please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Nice enough If a bit rough round the edges, also a music venue. The stage doubles a s a place where people sit at tables when no band is on. Am surprised with the current 'claim culture' no one has fallen off and sued them. Ale was good and pub is only a short stroll from town and close to the Pulteney bridge.
anonymous - 25 Oct 2015 12:36 |
Always a venue for a pint or two when on my - sadly rare - trips to Bath. Love the atmosphere, the music and the beer and cider. It won the CAMRA local POTY last year.
If I'd have seen a returning Farage, I would have had no second thoughts about losing my pint in that smug face....
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This pub has been made famous by a visit last spring by Nigel Farage. It is here where the "Farage Wave" was born. If I see you Gary, the beer's on me!
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This place was bought my regulars past and present when the previous Landlord decided to sell up. A hugely successful fundraising effort followed and the community manage to raise the funds and buy the place. I am pleased that I was able to contribute along with several celebs who also got their wallets out. Including Robert Plant from the mighty Led Zep! It is now a community owned pub and we all have a say in the future.
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I was told the long term landlord has sold up, but it's been 'saved' by hundreds of customers who bought the freehold. A figure of nearly £1m was mentioned, that's Bath for you. There is scaffolding up so looks like it's getting a spruce up, probably not before time! Good choice of ales, some laid back drinkers and lots of music on offer but I still prefer some of the city's smaller venues.
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Lovely little (big) pub, some fantastic ales, some interesting locals, and some slightly snotty staff (2nd round came in at 30p cheaper than first one, once the barman seemed to be reassured that my son and i weren't a couple of football hoolies).
I had tasty pints of Bellringer and Pitchfork at £3.20 a pop, which is good enough, there were about 5 others on pump I think. Beer garden was very pleasant, nice chatter and people having a good afternoon. And there was bar billiards inside!!! Didn't play as we were a bit wobbly after walking and so on, but I thought this was a cracking find.
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The last pub of a long day on the lash in Bath with this being pub number 8.
I was on a massive high having just left the Star.
Live music was on the menu and the band playing were very good, funk jazz which got the packed pub jigging along
A selection of ales but to be honest I cannot remember how many or what I had but it was a very decent pint!
From here it was a cab back to the hotel after a long day's drinking in Bath.
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Potentially a nice pub, ruined by the "bohemian" regulars and lazy staff.
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A spacious pub with a bohemian vibe and several good beers. What spoilt it for me was the loud music; had it been live, this might have been good entertainment, but for trying to hold a conversation it was a dampener.
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First visit here in a while for me last tuesday. There was a cider festival taking place but I had a pint of Abbey Ales Bellringer (�3.20) which I drank in the beer garden as the weather was rather pleasant. The pub was quiet when I visited and service was excellant (think it was the manager that served me). Well worth the short walk from the city centre along Walcot Street.
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I thought this was a wonderful pub. Great beer, and a terrific music selection - dub reggae, PiL, sixties classics and a couple of songs by Graham Parker I'd forgotten entirely. Good service too. As others have said, Bath isn't short of good pubs, but I think this is the best.
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Really good pub with excellent beer and interesting music. I've been a few times in the afternoon and it is usually pretty quiet. Unusual layout. One of the better pubs in Bath, which isn't short of good ones!
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Scruffy and frayed around the edges, great beer, miserable serving wench needs to learn to smile.
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Very unfortunate that the wife works nearby and I often have 30mins to kill before she finises work .. top pub, great beer! One of Bath's best..
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Visited on a recent weekday lunchtime, whilst celebrating my birthday. Several interesting brews, charming lass behind bar, couple of pints quaffed, both in first rate condition - damned good boozer!
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Still as quirky, great beer, great characters and some great music played here too.
I still remember most fondly a visit last summer on a balmy dinnertime when a record deck was placed on the bar and plugged in, an LP placed on the turntable and the wonderful sounds of "Almost Cut My hair" by CSN&Y flowing through the speakers. You just don't EVER get that in today's plastic pubs and JDW's. Sublime! :-)
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A proper pub with a Bohemian crowd. Nice and lively on a Friday night. Friendly staff and a great range of beers.
Yes it is scruffy round the edges but that is part of its appeal.
