Battle Axes, Wraxallback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Impressively restored by Flatcappers, this pub's clearly concentrating on its food offering. The company talks a good game, but more attention to the beer wouldn't go amiss - a recent Saturday lunchtime saw only the humdrum Wickwar-brewed house beer on, and over the course of several visits the ale quality has yet to rise above the ordinary.
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Amazing! Visited on a Sunday after a heavy Saturday night. Fantastic staff (especially the girl behind the bar with the red coloured hair) who couldn't do enough for us - walked us all the way through the enormous pub to show us to the garden. Food was superb, large selection of well kept beers. We sat outside (to enable smoking of fags whilst reading the Sunday Times) and the waitresses came out four or five times to take our order, deliver the (excellent) food, see if everything was ok and then if we needed any more drinks! I was considering proposing to one of them at one point. Busy inside but every member of staff was smiling and helpful. Cannot recommend highly enough. Flatcappers - please renovate a pub near me!
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Fair play, great to see this pub reopened and the significant investment in creating a loungey bar type restaurant set up.
Visited 5/11/10, 5 real ales on including Otter, Dark Hare and their own Flatcappers ale. Ale tasted good and drinks prices reasonable.
Most patrons were eating, and food coming out looked good. Tapas type stuff on the menu (3 dishes for �8.95), and lots of traditional fayre for around about a tenner a dish.
Left feeling unwelcome - bar man who was on 5/11/10 did not extend a welcome and said the bare minimum needed to serve on both visits to the bar. Overheard another party who had been dining who were unhappy about the way they were spoken to by waiting staff after they moved from the restaurant to relax in the bar with coffee.
Very disappointing that on this visit experience was that what is on the face of it is a slick set up for a country pub is let down by poor service that misses the basics of hospitality. I recommend the licensee does some mystery shopping of their pub to improve their delivery.
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It�s great to see this historic old pub being given a new lease of life and re-opening. Years ago it was renowned for it�s Sunday carvery, but since then has been on a long, slow decline. It was �rescued� a couple of years ago by an Indian couple who also ran a supermarket in Totterdown. Unfortunately it would seem that their business expertise didn�t extend to running country pubs, and the inexorable decline continued, followed by it�s inevitable closure. It�s now been bought by the guys behind the Lounge chain, plus the Castle at Bradford-on-Avon and another one that I haven�t visited in Frome.
It�s a big old pub, mostly open plan but with several different areas. The main bar area is a good size and extends around the L-shape bar. There�s dark wooden strip flooring, with a few areas of a natural slate type tile. It�s been painted in the (inevitable) gastro-pub green, and there�s plenty of mirrors and old photographs on the walls. Most of the seating is chunky tables and chairs giving a sort of farmhouse kitchen feel to the place, but there�s also a few comfy sofa�s dotted around as well and a selection of board games. The lighting could either be described as atmospheric or dark, depending on your point of view. With no ceiling lights, the only illumination was from a few wall lights and the church candles on each table. Whilst this created a pleasant effect, I saw at least two punters who had to go and stand in the doorway to read their menu!
There�s also a separate bar up a few steps which seems to be more geared up for eating. This has it�s own bar area, although this did not appear to be open on our visit. The menu itself is a decent mixture of main courses, sandwiches, tapas and breakfasts (they are open from 10:00). If you�re familiar with the Lounge bars, you�re certainly recognise the tapas menu. On the whole we thought that although the food was pleasant enough, although nothing special. My Chicken & Ham pie could have been a slightly more generous portion, and Mrs. Blackthorn�s curry could have been a little tastier. At around �9 each, we felt it perhaps a tad expensive for what we got, but not enough to put us off returning and trying something else.
Besides the food from the menu there were a few snacks behind the bar such as picked eggs, onions, gherkins and shallots. Even piccalilli. I�m used to the concept of pickled eggs in a pub as you just pop it in your packet of crisps, but what are you supposed to do with piccalilli? There were also a couple of sponges on the bar, and even packets of home made fudge! Future plans apparently include re-opening the downstairs bar, which will be solely for drinking (i.e.; no food served) and developing B&B accommodation upstairs.
Unusual choice of beers on offer, namely their own Flatcapper�s Ale, Barbury Castle, Bristol Beer Factory�s Acer, Cheddar�s Bitter Bully and Yeovil�s Star Gazer. Ciders were Stowford Press and Orchard Pig.
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Now closed for refurbishment by CAMRA award-winning Bristol based Pub Co Flatcappers. Set to re-open July/Aug '10.
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visited a few weeks ago friend in tow. They were doing a carvery for a �5 but, this was for only one of ther 3 meats on offer add �1 for each subsequent meat.Well cooked and tasty,but you can't get away from the large imposing building in need of major refit/repairs. we were the only customers the hour wwe spent in there from just after noon. only one real ale on and, not best kept.
Pub not really one to shout about, so no need to break yoiur neck getting there.
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really a restaurant
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