Hobgoblin, Bristolback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This pub has had a chequered history of late, being closed and boarded up for some months as well as undergoing various name changes over the years. It’s now back to The Hobgoblin though, and seemed a busy and popular spot on a recent Friday evening visit. A large coffee machine on one end of the bar hinted at a different target clientele at other times of the day.
It’s basically a U-shape pub with a couple of extra rooms tagged on to the ends. There are some large windows along the front which makes a good place for people watching on Gloucester Road and to make the most of this there was a row of bar stools in the window as well as a beer barrel to rest your pint on. Being a corner plot, there are also a few more windows along one side. The floor is mostly flagstones with some red tiling off to one side.
A small snug was at the rear and this had pale green and brown wood panelling on the walls, whilst at the other end was a slightly larger room with a mirror surrounded by coloured bulbs and a couple of plasmas on the wall. These were all showing tropical fish swimming around which seemed a bit of a cross between a screen saver and the TV on the ceiling at my dentist which is presumably designed to relax me while he drills in to my teeth. Either way, an odd choice for a pub. There is also apparently a beer garden at the rear, although we did not investigate this.
The menu consisted primarily of sharing platters, sandwiches and burgers. The latter were mostly priced at around the £8 mark, and besides the choices already on the menu, there were a number of extra toppings available which besides the usual options of fried egg, bacon, mushrooms, etc., also included peanut butter which I thought was unusual. Not that I’ve anything against peanut butter, it can be very pleasant in a Thai dish for example, but it would not have occurred to me to spread it on a burger.
Beers on tap were Brains SA, Tribute, Doom Bar, and, of course, Hobgoblin. Ciders were Strongbow, plus both Gold and Traditional from Thatcher’s.
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So after a few odd years the pub is finally back to life. The return of the Hob to gloucester road is long overdue. The food is wicked good, the landlord has an american BBQ smoker and does all his own smoking in house. I mean the food is to die for. the portions are massive and the quality is just amazing concidering a burger and chips is less than £6. The girls behind the bar are all easy on the eye unlike the old staff and they even have a pub dog! oh and fosters is only £2.60 a pint.... they have thatchers gold too my personal tipple. shame the toilets still need an overhaul but you can't have everything.
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Open again.
LukeD - 16 Jan 2012 13:27 |
Closed. Apparently the building is absolutely knackered, as the new owners found out to their cost. Pity. It's in a great location and could make pots of money.
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Well the new owners have actually managed to reduce the quality and range of the ale choice. You used to be able to get a Hobgoblin and London Pride, now you can only get thew ubiquitous and thoroughly bland Doombar. That is when there is not a plastic half glass over the pump signifying that they have run out yet again. This seems to happen more than once a week.
The decor looks terrible from the outside, and frankly it always seems pretty empty to me.
LukeD - 26 Jul 2011 14:41 |
Very tatty when visited back in january, only one ale on (wychwood hobgoblin obv �2.75pint).Hardly any seating,no drip trays behind bar,looked like main till had been removed,all in all it seemed to just being kept afloat, 4/10 shame
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I have been occasionally popping in here for the last five years, as I live locally. The beer is usually fine, although mostly limited to London Pride and Hobgoblin. I like the interior, and the patio / yard garden. I used to play poker here on mondays. Avoid on the weekend if you don't like loud music. I beleive it's under fresh management, but i have not met her yet.
LukeD - 14 Dec 2008 15:23 |
Looks shabby and unfinished. A mixed crowd, including some rather alcoholic-looking folk. Nothing wrong with the beer though.
ed007 - 26 Oct 2008 16:21 |
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