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Had a great evening here after the match...good ale great atmosphere!
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Again one of Baths stalwart real ale pubs the Bell has been unchanged for many years (I've been popping in occasionally for 20 years and only the ash trays have disappeared!). Always a good selection of ales, yesterday the Moor Brewery Dark ale was superb, as was the Bunces. An essential on the Bath pub crawl.
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A pleasant and surprisingly spacious pub. It�s a little scruffy around the edges, but that just adds to the atmosphere. I particularly liked all the bunches of hops hanging from every rafter. Music seems to be a big thing here with bands on three nights a week, and a large DJ console, although this was not in use on our visit.
There�s a small and cosy bar area up near the bar, with a real fire (real flames that is, it was gas, but still creates a pleasant ambience and gave off a good bit of warmth). The pub then stretches down someway, and beyond this is a good sized courtyard garden with a couple of table football games in an outbuilding. You get a few characters in here by the looks of things, but they all seemed pleasant enough and the place had a good vibe.
They do a range of local organic sandwiches apparently, although we didn�t eat on this occasion. There was a friendly dog curled up by the fire, who looked very much at home, so we initially concluded it was the pub dog. He subsequently left with a punter though, but it�s obviously a regular spot for him.
Good choice of beers on tap all chalked up on a board above the bar � Otter Ale, Summer Lightning, Old Buzzard, Bellringer, Pitchfork, Durdle Door, Jem, Butcombe and Danish Dynamite. Similarly good choice of ciders with Ashton Press, Stowford Press and Bath Cyder�s Rough Diamond.
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First stop of the evening (or maybe late afternoon). Ordered a round of much needed sandwiches and was impressed by the excellent choice of beers. Locals a little entertaining, or maybe we were still getting accustomed to the local culture! Need to be careful I would imagine after a few pints as the stepped floor could be a challenge
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An excellent drinkers Pub with a wide range of West Country ales from RCH, Bath, Butcombe, Sharps and Stonehenge amongst others. Visited at Lunchtime, and services was fine. Exactly what a great Pub should be like.
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Scruffy but likeable pub with a good choice of beer. Had no problems with service(see below). Always features on a Bath crawl. Highly recommended.
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In there yesterday before the rugby. I still thinks it's a great pub with a great tatty bohemian atmosphere, but the staff quibbles are STILL relevant. Obviously, it was impolite of me to want to interrupt the two barstaff in their busy lives, as one was having a lovely conversation with her friend who was sitting at the bar, and the other was oooohh, I don't know, mentally wrestling with the fine-tuning of a unifying philosophical theory or something. I'm sure it wsn't JUST gazing into space avoiding making eye contact with customers. I do note the comments made by at least two other reviewers that some of the staff may have qualifications in applied psychopharmacology. This would be consistent with my findings.
So, a great pub, but if it could just stoop so low as to consider such breadhead concepts as customer service, it would be even better.
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Pub No.7 on our crawl of Bath. It doesn't look much from the outside but when inside there's a large bar area serving 8 real ales and a large courtyard out the back. One of the ales was Stonehenge - Sign of Spring which is a 'green' beer. No, not carbon friendly but brewed with Spinnach. It tastes like a normal beer but looks strange. We also tried Weymouth - Durdle Door & Great Western - Edwin Ruby Porter.
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Just love The Bell! Can't say I've experienced some of the staff problems etc reported here but then I only have ever visited on a dinner time so maybe that's why but from personal experience if members like an_ecunemical_matter say there's a problem then there most *defiantly is* I'd wager.
Can only comment on my numerous visits though and have always found the beer range great, quality great and some right characters to be met in surely what must be, well for me, Bath's finest pub.
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A true drinkers paradise with a wide range of beers and ciders on tap, and a buzzing atmosphere on the Saturday evening we visited.
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First of all had none of the problems with the Bar staff , previously encountered who were friendly , chatty efficient two barmaids , broader social subject , anyone else noticed pubs more bereft of female Bar staff these days . any ways back to the pub .choice of 9 real ales bellringer , pitchfork , sharps Atlantic IPA , Five valleys stroud valley Beer, danish dynamite ,summer lightning , butcombe , otter ale , and Gem . The pub is also a music venue , and I loved the wonderful jazz background music. don't let the exterior of the pub , which it nearly did for me ,put you off . This is a great pub with its wonderful low lighting inside. 9.9999. /10
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Reasonable Bellringer ale but all the points particularly about staff and their attitudes made in previous reviews are not far off the mark.
