please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
I had passed this 'spoons pub before but never went in so I rectified that this time - needn't have bothered really. The Butcombe bitter was OK but nothing to write home about and they had the usual JDW problem - lack of bar staff! There are better places nearby.
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Situated at the top of park st .
This spoons neither has the quality or choice of say the Berkeley or the knights Templar, quality may be asomething to do with the turnover they were selling their ale at �1.50 the other week.
Always seem to have a problem with the temperature in regard to real ales.
cider is not the greatest choice either, and food was a bit mank
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A large Wetherspoon�s pub located right opposite the university, so it�s clientele tends more towards students than the OAP�s you often get in a these establishments. It�s a good sized pub with a large, full height windows in the front bar and a selection of leather sofa�s to relax in and watch the world go by. A narrower area leads up the side of the bar and it then opens out again at the rear to an area full of tables and chairs and consequently more used for dining.
There are a couple of interesting ceiling features including a giant, illuminated, pink �W� as soon as you get in the pub, just to remind you where you are, and a interesting stained glass dome at the rear of the pub. It�s been open a few years now and it�s starting to look a little shabby in places, but it�s still a decent enough pub if JDW�s are your thing. There were the usual flyers advertising meal deals, including a �Christmas Dinner and a pint� option for �6.99.
Many of the beers on tap also had a festive theme and included Otter Claus, Butcombe Christmas Steps and Rocking Rudolph, complete with flashing red LED�s on the pump clip. Other beers were Holden�s Blaster, Abbot Ale, Ruddles Best, Butcombe and Bath Ale�s Ginger Hare. Good choice of ciders as well with Blackthorn, Strongbow, Thatcher�s Gold, Stowford Press, Old Rosie and Marcle Hill.
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Went in there today . trying to use my wetherspoons vouchers . had a pint from arbors , oysters stout , arguably the best local brewery , and one of my favourite pints , and despite all the backing , they couldn't get it right
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More by default than anything else, I was once found in here fairly regularly during a brief window of the mid-'90s, as it was always a natural draw for students playing at being poor, on account of its cheapness (in both price and atmosphere), and sheer proximity to the University's various outposts. Happily, after the first term I discovered other far-superior alternatives and never looked back (including the once-superb Quinton House - not Arms as stated below - which has been boarded up, but I am reliably informed has recently re-opened and is back on form?).
Having made sporadic visits in the last few years, I have never found anything other than the beer range and quality, and perhaps the vague novelty of the whispering gallery at the rear, to entice one back in a hurry. Frankly I have come to expect decent ale from most JDWs; this isn't an unusual feature nowadays. And as for the interior, it is looking rather faded; at least when I first went there it was still relatively new. Years of student and local grime is never kind to a pub's furnishings. Moreover, if one insists on sticking to the predictability of the chain in question, in Bristol alone there are at least four others which represent an improved pub experience on that to be gained from the Berkeley.
Not bad, but average at best, and so easily outclassed if only one is prepared to walk a little further. Unless cost is your driving criterion, go forth and seek out the Hope & Anchor, and the Eldon House for starters, all within 10 minutes' trot away.
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I know it's beer in the evening and all that , but what do they do to the food in here , oh perhaps it's better not to know . disgusting .
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10.15 and the students are getting stuck into the Sambuca beer chasers as though stomach pumps were going out of fashion. Like the rest of the solitary drinkers I joined in the fun by glowering at them in typical glassy eyed style. The Young Uns responded by banging on the glass to passing comrades who buried their heads in their coats, hurrying with all speed to Greggs. Well what's wrong with unwinding on a Monday morning after a hard weekend's hedonism!? With it's varying atmospheres that are best described as moody 1; moody 2; or moody 3 - there are hardly any alternatives left in this spot to reward you after trekking up Park Street. Granted the ales are kept in good order but the depression that hangs in the air is made more acute when one realises that the vastly superior Quinton Arms just around t'corner has been put up for sale and likely to re-open as a Bagutte du Mort or some such atrocity. Cheers,
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Beer selection had improved on my last visit - Arbor Festive Porter and Dorset Adventageous went down very nicely. The Berkeley still has a bit of a down at heel atmosphere though, more so than most other JDWs.
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These 1/3 of a pint glasses for ale are a fabulous idea. Pity they sell halves out of them in this dump. And the barman couldn't work out the difference when questioned and ran away to get the manager when challenged. I should have photographed the drink and went to weights and measures but what's the point. Father Jacks airgead(money) won't ever go in the jack'n'jill here ever again. They can FECK OFF! Some contrast with St Georges and The Commercial.
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Don't like to disagree , but this place is pretty naff , large bar area in which the bar staff always seem to concregate always seem to concregate at the bottom, the food was awful . incidentally if your looking for a decent alternative , the quinton house was boarded up when i tried to visit , as this was a few weeks ago , can anyone provide an update .
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Not a great Spoons, but I've been in worse.
A few ales on, though availability and quality vary tremendously.
Worth checking out some other nearby outlets, rather than ending up here by default. The Quinton House for example.
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There aren't that many good bars in this part of town. Nevertheless, there are stillplenty that are far better than this miserable hole.
Worth avoiding. Far better places nearby
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could,nt disagree more
The pub is great for real ale and the food is good value.
Excellent to meet before heading down the hill
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Agree with Dick Stilton. Awful place.
No need to even look inside. It's cheap, but full of drunken oldies (even by 11.30 they're showing the strain).
anonymous - 18 Feb 2008 15:56 |
new manager has really smartened up the place. Great beer and great food, really good spoons/ If you are in clifton donot miss it.
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Not bad for a Wetherspoons. I would agree that service can be very slow at times.
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Not too bad mid-afternoon, but won't be hurrying back...
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very good place to start a night off before ramshakle/lizard. can be difficult to get served tho.
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Grim barn of a place. Difficult to get served and when you do the beer is likely to be a disapointment. Surly staff, filthy tables and full of students. Spoons worst pub in Bristol by far. Avoid like the plague.
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Agree with the last comment - terrible beer, I gave up buying draft all together on my last few visits. Give it a miss.
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Okay. This is a Spoons', so obviously it's a bit dirty and full of alcoholic old men. The food is cheap and so is the beer. There's a reason for this. Generally, the food's bad, but just about edible if you use enough ketchup and mayonnaise. The beer is okay, most of the time, although they don't clean out the pipes very often, so sometimes you'll get a pint and it'll be undrinkable. There is the underlying threat of violence here on a Friday or Saturday night.
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excellent pub, fantastic athmosphere, the staff are exceptionally friendly and drinks are very cheap. Also the food is very nice, cheap and served excedingly quickly
ComaWaggis - 27 Jun 2004 21:01 |
what a pub. didnt realise how cheap the spirits were and what a friendly atmosphere this is the place to be bit of the beaten track but well worth crossing the road for 9/10 for me
david - 7 May 2004 16:44 |
Opposite the City Museum and Art Gallery this is a large standard Wetherspoon covered in dreary yellow paint
lout_from_the_lane - 14 Apr 2004 09:48 |
