please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Pleasant enough, if erring more towards a food venue. Ale was decent and there is a nice view. Those who aren't keen on the climb can always catch the bus up from town (the 265).
anonymous - 25 Oct 2015 12:24 |
Another dining pub with annoying music. But friendly staff and the pint I had was quite good.
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I was knackered by the time we reached this pub but it was worth it ! Good beer and they did food up to 10pm (try their tapas style snacks - good value and substantial portions). Well furnished in "modern-traditional" (go and see what I mean). Very busy but we didn;t wait long for a beer or food. Nice garden and great views over the town and valley. Shows what can be done to a an old pub if you try!
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Right at the top of Bradford, so quite an uphill climb to get to but so earth the effort.
Beautiful pub and restaurant with staff that know their ales. Fantastic beer garden too.
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I can only echo the comments about steepness of gradients, especially as some of our crowd had managed to go a very long way round to this pub from the bottom of town, thanks to an errant map on a mobile-based Good Beer Guide app! We were always going to have a hill to surmount, but if technology had delivered what it should we'd have been rewarded with beer a lot sooner. Sometimes a paper map and GBG is the better bet folks when in an unfamiliar area.
I'd like to say it was worth the extra effort - by and large, I think it was. The Castle has apparently been refurbished recently to a contemporary but high standard; I'm not sure it entirely fitted the grandiose nature of the late Goergian/early Victorian building, but it certainly conveyed a certain cachet - i.e. middle-class, well-heeled, family-friendly yet still at home to non-eaters. Being a clement evening we opted for outdoor seating in the charming garden, which was a suitable location in which to enjoy some steady cask ales and ciders (I forget the number available but plenty of sound local fare in both camps), with commanding views beyond the high hedging as far as the White Horse (as in Vale). Balloons were scooping overhead which seemed fascinate some of my counterparts, who apparently had never seen one before.
Having spent hardly any time indoors, it is hard to make a judgement as to atmosphere and vibrancy of this pub. I suspect it was restrained, not because of an inherent snobbiness which some might infer from the exterior, but perhaps because it is geared towards larger groups and so is that bit less-conducive to bar-propers or smaller groups? Despite the range of cask product, I somehow can't imagine getting dug in at the Castle for a decent sesh, but maybe I'm misled.
A pub not for all seasons or occasions perhaps, but another string to Bradford's surprisingly-broad bow pub-wise.
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Not for the faint hearted if you're averse to steep hills but worth it when you get there. If you want to avoid lots of squeaky families you might not want to go on Friday evenings, although it does thin out later. The food is good, the service is friendly and there is a good supply of beers, especially the Flatcapper Ale.
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Large range of Beer, I think I had a Mallard which was nice enough. Large beer garden and open early doors too, I was in there at 10 yesterday and they were serving, that gets the thumbs up from me! Nice breakfast. Only down side is its a trek up the hill.
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Top notch pub.
Great beers, very good food and friendly staff.
Couldn't get any better.
Very good range of ales, some I had heard of and some not. I can now walk to the pub as moved to Bradford a few days ago.
Gentlemen watch out when you need to rid yourself of the beer, the step up in the gents is a killer!
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I rated the Castle as my favourite pub of the day in Wiltshire. The interior has been modernised. Although the pub still retains some character. The real strength of the pub is in its ale and cider range. Three Castles Flatcapper Ale & Barbury Castle, Plain Indulgence, Keystone Bedrock Bitter & Glastonbury Hedge Monkey were all on. The real cider was Glasto Festival Strength. Views over Salisbury Plain from the garden were impressive. Most people were choosing to sit outside. It seemed to be popular with a middle-aged crowd, until the place was flooded with schoolgirls presumably breaking up at the end of term.
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Fitted out towards the gastro end of the market but very pleasant, nice buzz and friendly bar staff. Diners and drinkers could mix at the tables but more of a diners pub. Good patio to the side if a little close to the traffic noise and parking a bit tight. Had a nice pint of their own flatcappers ale. Would return for a meal.
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This is a good sized pub at the top of a rather steep hill. Worth the hike though if you�re feeling energetic. There�s a good sized main bar with a black slate tiled floor, a long bar and a real fire (even on a lovely sunny spring afternoon, which was odd!). Also a smaller rear bar that looks to be more geared up for dining, and a good sized beer garden and patio (although there were rather too many noisy toddlers running round for my liking).