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I have been visiting The Bell for many years now; it serves a good selection of ales and other drinks. The regular live music, open fire and garden are all great and the atmosphere is cosy and laid back. I have had many a good night there over the years. The ONLY downside is the attitude of some of the bar staff. Some of the younger staff members are almost consistently rude, arrogant, and inept and slow, even at quiet times. There is almost never a smile; in fact you are luckily if one word is uttered in your direction for the entire transaction. Any attempt to communicate on your part may well result in blank stares, awkward silences and possibly contempt. There is an attitude that they will serve you in their own sweet time, usually after they have poured themselves a drink and had a bit of a gossip with their fellow bar staff. One time I had my change literally thrown at me by a member of staff, seemingly for the heinous crime of daring to, very politely, order a drink. It's a real shame that The Bell can't sort this out because other than that it is a really great pub. My pals and I continue to frequent the place, regardless of the staff, who I refuse to let stand in the way of a good time in a good pub, although they've given it a bloody good try bless 'em!
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Excellent atmosphere and character, good range of beers but as ever, the great Bell mystery; why does it always take so long to get served when there are always so many staff behind the bar?
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Very large one roomed pub that majors on being a music venue, mainly jazz. It looks a bit run down from the outside and nothing much changes inside. It looks a little neglected rather dirty. There�s a bit of effort going on with hop vines on the ceiling and flowers on each of the tables, which means that the place smells pleasant. There�s a bar billiards table to the rear which unusual these days. 8 handpumps on the bar with the beer being as listed below along with the odd changing guest. I had a pint of the Stonehenge Eye-Opener which was on instead of the Danish Dynamite. It was OK but not quite as good as I had expected for a GBG regular. Not a must visit pub but if you�re going to the nearby Star then call in for one.
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This is a large single room pub a few minutes walk from the centre of town. There is a slightly run down feel to the place which some people might call 'bohemian' but I would call neglect.
Eight pumps, serving Abbey Bellringer, RCH Pitchfork, Butcombe Blonde, Stonehenge Danish Dynamite, Bath Gem, Summer Lightning and Otter Ale. I tried the Bellringer and the Butcombe Blonde, both of which were well kept.
There is a large beer garden at the rear.
Echoing earlier comments, there is a noticeable difference in the way the staff treat the regulars and newcomers which the owner needs to address. The girl who served me was bordering on rude.
Good beer, but not a pub I will bother with again.
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The Bell will always be one of the best bars in Bath for me. Fantastic music and a massive range of drinks. Winter or summer, its the place to go. I have to agree with the other comments though in terms of the staff. There pretty bad. You can wait ages to be served because there busy talking to their mates or just cant be bothered. Its very disappointing for such a lovely pub.
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On my visit it was quite quiet, just a few stragglers at the bar, it had a run down feel but nothing bad about that, it seemed to be how they wanted it to be, a little old hippy with a bit of hoppy too. The beer was borderline, but I may have chosen a bad day. I�d go back. No problems with service though.
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Visited Bath a couple of weeks ago after 8 months away and the Bell was closed - well it was 11.30am! Never made it back down Walcot Street and now I'm back up north. I wanted to see if the service had improved!
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My favourite pub in Bath.
Yeah,the staff are a bit slow,and it is the main gripe of an otherwise good pub.
Here is a pub that strives to keep an individual character and keeps its beer really well.
A bohemian atmosphere and half-decent beer garden.A destination for students a hippy-types with bread t spend.I lived in Bath between 94 and 01 and go back bi-annually every year since.
Try the guest ales or plump for a nice pint of Bath Gem.Beware though,they're not all nice!!
My no.1 destination for a pint when I return to Bath.
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If the Bell is going to keep the good reputation it has earned and hitherto deserved, it really is going to have do something about the staff. Most of them are SOOOooo slow unless you happen to be a friend, and now they seem to be very reluctant to change barrels at busy times despite the fact that there are enough of them there to more than cover one person changing a barrel. Two Sundays now, the real ales have been going down fast, and today, by the time the band had finished, about all that was left was a very strong beer. The bands are still great, the beer, when it's on, is well kept - but.... A general kick up the backside is urgently required to keep this otherwise excellent pub on track.
