The comment from Hodge1 dated 16 Sep 2008 is misleading as he is obviously referring to the nearby Raven and not the Salamander. A body was found in the gents a couple of days ago (apparently surrounded by syringes).

Apart from that I like the place. I used this pub for years when it was Hatchetts and a Miners Arms Brewery Pub (remember them?), its new incarnation as the Raven seems to have bedded in nicely now and the beers are always ok. Just a shame the superb jukebox disappeared in the refurb.

Worth the trek or bus ride from the city centre and a useful stopping off point on the way tyo or from the football ground. An excellent choice of ales along with real cider and perry. Yes it's a bit plain, especially from the outside, but I can't say that bothers me. The pub seems to work well as it is so, if it ain't broke, don't mend it.Best pub in Bath (if you like good quality beer). CAMRA pub of the Year 2007 & 2008. However if toilet decor is more important to you than beer choice & quality then you probably should try somewhere else. Royal Oak folk and Beer festival 2008 - FANTASTIC! This pub gets better and better. An amazing choice of beers and great music of all varieties. You've missed it for this year so make a date for next year. Of course, they have other beer festivals too - I'm looking forward to the winter beerfest.

One of the better Bath pubs, Good beer, cosy atmosphere, tho sometimes cramped. No facilities for smokers.lovely pub with a jovial landlord..if your of the rotunda figure you will be pushed to move in here...always a busy local with lovely cider and cracking beers on...small room at the back and one at the front but can be a tight squeeze at the bar were all the locals congregate..defo worth a visit in this fine old citypretty fine traditional city drinking establishment.
usually good condition ales and a good selection.
........food is fairly good if you're patient enough to wait for it during busy periods.
much better sit in here than lugging the shopping around town for the wife.

Great pub. Good beer selection, authentic and atmospheric interior. Can get crowded (smallish rooms) but friendly atmosphere. Recommended.Extremely interesting building both internally and externally. The other halfs favourite in Bath. friendly locals and excellent beer. Don't miss this one if you are in the city it is well worth the walk up the hillnow this is a star in bath...weird how the barrells are moved behind the bar...nice to watch em being moved..real ales are kept beautifully and staff are friendly and endorse conversation..well worth the long haul up the hill..always make sure this pub is first to visit on a pub crawl at the start of the evening..its all downhill from there!!unspoilt pub.

Excellent beer selection, a nice friendly pub. Well recommended.Excellent range of ales and friendly service. Good mix of clientele. Will linger for longer another time.Don’t remember a great deal about this pub as we were coming towards the end of a Bath crawl in the New Year. I do however recall friendly service, a good range of beers being on offer and having an excellent pint of the 6% Stark Raven Xmas from the Blindmans Brewery (I think).

Great little boozer. Good beer, friendly. A couple of tables outside for smokers. recommeded.Possibly the smallest of Bath’s small pubs but we still managed to get a seat when popping in at the end of a Bath crawl recently. That’s the beauty of small pubs, people tend not to get precious about “their space” and will always make room for others. Purportedly the only pub in England with this name.
nice little boozer with good beer. Rather similar to the Volunteer Rifleman round the corner.

Excellent local, great choice of beer, nice garden,
live music - what more could you want.worth a visit after the star..very busy communal local..always feel at home here and nice real cider..some crackin live bands in a place were ya can see them..good atmosphere in this pub..beers always good and a good selection to boot too.Just around the corner from the Star Inn on Walcot St is The Bell, an old looking pub both inside and out with loads of character. It manages to combine the old with the modern quite well as they have internet access plus WiFi availability. The pub is well know for it’s live music, predominantly Jazz, which features two or three times a week. They have a large range of real ales, specialising in those from local brewers, and service is efficient and friendly. Worth a visit.

One of my favourites, good beer selection, generally efficient staff, great garden. Quite often watch sport there - they have a tv which you can watch from outside, a godsend to smokers.
On a negative note - at Christmas a mate got served a pint of flat lager, Could there be anything worse (ok, warm lager). When he asked for an exchange he was told to lump it - surely a cardinal sin in the pub trade.Will not be visiting again. Ordered pint of local 5.0 ABV ale. Ale was cloudy with vinegar taste/smell, clearly off. I advised ale was off or the lines needed cleaning. I was curtly told that if I didn't like it I should order another ale, at my cost. Awful attitude towards a discerning drinker, and the ale is even worse. Avoid!Strange building this, seems to be two properties, one in Broad St and one in Saracen St, that have been joined and converted into a two tier L shaped pub. The real ale offering was good by way of both choice and condition with many local Abbey Ales available. The place has a young, friendly vibe, a bit like an It’s A Scream pub without the students. There are some rather dangerous looking agricultural instruments adorning the walls that make you hope they are firmly affixed in case the local lads get feisty on a Saturday night.

