please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A small urban mid C17 public house which retains its ensemble of Victorian furnishings and which is identified by CAMRA as having a nationally important historic interior. We sat in the "Tramcar Bar" for what seemed like a couple of hours soaking up the atmosphere. I started off with a pint of Blackjack Pub Ale ESB before moving on to the keg Good Chemistry's Smoke Signals and then their Winter Fizz - my first pint was the best and I should probably have stuck with one of the other cask ales which were Newbarns Dynamite and Good Chemistry's Time Lapse.
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This definitely seems to have gone down hill recently. There was a distinct smell of pee at the front of the pub, which is actually the opposite end from the loos, so it wasn't coming from there. And I got charged £6.70 for a pint of cider and a small glass of orange juice and lemonade.
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Lovely pub, good selection of ales - tried the Harvey's Bitter as it's a long way from home, perfectly acceptable.
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Very narrow little pub, doesn't look much from outside (and the net curtains dont make it look as welcoming as it really is. Nice pint of Butcombe Gold sat outside on a sunny day.
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Beautiful little pub with a cosy enclosed seating area at the back, a great landlady and good beer. It perhaps doesn't have as good a beer choice as the Cornubia round the corner, but having two such great pubs only a spit and a gob apart is fantastic.
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A CAMRA heritage pub from c1660. A very narrow pub with a seating area at both ends of the pub at each entrance. The entrance from the Churchyard has the Tramcar seating area and the Victoria Street entrance has a much smaller seating area. Mainly a vertical drinking bar. 4 ales on tap, Skinners-Betty Stoggs £3.60. Good place to go with friendly staff and customers
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Well, it was open yesterday (Sat 5th Jan) lunchtime. Not very busy, but what a great little pub. 4 real ales
Recommended
martyngs
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was open yesterday
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was definitely open yesterday
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Not sure about this mate, work next door will check it out and report
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I have just been told by a trusted source in Bristol that this wonderful pub (or should I call it a museum) has closed its doors... another victim to the dwindeling custom.
What a shame this was a beautiful original Pub.
Please will someone buy this Pub and open it again!!
Just a reminder that we should use it or loose it.
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What they said below
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Bloody gem...stumbled across this, with student son, in a wander from Temple Meads station in a traffic-hostile part of Bristol. A real 'must visit' if you have an hour to kill atween trains! Seems to be open all day...delightful pint or three of Butcombe too! Superb.
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A superb interior makes this pub one that 'must be visited' if you like unspoilt historic pubs. It has a very unusual tramcar design, and several well kept real ales, served by a friendly landlord who was confident that he is running a gem of a pub, and only a short walk both from Temple Meads station and several other decent pubs selling real ales.
A classic.
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Beautiful, historic pub. Friendly service and a good choice of well-kept ales including the unusual for Bristol Hog's Back TEA. A must-visit if you're in town.
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Lovely interior, friendly staff, although the prices are a little on the steep side.
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Had a great evening in here the other night, drinking a few very good pints of Doombar, also had TEA and another micro-brew on. Really lovely little Victorian pub, listed in CAMRA unspoilt interiors register, with a good crowd of local drinkers. Forms part of a very good crawl around Temple and Redcliff, including the Cornubia just around the corner and the Seven Stars by St Mary�s. Also a mere five minutes walk from Temple Meads.
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This is a classical gem of a pub with some super fittings and the famous "tramcar" seating area. Loads of old photos and bric-a-brac and lots of sparkling brass give it a very Victoriana style feel and when it gets busy it gets very "cosy". A revived range of cask ales with Hogs Back TEA being a regular. Beer was fine; the staff friendly and the overall visit was excellent. It is just round the corner from The Cornubia and should be added to any pub crawl of this part of town. Recommended.
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I went for a quick beer on the way to the train station and found the bar staff very polite, excellent pint of Hogsback(TEA) & Black Sheep.
Would def go back as was made very welcome.