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Strange how everyone who goes there has the same experience. I've been going there since 2000 and it's always been the same poor service. I went there once and a man came in with 2 boys (about 12 years old). He bought himself a pint of lager and 2 halves of lager for the 2 boys. I mentioned to the bar maid that the boys were no older than 12 and she just gave that blank facial expression that all of the staff there do! I warned her that I might report the pub to the local council licencing department and she just stared right through me!
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Great unpretentious pub with a good selection of well kept expensive ales. I�ve made many enjoyable visits there however during a recent visit with friends we encountered a serving wench who seemed to be having the mother of all �bad hair days�. The effort of doing what she was actually being paid to do, i.e. serving a round of drinks etc brought deep yawns and sarcastic comments. Complaining to the head glass collecting boy who appeared to be passing himself off as some sort of �manager� about the slovenly manner of the staff caused him much amusement which only served to get everyone�s back up. In the true tradition of customer service we were informed that our presence was no longer welcome and a ban was handed down.
Don�t let that put you off making a visit, you can have a good time there, unless your served by the barmaid from hell with attitude.
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Fantastic pub, couldn't praise it highly enough.
Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, cool music.
We did a Bath pub crawl (just one drink in about 7 pubs) and this was the best.
Although others were brilliant too.
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I think Mattbeer you will find that the bar staff and the punters are spaced out....used to be better than it is now, still got the interesting guest ales in a downmarket tatty atmasphere but the prices are more suited to a London upmarket pub.
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Excellent local, great choice of beer, nice garden,
live music - what more could you want.
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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.
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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.
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Very welcoming pub, with loads of different beers - all in good nick.
Lovely outside in the beer garden, enjoyed it more than once over the weekend stay.
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A fantastic pub. Great atmosphere - thankfully it's rather different to most of the other great pubs of Bath and thus a useful counterpoint; wonderful selection of ales always served in tiptop condition. Indeed, along with the Star and the Salamander, it's the only pub in Bath which consistently sells nothing other than perfectly kept beer. The Raven and the Royal Oak in their current incarnations are too new to pass judgement on.
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A range of real ales despite which it has an alternative feel and young / indie customers. Counter-culture stuff. Music downstairs.
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This is a great place to relax with a very cosmopolitan clientel. Get there on Sunday lunch early for a seat and listen to the music. the atmosphere's wonderful espcially if you're a people watcher. (i'm not)8 to 80 it's great
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The Bell is something of an antidote to Bath's more middle-upper class well-heeled pubs, being populated predominantly by students (both sides of the bar), and other slightly hippyish types seemingly attired by local charity shops. However, this is not an affectation; I find the Bell to be entirely genuine and thoroughly honest in its approach, which throws everything but the kitchen sink in to create a well-worn yet cosy environment. It is full to the brim with artefacts and memorabilia, and whilst clean enough, it has a certain patina to it which adds to the experience. It can get very busy and the garden is a useful overflow at peak times.
The ales are both wide-ranging and well-kept, with an accent on South-West microbreweries. I have never had a poor pint in here - although on my last visit it took some 10 minutes or so to procure one! Sort the service out guys!
Food is interesting too and good for filling you up between meals, maybe in one of Bath's innumerable good restaurants nearby.
This has a similar vibe to the Pig & Fiddle, but is I think just that bit more down-to-earth. Yet another one of Bath's top-heavy roster of excellent alehouses.
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Poor beer? Shurely shome mishtake.
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A welcome change from the snootiness of some Bath pubs and bars, the Bell has an unpretentious worn-behind-the-ears feel and attracts a bohemian crowd. There are up to 10 real ales on offer at any time. This is a drinking pub, eat somewhere else before you come.
Get a table outdoors on a hot Saturday night and enjoy this fantastic pub.
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Very rude staff, poor beer, better places than this in Bath.
