evening entertainment. Good for a quiet pint, better pubs nearby, worth a visit never the less
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Lovely pint of Old Speckled Hen, tasty meal and not expensive. No sign of the ghost.
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A real beauty on the outside, spoilt by having only two GK pulls on the go and the inside is nothing special either.
A classic case of a pub not fulfilling its (very big) potential. This could (and should) be one of the top 5 Bristol pubs, but sadly it is nowhere near this.
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attractive looking pub, but rather disappointing inside. Food orientated ( upstairs restaurant ) and the downstairs bar lacks atmosphere and has a rather transient feel to it - people popping in for one and then moving on
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Apparently in the 60's they boasted the Guiness was rolled straight off the quayside from Dublin and racked up behind the bar. Times change and it's nothing special now, go to the Old Duke for a propper pub.
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Another decent pub in what appears to be a overall decent street for drinking! Huge rambling building which is reputed to be haunted - according to the barman (by who or what remains to be seen). Plenty of real ales on tap and a really nice place.
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Good old pub - I particularly liked the carved fireplaces. Supposedly frequented by Daniel Defoe and Robert Lewis Stephenson. Smiles ales and good food from an an extensive blackboard list.
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Twee old pub, could be really nice but is generally ruined for me by dreadfully slow service and a strange smell, perhaps it's the ghost.
Does have the advantage that you can amuse yourselves teasing the coachloads of American, German and Japanese tourists that arrive throughout the year to look at the place.
The Old Duke opposite is a better bet and used to be slightly cheaper.
Rufus - 10 Nov 2003 16:23 |
Yes, tables outside for summer. Inside decor like a front room.
Vindaloo - 13 Aug 2003 13:14 |
Old pub dating back to the 1600s. Good atmosphere, real ale and the best burger you can buy anywhere in the world. I visited Bristol for 5 days (through work) and found this pub on my second night. Needless to say that with a few pints of good ale and a burger and chips, I was hooked and spent the next two evenings there before travelling back home to Newcastle. If ever I'm back in Bristol it will be my first port of call and I'd heartily recommend it to anyone visiting the area.
Sharon Vasey - 7 Aug 2003 18:07 |