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Congratulations to Kings Head on their selection of REAL ALES especially their new ones
***** Hogs Back (TEA) and Black Sheep *****
Excellent!! Smashing pub
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Visited Bristol for the weeknd and found this cracking pub. To top it off it was selling Hogs back TEA. well done Kings head for putting this very drinkable ale on. Any other Pubs in Bristol serving TEA?
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Pint of the day was drunk here on our visit to Bristol. The Butcombe Gold was tasty and well served as were the other pints but this was top notch. Thoroughly recommended.
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i now remember why i stick to the seven stars,cornubia and bridge,popped in for st Patricks just to have the one obligatory guiness knowing that the ale choice here was rather uninspiring and Thats why i normally dont visit,anyway �3.90for the pint,absolutely shocking! 7Stars here i come!6/10
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Worth a visit to have a look at the interior..... beers OK but nothing to get excited about.
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Wonderfully unspoilt CAMRA inventory pub. Long and narrow, with the 'Tramcar Snug' at the back on the right. This is an enclosed drinking area with a servery to the bar. Wood-panelled, original bell pushes and gas lit. The corridor is adorned with framed prints of Bristol and trams. The bar back is engraved with the words 'Port and Sherry', 'Cigars', 'Mineral Waters', 'Claret' and has a splendid mirror advertising Burton Ales and Dublin Stout in gold leaf.
An unimaginative ale selection - Sharps Doom Bar and Cornish Coaster, Wadworth 6X and Butcombe Gold. My pints of Cornish Coaster and 6X were okay, not really to my taste. Expensive as well - �3.30 a pint.
Worth dropping in to check out the interior, maybe you'll like the beer as well.
8 for the pub, 4 for the beer.
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Visited yesterday evening before heading to the station.
Tiny pub, but the interior is supurb and well worth popping in to see how pubs once looked like. Had a couple of well kept butcombe gold, thoguh they did have a couple of other local ales to choose from.
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This is a great old pub that as others have said has it�s interior listed on Camra�s inventory of historic pub interiors I believe. It�s easy to see why, I don�t imagine it�s changed at all since Victorian times. The pub itself is very long and narrow, and an unusual layout. The front bar is a tiny L-shaped affair with a wood panelled bar and ornate mirrors behind.
Walk up a long narrow corridor past many pictures of old Bristol on the walls, and then double back on yourself to approach the rear bar from the back. Here there is more wood panelling, mirrors, and access to the bar servery to order your pints. It�s got a very cosy ambience.
Beers on offer were Cornish Coaster, Doom Bar, 6X and Butcombe Gold. Ciders were Thatcher�s Gold and Stowford Press.
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beautiful pub, although expensive. I liked going here until the lady I think her name was Jackie took an extra 10 from me. i gave here a twenty pound note and got change for a ten. I told her I gave her a twenty, but she would not give in. I think it was because i was from another country, and sad to say I know bars in this country do the same thing, its just sad to see someone take from other people. Next trip to the U.K. I will not stop here, it was my only bad experience on the whole trip.
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Wonderful old interior (CAMRA National Inventory), incongruously placed among ugly late-20th Century commercial buildings. Friendly service. Decent if unspectacular range of beer. In my opinion a "must visit" pub, although as others have said it is expensive.
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Allegedly, the most expensive pub in Bristol. One friend says Fosters Lager here is �3.60!
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Lovely little National Inventory pub with an unusual feature called the Tram car or something (why don't I write these things down!) which screens off a few tables from the outer bar. We had Butcombe Gold which was very nice, but this was the "offer of the day" with 20p off - and still �3 a pint! Mmmmm......
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Best way to describe this pub is Quirky. Nothing special as a pub if I'm honest although the unspoilt interior is well worth a visit. Quiet at 6pm on a Friday evening but its so small I guess it gets crowded quckly.
Same four beers as previous posters -the Cornish Coaster was well kept and reasonably priced.
