please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This pub had some interesting beers to sample, 6 in total, and they appeared well kept but it was quite cramped seating in certain areas. I'm sure it's much nicer in the summer when one can sit outside but it didn't grab us enough to make us want to stay and try the food.
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Pub 5 of the 8 and this was the last one visited in the daytime.
Large single bar pub very popular with the rugby crowd, probably due to it's proximity to the Rec.
6 ales on draught with a decent choice of local beers, I had a good pint of Bristol Sunrise @ 4.4% from Bristol Beer Factory.
Extremely busy inside but the large outside area with benches and heaters make the pub more bearable.
Decent pub but not one of my favs in Bath.
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A large pub right in the centre of Bath that has recently been bought by Butcombe, it has a good sized patio area out the back surrounded by troughs of flowers, and this was packed to capacity on an unseasonably hot Friday afternoon recently. Hanging baskets adorned the front of the pub.
Inside it�s a rustic sort of place with rough wood flooring split over two levels. The longer and lower section leading to the front of the pub has a relaxed ambience with a few sofas in the window in addition to the chunky wooden tables. A number of signed rugby shirts hung on the walls along with other sporting memorabilia. At the top of the steps is a large fish tank and a big stone fireplace. There is also a part glass roof, adding a sort of conservatory feel to the interior.
On the higher level is the bar counter and in a small room off in the corner a table football game and dart board. I didn�t check out the menu, although a few specials chalked up on a board sounded tasty enough.
Beers on tap were Yeovil�s Star Gazer, Cottage Triumph Spitfire and London Pride along with Butcombe�s Bitter and Gold. Good choice of ciders with Ashton Press, Ashton Still and Symonds Founders Reserve.
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Don't know if it is as a result of the recent takeover by Butcombe, but only 3 beers and a cider available yesterday - Butcombe Bitter, Bellringer and the go everywhere Pride. And at �3.20 it is starting to get expensive.
Busy though and service still good.
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Many years ago I was employed as a barman in the centre of Bristol. The pub was vast and a focal point for the jeering chavs and honking oiks of the city. Other than the occasional theatre-goer beating a hasty retreat within seconds of entry, it was primarily frequented by loud, vulgar and crass individuals with all the charm of asbestos, many regularly guzzling alcopops and lager and going all out to explode their own kidneys. Food was almost always served in baskets with chips, and the Old Bill would often be stationed outside in eager anticipation of the booze-fuelled idiots fighting within being dragged out to them by the doormen. The Pig & Fiddle in Bath is nothing like this. It has never been so, and I hope - saluting a magpie of a morn and wielding a cat around my head at midnight while barking like a sea lion at the moon - it never will be.
Anyhoo...
In a pseudo-descriptive kind of way, I think of The Pig & Fiddle as a really good old friend; the type of friend you can see every day for a coffee and a quick chat, or not see for ages and pick-up immediately where you left off. It won�t judge you or laugh about you behind your back, and it will always share its pork scratchings and its crisps.
It�s a friendly, welcoming place with a clientele evidently absent of jeering chavs. Sure, you�ll observe the occasional knife-licker or boisterous oik, particularly when football oozes out of the large-screen TVs. But proper people don�t have to get involved, often preferring to enjoy the vastness of the beer garden (nay patio, nay outdoor bit) as the afternoon sun bathes us all in a warm puddle of pleasantness, keeping us toasty on a chilly evening with patio heaters the size of a giant horse.
Food-wise, The Pig and Fiddle�s menu is pleasant and so fairly priced that on occasion you could be forgiven for thinking that you�ve received too much change. It is not flash - does not describe a cheeseburger as �drizzled� with ketchup or offer anything with a whatever-berry coulis or jus. But it�s way more betterer than other places quite good an� that, innit. Locally-sourced and prepared by chefs too relaxed and professional to hurl insults and pans at kitchen porters, bowls of organic fair-trade grass at thirty-quid a pop are pleasingly omitted from the menu - although if you enjoyed the TV show �Skippy� (about a kangaroo), you�ll be delighted with the option to order bits of his relatives mashed-up with chopped onion and salt and shoved inside a bun with some cheese and a side order of chips. Bonzer!
For those preferring to ingest an alternative to animal-based bellycheer The Pig serves green stuff too. And the odd carrot. And plenty of things with cheese. There�s occasional live music and a table-football... table as well. Blend it all in with decor as interesting as a book, and with the good food and the generally exceptional service you�ll undoubtedly conclude the same as I: that the Pig & Fiddle is one of the city�s truly outstanding outlets for booze an� that.
The Bog Report:
Sadly there is little to prevent ill-educated plebs either urinating on the seats of loos or realising the function of a flushing mechanism. Therefore it is a testament to the civility of the venue whether the toilets are maintained in accordance with this understanding. A bog without �things� floating across the floor is equally as important as a kitchen without rats and fungus and in finality I�m happy to report that Bath�s Pig & Fiddle pays an above-satisfactory level of attention to its facilities. It would achieve a rating of about seven (out of ten), if indeed I had a rating system like that.
