please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Yes, yes, yes! Undoubtedly one of the best pubs in the country. Was a little busy on Saturday lunchtime so we were allowed into the malthouse room out the back. As well as the interesting contents, the stillness in the room is amazing and seemingly not spoiled by us 4 noisy chaps. Real fire is welcome on cold days.
The only new feature (to me) is that you can buy beer in third pints now. When I ordered 12 thirds of a variety of beers the staff were only too happy to indulge me - in how many other pubs would that be the case. It's a great way to try out the pub's entire range in a lunchtime.
Paris_Hilton will remain disappointed that Caroline says she'll never change to being open in the afternoons. I asked her (Caroline that is) as it would make my infrequent visits to the area more fruitful if she did.
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I'd love to review this pub but when I dropped by at 3pm on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in August, it was closed. Shame, as I've heard may good things about it.
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still the best pub in this land and generously offering pumpclips for a small donation to charity which as im collecting pump clips is useful! try it you will not be disapointed
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A unique experience in this pub, and a good one. Bar staff very friendly and informative and 6 real ales in excellent condition. It is a bit pricey, but certainly well worth the visit.
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Certainly the best pub in Topsham by a mile; everything about it is just fine, except perhaps the opening hours, but if you want tradition, I guess you have to have the whole thing including traditional hours.
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Excellent unchanged traditional pub. Great selection of beers and very well kept, at least the ones we tried. Fantastic snug, small room with an open fire at the end of the corridor screened off from the corridor with a woodon screen. Strange experience of pirates heads popping round the corner when getting served in the corridor. Turns out there was a party going on somewhere else in the pub.
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Absolutely as good as it gets. A pub by which all others should be judged.
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Casa Carolina. A unique pub run by the same friendly family for generations. A special place to drink beer in the lovely old building or the garden overlooking the River Clyst. My son enjoys the crisps as well!
The back room is a wonderful venue for a party.
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worth the bus trip just to visit this splendid unspoilt pub..feels like your in some old dears living room..no bar..all dipensed from the kitchen last time i went and nice pickled eggs
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Best pub in the world. What can I add about the beer?
Wonderful selection, properly kept and lovingly served. I remember Norman (Present landlady´s Dad, now sadly passed on), refusing to sell me a pint because it was ¨not quite right¨ He condemmed a whole new barrel and provided a replacement pint for free.
Mobile phone free. HMQ approved. However you can sometimes find a lager for sale. This will of course be real lager (It does exist). It will be of excellent quality as well.
Even had my wedding reception in the back room!!!!
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A great traditional pub, which unfortunately keeps traditional hours, so check it out before going there for a beer.
Mind you it's worth it. GREAT
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This is the ultimate unspoilt pub. Always good conversation, the locals even talk to you, even if you are a grubby exeter student!. Thankfully no lagers are served, just a real beer menu with tasting notes. The beer is always perfect never too warm, a danger all to present these days!. Styles rarely seen these days such as stouts porters and milds are often availible and served all served with good cheers from a well informed family based staff, always happy to help you with your beer choice. Attracts customers of all walks of life which creates a good talkative atmosphere just like all pubs should have.
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The perfect pub.
Get a flavour here: http://www.cheffers.co.uk/bridge.html
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6-10 real ales straight from the barrel - you can't argue with that - a pub that strives not to change anything.
Cosy infront of the fire in the winter or sitting in the sunshine watching the river in the summer. Fantastic. I've never found another pub to compare with it.
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I couldn't believe what a lovely pub we were visiting while at an event at West Point Showground. So many lovely beers on offer from casks and drinking at a table overlooking the river. We did go in to see the rooms in the pub and were delighted with the lovely rooms. Would love to have this one as my local. Brilliant beers served by friendly staff in a charming pub in a super location. Heaven. We really enjoyed the soup and crusty bread too.
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I just hope that this great pubs entry into the top 40 does bring hoardes of chavs and grockles to its door
anonymous - 27 Aug 2007 20:06 |
Still excellent - and long may it continue to be so.
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This pub is what all pubs should strive for. Well run, great ales and no cheap nasty lager or alco-pops. Perfection
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Everything about this fantastic pub has been previously said in earlier comments. The range and quality of the beer was impressive and strangers talk to each other ( a strange experience if you are used to drinking in South London). Well worth a detour if you are travelling through the West Country and you can stock up with great food at Darts Farm just up the road
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No lager? {snigger} - Nigel & Caroline would laugh at that one I'm sure.
If the only downside is no lager then that is a pub indeed. Draught Brit brewed lager masquerading as an Aussie/French/German brew is not something you will have *ever* found at the Bridge and praise be for that! :-)
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No lager on tap when I went in there last year.
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Definitely one of the finest pubs in Devon. Great beer, great atmosphere, and good garden. Proper 'No Frills' pub which lets its good range of beer do the talking.