Worth looking up if in town but not where you'd want to spend a long night. For that look out for the 7 Stars nearby
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One of those anachronistic places which your average 'pub spotter' has to add to their 'must do' list. The missus thought I was taking her in to a tea shop when she saw the outside. Had a pint of Doom Bar which was quaffable, the missus had a Bailey's and was asked if she wanted ice in it for a change (instead of them just plonking it in and her telling them to take it out as they usually do). It is not advisable to come in if you are bursting to use the toilets as the gents is a one at a time affair and you may have a wait on your hands.
anonymous - 14 Mar 2010 09:55 |
This has always been a good place to call in and step back in time. Always known for well-kept Courage Best, especially when the brewery was just up the road. Unfortunately, the prices have not stood still. My mate called in here last week (a lager drinker) and paid �3.60 for a pint of Fosters!
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Hard to fault this pub except the beer range was rather pedestrian, and seemed not to have changed since Booze_Allen was there 3 weeks earlier. Splendid comfortable old interior, with lots of features to repay just sitting and staring around one. Better though to go there for a beer and a chat - just the kind of place for a ground of friends on a cold evening. Easy to find on the road down from Bristol, Bridge toward Temple Quay. Beer quality was good though the loos were a mite cramped. One to visit if on a day trip to Bristol - go here for the surroundings and the Seven Stars for the range of beers - both supply a fine friendly atmoshere.
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Bundled ourselves into the pub on opening at 2pm, nothings changed since I last visited 4 years ago - thank god as historic interior. Beer range as before, Sharps Cornish Coaster (not bad), Doombar, Wadworth 6X and Butcombe Gold. Best go when it's quiet as room is a little tight.
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Beer very good, back of pub is historic but has a 'new' inside of a tram transplanted into it. Well worth a visit.
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Great pub, used to work just round the corner, always in here after work for a Doombar, oh yeah
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Fantastic little pub! Well kept beer, great friendly service! Smashing!!!
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Doombar, Butcombe Gold, Cornish Coaster, 6X. Beautiful low-ceilinged dark wood pub, fabulous bar-back with high brass plaques proclaiming fayre in old style �Whisky�, �Cigars�, �Brandy�, �Claret�. Narrowish entrance with bar to the right, some bar stools then a partition announcing �Tramcar Bar� beyond which is an earlier, preferable era � an enclosed snug mirroring a comfortable first class tram carriage, this area also has a short bar counter. Nice old photos around the walls, hanging jugs, nibbles on bar Sun lunch. Rear door leads straight to Temple church, appallingly abutted by some ugly 60/70s flats. Having just missed closing time Sat nt, we queued with another group for Sun opening, feeling very rough; thank goodness the first sharpener was in excellent shape. Hello to the Scots boys on their way home from the Wales friendly (ouch!), incl Derek from Kelburn Brewery.
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Enjoyed the quiet atmosphere of this pub while drinking the Wadworth 6x and Sharps Cornish Coaster in the tramcar seating.
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I believe this pub is on the National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors, largely due I imagine to the snug bar at the back with a serving hatch through to the main bar. Other than that it is largely one long corridor and therefore a standing drinkers pub. Very decorative throughout with glass panelling and old advertising. Friendly service and decent beer makes this a must visit pub.
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Splendid little pub, which could almost be mistaken for a shop when viewed from a distance. Inside, you will find a very well-preserved and traditional layout with a cozy screened 'snug' beyond the smallish bar. Not a great choice of beer, but the Butcombe Gold was fine and in any case it is the interior that really makes this place stand out.
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Cracking unspoilt pub. Wish it was my local!!
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more or less echo gillhalfpint , would just add pub grub at lunchtime very good.a pub that on entry is like going back in time in the nicest possible way . probably not the best pub beer choice in the immediate area i mean arguably 7 stars ,and the cornubia are better , but that said more than makes up for it with its natural charm .
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Love this friendly pub and put the world to rights with one of the customers at the bar while drinking 6x and Butcombe Gold. A couple of Sharps beers also available. Great place.