Don't bother.
anonymous - 17 Aug 2006 12:16 |
I like the Bell on Sundays mostly but definitely my favourite in Bath. I get there two or three times a year and always visit. Very free and easy and nice when it's hot. Or cold.
anonymous - 7 Aug 2006 11:05 |
Could be my favourite pub- ever! Come on a summer night when they have a band on and the courtyard open AND random open mike people playing in the annex behind and then get happy-drunk, will be one of the best nights of your life (ok no guarentees, but if it isnt youre a miserable sod!).
Any local ale you can ask for plus about 20 different bottles (Cherry Beer & westons organic AND Westons superstrong organic- green lables!). Veggie food- ask for pork scratchings to wind them up :)
Ask for the 8% bottle of beer. Its potent. Saw it advertised on their 'World Beer Guide' poster, seem to recollect that it changed name between me ordering it and drinking it, but at that percentage who's to know?!?!?
10/10
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Excellent pub, great beer, good music. Can be very, very busy when a band's on, but that's why you go there. Oh, and it has a stage suitable for rapper dancing.
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Awesome!! Call in if you're ever in Bath
anonymous - 26 Jun 2006 23:59 |
I bowled in just in time for a live music session featuring a Latin jazz band, which seemed very popular and was great fun. The place was absolutely heaving on a Wednesday night, but the beer was in excellent shape and the service fast and efficient under considerable pressure.
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Girt lush! Wide range of beers, good mix of people and good vibe
anonymous - 17 Apr 2006 23:24 |
Top public house. Great relaxed atmosphere - no suits etc. good ale and friendly staff. Probably not to everyones taste (mock bohemiam types) but if you like summer lightning then this place is a must.
Moth
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Fantastic
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A little too 'earthy'. Barstaff were a bit rude,I had a suit on, so ok I looked a little out of place, but I do deserve a little civility.
The beer I had(Summer Lightning)was well kept though, and there seemed to be a good range.
Recommended-but dress down to not get stared at!
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Can be slow service at peak times but well worth waiting for!
anonymous - 3 Jan 2006 22:13 |
One of the best pubs in Bath - No young idiots wearing salmon pink polo shirts in here.. Big Music pub.
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This is a truly excellent pub, with a great atmosphere, eclectic range of customers, frequent live music, beer garden, and a large range of real ales - including some interesting guests. Try it.
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Unremarkable inside. Tolerable staff - was dead when I was in there so didn't mind the Red Hot Chili Peppers blaring on the sound system. Nothing special wonder if was more geared to a younger crowd.
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Lots of good beers
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A quality pub, good beer and bar billiards, what mor could you ask for. Does tend to have loud music on sunday afternoon and gets full of crusties
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Great little pub, and i'd recommend having a go at the 'bar billiards'-great evening out and plenty of ales
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The BEST in Bath - make sure you go there!
anonymous - 8 Apr 2005 11:53 |
a pub i definitely visit on my trips to bath
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One of the best drinking pubs in Bath. Baths best live music pub. Interesting clientelle.
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Definetely the pub with the most integrity in Bath
Sigurd Nielsen - 22 Sep 2004 19:07 |
Marvellous pub, very "organic"
Nice beer, excellent atmosphere.
TheGP - 21 Sep 2004 13:40 |
Excellent range of beers but without the beards. (Unless you include what American's call 'soul patches'). Slightly hippified, pretty eccentric, loud, often packed but great fun.
anonymous - 20 Aug 2004 12:38 |
Good for a decent pint late afternoon
Tony - 4 Aug 2004 15:07 |
fantastic
charlotte - 30 Jun 2004 03:35 |
Very good range of real ales, table football, bar billiards, live music and studentish people. Bar staff are very good, highlight is sitting in the courtyard lazing on a sunny afternoon
KES boy - 17 May 2004 17:06 |
Been going there over 14 years since my (ahem) school days - good relaxed atmosphere. Good range of beers and amazing mixture of people from public school types to 'alternative' types and not over-run with tourists. Make sure you go there if you're ever in Bath!
Simon - 10 Mar 2004 12:47 |
Good range of real ales. Slightly odd atmosphere because of the different mix of people. One of the few places in Bath where you can play bar billards.
Mark - 3 Mar 2004 10:30 |
Great laid back vibe, varied and interesting clientele and good range of beers
Pres - 1 Dec 2003 12:56 |