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I meant beside the CLYST of course...
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I don't think I have ever visited a more "perfect" pub.
Real ale served by gravity from the cask in a timeless setting by the Exe...
This is one I'll return to again and again.
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The Bridge became one of my top ten perfect pubs after my first visit 30 years ago - thanks James Pettit! It's a series of small rooms and the beer selection is served from the cask in one of them, much as it always has been. No passing fads and fashions here,just solid quality. I believe it's the only pub in the land that's been visited by the Queen.
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A great pub and well worth a visit. It could do with livening up a bit though, pool table, juke box and big screen t.v. for the football.
Don't worry, only kidding. Keep it just like it is for ever please.
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First visit for ages and pleased to find that it is still excellent. Friendly staff - excellent beer.
The pub garden is small and nicely situated by the Clyst river. But beware if visiting with young children - the garden is right by a steep bank into the river and a busy road with drivers who think they're on the Topsham Grand Prix.
The opening times are frustrating for those who favour an afternoon drink... I believe it's open 12 - 2 at lunchtime and 6 - 10:30 in the evening but it's worth giving them a call to check - I always do.
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Can anyone tell me the opening hours for this great looking pub.
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The best pub in England! I have been visiting The Bridge for over 20 years now and apart from the odd lick of paint and an official vist from Her Majesty it has not changed one bit and long may it stay that way too! No mobile phones, no nasty draught lagers and only well prepared fresh local food and the finest of gravity served ales.
Trust me - it does NOT get any better than this anywhere! If you don't love The Bridge after visiting then you haven't got a pulse.
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Absolutely top drawer pub. A must if you are in the area.
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a pub which has never changed one bit, very proud of its heritage aswell. Ale selection is second to none and the lunches are delicious. Best pub in Devon for me.
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Lovely pub as recommended by so many people but the beer was definately not up to scratch. We had a selection of 5 of their ales and each tasted well past it's best before date. Certainly a unique pub and will visit again in the summer when it's busier to try again.
anonymous - 5 Jun 2005 14:58 |
I have been in love with this pub for over 15 years when I first discovered it as a student! Each visit since then has been just as good as the first. At the bottom of the hill out of Topsham, you can't miss it because it's pink! Several separate rooms which are truly snug in winter. No bar, just a serving hatch in the corridor. Unchanged inside for probably a century or more. Good ales and ciders. Has been in the same family for generations. Discovered on my last visit that the landlord is a teetotaller!!! A fabulous place for a quiet and good beer.
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Visited again last weekend and this pub is as good as ever if you like friendly people and quality real ale. For me the pub has improved in that one of the rooms is now non-smoking.
If you're visiting this pub please be aware of the old-wave opening hours - ie it's not open all afternoon.
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excellent beers and charming views make an excellent summers afternoon.
cosy fire sides and total absence of city types make wonderful winter retreat
michelle - 31 Aug 2004 23:19 |
Returned again for a couple of visits last weekend and it's still as good as ever. The beers are excellent and there was some good food available on the Sunday lunchtime. The Malt House bar was open too and that is really special with the comfy chairs and peaceful atmosphere.
Graham - 25 Mar 2004 14:00 |
Popped in for a quick lunch and beer - definitely worth a visit if you like good beer and good food. Will return for longer stay next time.
Graham - 29 Sep 2003 09:23 |
I *like* this pub - the real ales are excellent, with a different choice every visit, and the food is very good also (especially Burt's crisps). It's odd getting served through a doorway, rather than over a bar, but this just adds to the charm. The inside seems to have been unchanged for years, and some of it seems a bit grubby in a smokey, worn-out way, as opposed to a dirty, neglected grubbiness. The roaring open fire in the tiny back room is great for roasting your face on in the winter, while the benches outside by the river are perfect in the summer. And to top it off, the staff couldn't be any friendlier. My only complaint is that the beer is a bit pricey, but I suppose you get what you pay for.
Mark - 26 Sep 2003 23:29 |
Have been visiting this pub every summer for years. Very old fashoined with experienced, welcoming family. Lovely riverside location and the river makes for a tranquil scene. The beer is excellent. The food is more original than many places and the landlady seeks out more interesting food such as the pickles that accompany the home made pasty. Old malt house at the back is rarely opened these days, certainly in the summer, but if enough customers turn up it is a relaxing, old world atmosphere.
Alyson Jones - 2 Sep 2003 11:50 |
A Bright Pink Pub on the river at Topsham. The only pub that was deliberately visited by QE2 (not the ship). Excellent Beers and 1 Cider all gravity dispensed from the cellar. Food - Crisps. Only 1/2 hour out of Exeter by bus or train. Old fashioned hours i.e. lunchtime & evening sessions. Closes at 22:30, so you don't miss the bus back.
Very welcoming it has been in the same family for 106 years and continuing.
Tim - 29 Jul 2003 18:16 |
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