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This has now been taken over by Butcombe Brewery.
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On the way back to the station, always been a reliable pint, and was yesterday lunchtime. Nice to sit outside and watch the busy world go by. A bit full of students and rugby yahoos on occasions, especially for those of us who remember it as the Ash Vibe Brewery Tap many years ago!
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Second pub on our tour. Nice to be able to sit outside (albeit on quite abusy road) on a sunny and quite warm autumn evening. Good choice of beers, and all enjoyed their choice.
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Goos choice of ales and good value food when we visited at Lunchtime a few saturdays ago; the macaroni cheese was as good as homemade. Abbey, Hopback and Butcombe all availble and well looked after. Staff were very friendly.
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choice brc bellringerbrc bellringer , plain innocence good and summer lightning quality good choice not bad , stlye poor on entry , but quite good afteer entering . 8/10
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Good no -nonsense pub with good beer from Abbey etc. Clearly aimed at a younger crowd but welcoming to all.
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Pub No.5 on our crawl of Bath. Quite noisy with the T.V blarring in all corners of the pub but a nice selection of beers from the region including Abbey - Bellringer, Glastonbury - Love Monkey. We had baguettes for lunch. Those with Chicken & Bacon faired better than those with Fish Fingers but still good. The pub consists of a long front area leading up to the bar with another area to the right of the bar and a rear outside stepped patio.
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A bit of a mish mash of buildings and add-ons. Was quiet at this time but can imagine it to be a bit raucous in the evenings. The Abbey Bellringer was okay but nothing special. More what you you would describe as a venue or meeting place as opposed to a traditional pub. Okay for younger folk but not moaning old gits like me.
anonymous - 14 Mar 2010 09:12 |
Passed thru Bath and was pleased to find this pub. Half a dozen good west country ales all in good nick, pwopa cider, a young eclectic mix of people and good value food. I will be back!
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Visited during a Bath home rugby match,that is when they were all gone to the game so it was quite civilised and the ale was excellent. The staff were young studenty types but were efficient and friendly.(one lad shared his jelly beans with us!!) The lady bar manager was very amicable,however the arrival of a Hidden beer on a pump being changed raised a few eyebrows......
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Many years ago when I first visited Bath this was the only pub I managed to get to as I only had an hour to spare. At the time it was owned by the now defunct Ash Vine brewery and was about half the size. It�s been broken through into the shop behind it since then and is now much more spacious.
At one end is the bar area where an island bar serves the eclectic mix of visitors. Students, punks, bikers, French girlies on tour, they were all in. The newer area is long and thin with assorted seating all around including a couple of tables with Marvel comic characters under the glass. There�s a mural that looks like a religious artefact from ancient Greece until you notice that there is a Bath rugby ball floating in the sea etc. Pigs all around the place as you might expect especially when you go upstairs to the toilets. Every time you look around you see something new. There�s a fish tank as well, oh and Xbox games can be played. There�s loads of stuff in here, the food was pretty good as well.
6 handpumps on the bar including a traditional cider. Abbey Bellringer plus 4 changing guests. I had four different pints in here over two days and all were very good. It�s a great place.
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Still a very popular, bustling, and well-located town centre pub. Large paved beer garden (looking, sad to say, rather worn & shabby these days) at front of pub off Saracen St. - a very convenient meeting place. Can be very busy in evenings and sunny weekends. Good mix of visitors, locals, students, etc. Parking anywhere nearby is a nightmare, but this is Bath after all! The 'Pig' has maybe lost some of the cosy charm when it was first started by the Ashvine brewpub people way back in the late 1980s, but the big knock-through from Broad St. now means lots more space for drinking & eating. Nice lazy sofas & TVs for rugby & soccer clientele, local sports memorabilia, WiFi, etc. Better than average range of ales on tap. Food and lunches are good, nice friendly staff, well worth a visit!
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Down at heel, rambling pub on the edge of town. The clientele seemed to have a tatoo covering competition going on. Low quality beer and experience. This won�t be revisited unless it improves.
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The Bell was closed so I came here instead. Not long until it'll be �3.00 for a pint of Bellringer here! Pub empty and I got served straight away - well it was 11.30am!
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Visited last month and enjoyed a Robinsons seasonal beer in this busy town pub.
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Absolutely great pub for everybody, unfortunately its popularity can make it a real nightmare. You can be continually bumped and bashed as it is not the biggest of places especially by the bar. Love the beer and it is always good quality whether you like lager or beers. As a smoker it is friendly place as well. One of my fave pubs
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Stopped in for Sunday lunch (before the footie started). Excellent food, in enormous portions and friendly service. The range of beers was all right, but could be a little wider though.
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This place lost a lot of its atmasphere when they extended it into the shop next door,and the Ash Vine Brewery went to the wall. I still visit from time to time and have never had a bad pint, though the range could be more interesting.