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Beautiful pub on the way back to the Railway Station, we managed to get a seat in the carriage, which seemed appropriate. Fascinating photos and bric a brac, seems to concentrate on Cornish beers but I couldn't get much out of the barman about the pub. Yes it is pricey, which meant it was also empty, Enterprise Inns wake up and smell the coffee, people are struggling, work on a Business plan to get people in.
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I have been in here for the past 2 weeks (whilst on business) - cracking beer including the now deleted Sharps IPA which tasted like a Summer's day in a glass. Sharps surely have to get more of this produced - Cornish Coaster is good but nowhere near as moreish.
Old interior including crazy china jug display in the window and natty snug with long cushioned benches. I would pay �3 quid a pint to keep places like this alive if it meant keeping the chavs out.
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love this pub, out of all the decent pubs in redcliffe this one is way up there, allways enjoy andy's company, service is top quality and the history/decor is well worth a visit alone, prices in line with every other enterprise pub but the Kings Head offers better service and a nicer decor. ales are well looked after, definetly one to visit time and time again.
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I cant believe the last comment. Says what a greet pub, which it is. Says how nice the beers are, which they are. Then says wont come back because of the price. Has he not heard of enterpise inns. They charge the pub twice the price for its beers compared to all the free houses arond it and it is still only thirty to forty pence more. I would rather pay that little extra than go to the two very unfriendly pubs with iffy beer and loud music that are its so called competition.
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Aesthetically pleasing old pub that evokes mixed feelings for me. Fantastic, traditional interior indeed but very small and the only seating available was cramped. Additionally, 2 pints of Bob and 1 pint of Fosters was �9.40? Disgusting price. Left after one and won't be returning. Milking their heritage status for all its worth.
Sharp - 16 Mar 2009 13:06 |
We were looking forward to visiting this pub... opened the door to be told, in no uncertain terms, 'we're closed' and this was 12.30 on a Saturday. Shame...
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Called in last month and found it to be a charming old fashioned pub. Drank our Sharps and Wickwar beers in the tramcar. Lovely wooden area of a style long gone in a lot of pubs.
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A brief drop-in to the Kings Head showed that happily, nothing had changed since my occasional forays 10 years back - indeed, if said forays had been 100 years back, I daresay there'd be little difference! A classic, traditional little local just far enough away from the Centre to be free of obstreporousness and the sort of younger clientele who by and large just wouldn't get it. Very cosy and snug on a chilly Autumn or Winter's eve; shame I was with a mate and not a girlfriend! I found the Governess to be efficient and friendly, as were the locals lining the bar. Here's to the KH remaining this way indefinitely.
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Popped in with Mrs HofBear for a nightcap during recent visit to Brizzle, as was staying nearby. Glad we did - a real step back in time. Reminded me of old Coronation St clips of Ena Sharples in the Rover's Return, though far cosier. Clientele was predominantly 'mature' and 50-50 male-female split - a good sign. Seemed like a true local, where in the 'Cheers' tradition, everybody knew your name (except ours!). Seats at a premium, but was directed by friendly ladies on their way out to their vacated seats in the snug, so enjoyed some excellent Doom Bar and the splendid decor in comfort (6X & Sharp's IPA on too). Hope to return as part of a Redcliffe crawl on a future visit out west.
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Don't fart...ha ha ha!!!
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Tittered to read the previous posting,don't worry the landladys bite is worse than her bark. In fairness what had happened was a knob came off in her hand(!) and entry was unsuccessful to where the light switches are. Normal service resumed later.
Range of beer now is Bath Gem,Wadworths 6X,Sharps Doombar and Sharps IPA. All very well kept.
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All in darkness just after 7 on Saturday 6th October; tried the door and was told in no uncertain terms to come back when the lights were switched on. Had no idea when this would be and had to catch a train so sadly can't say what the pub was like, however it doesn't seem to be run very professionally. May give it another go if Mrs High 'n' Mighty deigns to open at the appointed hour.