Decent food menu that�s a cut above your usual �pub grub� menu, but not some poncy gastropub stuff either. We had a very nice burger with a good wedge of Stilton, and a fish pie. There�s an extensive wine list on a blackboard and the rather unusual beers were Keystone Large One, Flatcapper Ale, Barbury Castle and Yeovil's Posh IPA. The only cider was Stowford Press.
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Why is this flagged as closed? I only went all the way up the hill because it's in the Good Beer Guide and glad I did. Very pleasant pint of Flatcappers Stout (which I assume is Three Castles Porter, but the barmaid didn't know) and a pint of bitter that I couldn't read because of the lack of lighting (my only real grumble!).
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Recently moved to Bradford-on-Avon, and spent our first night in the town in The Castle as our new local.
We'd been here before, and were glad to see that on our second visit the beers, wines, friendly welcome and food were as good as the first time we came here.
I like the separation of the (mainly) dining area from the (mainly) drinking area, as well as the local, well kept, ales available. The food is excellent - although not cheap, definitely good value for money as the quality and freshness is very high.
There was a good buzz to the place without being overcrowded or too loud to have a good conversation. We were made to feel very welcome by Tori and her colleagues, and look forward to heading back regularly in the future.
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The Castle is a great pub and a massive improvement on the former incarnation of this pub. However, recent price increases have put the food above the price which I think is acceptable in a pub (even for food of the quality served). It seems I'm not alone in this, as on our past few visits, it's been much quieter than we've seen it previously. Shame, but I'm sure that they've found it unavoidable.
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Winner of CAMRA's Pub Design Award for Best Refurbishment. Still, annoyingly, shown on this site as being 'Closed' despite numerous emails being sent informing BITE of this.
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Stayed here four nights over three weeks and was very impressed by all of it. The constantly changing selection of local beers were all excellent, the menu was varied and the food all very good. The service was very good and I liked the rustic furniture and the assorted portraits on the wall. The rooms were large and very comfortable. Still very much a pub. Couldn't fault it.
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Excellent pub - great staff, good food, wonderful beer. They seem to have thought of everything. Only drawback is lack of parking. Most definitely open!
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Visited three times in the week we stayed nearby. A bit overrun with children the first time (Mother's day lunchtime) but better on the other occasions. Great range of beers (e.g. Barbury Castle) and good value food.
Atmosphere in the main area is still pub like but more restauranty in the other areas. Seems to have a mostly well-heeled customer base but was welcoming to all. Friendly staff. 8/10.
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THIS PUB IS NOT CLOSED! This is a wonderful pub, serving five or six real ales from local breweries - including Three Castles, Keystone and their own Flatcappers (I think also brewed by Three Castles). The ones we tried were all in perfect nick. The owners and staff friendly and service was good. Toilets best I've seen in a pub, with even a boot splash guard....The decor is tasteful, big open fire and we found it difficult to leave. Faultless. 10/10
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Fantastic Range Of Well Kept Real Ale, Nice Comfy Cosy Interior, Friendly Service, Popped in for a quick pint and stayed for FOUR (All different and beautiful) 9/10
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Lovely accommodation - rooms large, comfortable and well equipped. Host friendly and welcoming. Food very good and not expensive. Highly recommend.
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After what I understand to be vast investment, this is a lovely pub to enter. The food however is overpriced and disappointing. Interesting beers but on one or two occassions I have suffered a poor pint that young bar staff are not to happy to change. Lovely views from garden.
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Now re-open & completely transformed. Best thing to happen in Bradford for years. The varied range of real ales are interesting & local, the food's great & the interior & (amazing) beer garden are fantastic. Love it!
anonymous - 3 Jul 2007 22:22 |
Now copletelty refurbished and open again
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Closed - pending major renovations by new owners
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Grim and grotty
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God bless you 'Parker' you have saved the pub -
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NICE FRIENDLY LOCAL PUB. NICE BEER, BEER GARDEN AND FRIENDLY STAFF. SAME FACES EVERYDAY - VERY LOCAL PUB.
anonymous - 6 Sep 2006 15:25 |