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Has always been one of my favorite pubs in Bath. Visited yesterday and had just about the best pint of Bellringer that I've ever had. Music was top as well.
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I like this place and they have a good range of guest ales, but I have had some VERY bad pints in there and it's getting very expensive. Each time I go there they seen to have added 10p to a pint!
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One of my favourites, good beer selection, generally efficient staff, great garden. Quite often watch sport there - they have a tv which you can watch from outside, a godsend to smokers.
On a negative note - at Christmas a mate got served a pint of flat lager, Could there be anything worse (ok, warm lager). When he asked for an exchange he was told to lump it - surely a cardinal sin in the pub trade.
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Will not be visiting again. Ordered pint of local 5.0 ABV ale. Ale was cloudy with vinegar taste/smell, clearly off. I advised ale was off or the lines needed cleaning. I was curtly told that if I didn't like it I should order another ale, at my cost. Awful attitude towards a discerning drinker, and the ale is even worse. Avoid!
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Strange building this, seems to be two properties, one in Broad St and one in Saracen St, that have been joined and converted into a two tier L shaped pub. The real ale offering was good by way of both choice and condition with many local Abbey Ales available. The place has a young, friendly vibe, a bit like an It�s A Scream pub without the students. There are some rather dangerous looking agricultural instruments adorning the walls that make you hope they are firmly affixed in case the local lads get feisty on a Saturday night.
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good busy straight-forward sports pub...big screen rugby & football...great service from barstaff who knew a bad pint when they saw it without me asking for a change....refreshing & well received.
does get packed tho.
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Great place in the summer, was there last week, friendly hard-working staff. Good range of ales, menu seemed good and some spectacular views.
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A lively pub with an amazing range of burgers (wild boar, kangaroo, ostrich). Good beer, and a nice outside terrace (although unfortunately right next to a fairly busy road). A good all round pub to be recommended to anyone. And one of the few that do food on a sunday evening (but only til 6)
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We occasionally pop in, because the beer is rather good, and they extended capacity a few years ago to make it more comfortable. Even so, it still gets wedged at times.
In fact, thinking about it I should visit more often, although from a real ale drinker's perspective it competes with the nearby Bell and Old Green Tree, and the Star is not far... Still, you have the makings of a fine pub crawl there, and can choose which you prefer.
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I didn't have a drink here - becasue the music was so good I ouldn't tear myself away from it. However they did have a good selection and the atmosphere was good - very arty.
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Is it me or is Bath one of the few towns where its under-25 populace seem to have some discernment and taste in their pubgoing antics?! For whatever reason, it seems that even the boozers clearly pitching themselves at the youth market are just as worthy of attention from older people.
This is hugely popular with the young without having to fetch in a bar of designer lagers, ill-advised chrome minimalist fittings and loud dance music. It simply serves up a range of well-kept ales, good food, and live music, and all aspects seem to be equally appreciated by those whom many of us write off as the lost generation when it comes to social preferences.
It is more than a touch Bohemian here, and one can't help but feel that that is favoured by some who have affectations of that kind, but it's no less friendly because of it.
Get it early though because it's always packed at the Pig.
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Really good lunchtime food (wild boar burger? kangaroo anyone?), nice ales and ciders, good location, football and rugby usually on and a nice outside heated beer 'garden' to sit in when its not raining. Best sports pub in bath- rugby shirts on the wall, photos from baths euro cup win etc excellent.
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great open mic every other tuesday (6th june 2006 featuring shaico!)
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a great pub, with some great choice of beers and food. plus a cat that verges on the over-friendly. would recommend.
TheGP - 20 Sep 2005 21:02 |
A quality pub with a great range in burgers of all sorts of different meat. I really, really like this pub.
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This pub was better when it was smaller, though that was many years ago!
Good beer, plenty of room, bit too bright
Acid Sorceror - 12 Oct 2004 16:16 |
Noisey and very hot in summer but the beers are good enough. The beer garden is on a road junction though.
anonymous - 20 Aug 2004 12:35 |
One of the best pubs in town. Great beers, an innovative menu (kangaroo and bison burgers anyone), great for watching Rugby, drinking, anything really.
TheGP - 10 Aug 2004 15:07 |
The Pig is the best Pub in town! Great atmosphere, lovely people and always great events such as live music, BBQs etc., plus the best manageress in town, who always has a friendly smile on her face, even in light of the most ransom people!!!
Sandra G - 15 Jun 2004 11:12 |
The Pig is a fantastic all season venue where you can hang out with your buddies or come in for a quiet pint. With 5 Real Ales, 1 Trad Cider (plus lagers, wines blah blah blah), 3 Sports screens and a massive Beer terrace (with heaters!)and an inventive menu, there is something for everyone at The Pig.
jo humphrey - 20 Mar 2004 18:30 |
Good range of beers. Table football hidden in the corner. Can look down on drinkers from the mens toilets!
Mark - 4 Mar 2004 16:04 |