If you drink Guiness and the other Euro piss then it is expensive! But I think it's £2.60 or £2.70 for a pint of Abbey Ales Bellringer whicj is why I think it's a great pub! And they show football on Sky!As other's have mentioned, this is one of the most expensive pubs in Bath. It is pleasant with a reasonable pint of Guinness, tho not much choice of beer.Ok it's a bit on the pricey side but it's the best Irish theme bar I've been in. And when the telly's off you can always watch the fish.

Been going here for Sunday lunch quite a while now and its nomally pretty good, but we will not be returning after last week. We were fobbed off with meat that was thin, tough and obviously not freshly cooked, and instead of the usual giant yorkshire pudding we appeared to have the remnants of one split between three of us. The fact was clearly not lost on the waitress who, after serving it, promptly vanished never to be seen again. If the kitchen had run out of something, they should have said so; I do not expect leftovers at that price.
the pool competition has now ended on friday (the bar is too busy)I have recently stumbled across this little gem in the outskirts of bath.
Sunday roasts for about 8 quid (i believe food is served all week lunchtimes and evenings too)
good value for money, will be back again.

An alternative to the Christopher for sports, with TVs everywhere. Downside - it can take an age to get served. The beer is ok. If in the area for a drink I'd probably use the Pig instead.Has just changed to "over 21s only". Used to use this pub constantly for student socials but obviously thats not possible any more as many of our members are 18-20. Food and drink both good.Since the old manager has left this pub has gone down hill severly, the new manager is hardly ever seen and the staff are exeptionaly rude offering no help. I went in for food the other last weekend and on a busy saturday they had stopped servring food, after running out of all steaks and chips, not for the first time either. I have often seen the manager abusing staff and have wallked past on ocasion after they are shut and have seen people smoking inside the pub which i find absolutly apauling.

Expensive at £3.20 for a pint of Guiness and £2.90 for the guest ales. Go to Wetherspoons across the road!Perfectly acceptable boozer that serves a decent pint.
That said, I generally go elsewhere.Just won South West Community pub of the Year... Worth a good mark for that surely!

Compared to some JDW this place has no character.
On the plus side, good selection of beer, reasonable prices, great toilets, which is very rare in a pub. Ambience can be poor, not just the aircraft hanger room, but some of the clientele attracted by cheap booze. OK for a swiftie, but I wouldn't hang around.Since my post of July 2007, I would add that the service has improved considerably. Sadly, the real ale quality can still be a bit iffy on occasions, but credit where it is due, during the recent International Beer Festival the beer was very well served.Was down in Bath for the weekend and as it was a surprise weekend arranged by the wife and she did not tell me where we were going, was unable to utilise beerinthe evening to research decent watering holes before coming down. Popped into this Wetherspoons as it was one of the first pubs we came across from the direction of our Hotel.
The beer was OK , but also have to say not one of the best JDW's I've been in and it's design and location gave it a strange ambiance that I could not put my finger on at the time and a feeling that I had been in a JDW that had been very similar in feeling.
Now on reading the reports below , Haggisbasher has put it in place for me, as that will be the same ambiance as the one at Heathrow airport then...

Good range of beers - Butcombe, 6X, London Pride. Large roaring fire and not too pricey. Probably the least impressive beer on my Bath pub crawl but thats a relative thing as all the other pubs were well above average so maybe I'm being a little harsh. Nice welcoming pub and enjoyed my lunchtime snack and as with all the other pubs heartily recommended.Friendly pub and well kept beer. The landlord Ash is one of Bath's most cheerful landlords despite neighbours from hell who made trouble over his opening hours. Recommended.

Best pub for rugby in Bath. Great Sunday lunches and evening meals. Do a breakfast on rugby match days. Live music on Sundays. Skittle alley and a boules league in the summer. Nice quiet garden out the back. And really lovely polite staff and landlord.Changed beyond recognition since Simon (ex Ram) took over, fantastic atmosphere during the world cup. Nice range of well kept beers and great value food. Well worth a visit.Now run by the chap who used to have the Ram at Widcombe, this formerly grotty dive has been turned around, cleaned up and generally improved beyond measure. Haven't tried the food yet - it looks excellent - but the beer is well kept. Let's hope the landlord can persuade the pubco to let him stock guest beers. If they do, it might come down to the awful decision - which Royal Oak do we go to tonight -Widcombe or Twerton? At the moment the ten handpumps at Twerton are still proving irresistible.