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Wonderful small pub with beautiful interior. Good beers and a must visit for anyone going to Bristol.
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This is virtually your local if you are staying at the nearby Novotel in Bristol and well worth a visit. 5 - 7 minutes walk from Temple Meads so if you have time to kill whilst waiting for a train.... Unspoilt Victorian interior, so rare these days in city pubs, friendly staff and locals; great beer, opening hours a bit restricted - thoroughly recommended.
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fantastic pint of doombar, top little gem of a pub, 8/10
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It's all been said before & it's all true. When I visted, all four beers were on form, even Courage Best. Pies were good too, apparently brought all the way from Birmingham for our delectation?
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A wonderful heritage pub with a lovely unspoilt interior and a great place to grab a read of 'Pints West' the local CAMRA mag. Love that title.
Beer choice was fairly good (though not as good as I was hoping) and all tasted quite fine.
Well worth a visit, especially when combined with a back-to-back visit to the Cornubia.
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Splendidly traditional pub in the heart of Bristol which - if other contributors on Bristol pubs are correct - is not too well off for proper pubs. Note in particular in this pub the ornate bar back and the "tramcar" snug. Decent range of real ales - recommended
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twice in one night..it's so tempting..within a few minutes of Temple Meads too...Gem on great form...excellent pork pies...a real treat
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Timewarp interior. There's a story pinned behind the bar about how an 80's refurb revealed all the gilt and so forth that had been covered up for 50 years or more.
And they serve Rum and Shrub, and Brandy and Lovage.
Pity the service bells in the back bar don't work, though.
Generally populated with real people (as opposed to kids or swaggering arseholes or opinionated gits)
Most agreeable.
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Been drinking here a few years,and lets not be under any illusions-tis not cheap.�2.55 for Gem and Doombar(blame the bloodsucking pub company not the landlady!!)-but its not the price its the VALUE. 6X and Courage worst on as well,no Stella or Blackthorn,replaced by Grolsch and Thatchers(keeps the loonies out!!) Clean,polished and fresh with friendly people,good beer and prompt service. Handwashed mega clean glasses. Ashtrays often emptied. Giant Haystacks behind the bar!!! A pleasure to drink in,in a town so full of total dumps.
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Fantastic boozer, set in a time warp. Well kept choice of real ales
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Luckily there is a handfull of pubs close to the centre of Bristol that have not been raped and ruined by the chains and pub companies. This is one of them. A real drinkers boozer oozing with character and one of the best traditional pub interiors in Bristol. The ales are well presented and the landlord keeps his lines clean. One slight grey mark is the price of the beer. The Cornubia is just around the back so a couple of good pubs to check out within a stagger of each other.
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Stopped here with 3 mates yesterday on an outing from Oxfordshire. A wonderful friendly pub serving wonderful Cornish Beer, and Old Hooky from Oxfordshire! Wanted to take the pub home with us and make it our local. Will visit again, if only to try the Pork Pies!
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Cozy unspoilt little pub, with a friendly atmosphere, a real Victorian feel to the place.
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Working in Bristol for a few months and have to say this is one of the best pubs I have ever visited.
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Cracking city centre unfussy and friendly pub. Great pints of Sharp's Cornish Coaster and Doom Bar. Ask for a pork pie too... They're "gert lush" as the locals say. ;-)
Gazza - 2 Sep 2004 13:56 |
'Traditional pub, with Victorian decor, dating back to 1660s, retaining all its charm and character. The single, narrow bar leads to a cosy snug; lots of prints of old Bristol and beer memorabilia adorn the walls.' I quote from the GBG2003 and couldn't have put it better myself. Also claims occassional appearances in BBC series
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I was standing outside wondering whether to give it a try when the landlady passed and jokingly told me to go in.
No regrets, nice pub.
Vindaloo - 26 Aug 2003 17:04 |
