Bristol Channel Pub guide.

[graham]

I see the Scots on another Forum are creating a Scottish Pub and restaraunt guide. Im sure one or two of us may have visited a pub while sailing just once or twice /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gifso we should have enough experience on here to create a Bristol Channel version.

I can kick it off with the Dolphin in Uphill Village Weston S Mare. Its a small friendly pub with good beer.They do food but I havent tried it.The local yachties seem to use it a lot.

The Ship is 2 minutes further up the road ,they do good meals ,staff are friendly etc but it seems to lack the atmosphere of the Dolphin. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif hic

 

[damo]

Come on Lizzy-D, you know all the places /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[tonybarebones]

Heres a little pub rarely visited by yotties... it's the White Hart in James St... it's located about 100 yards up from the Bute St. / James St. junction... a Brains house so you're assured of some real ale, why not give it a try?

 

[LizzyD]

Damo mate,

I can never resist a challenge. OK. Here we go. The drinking gospel according to St Lizzy!

Bristol - The Cottage, Baltic Wharf. Second home to Bev and me when we go to Bristol. They do nice beer and even better food. I can recommend the Steak and Ale Pie. In my last visit (July 2007) it was stunning. Boat just outside so staggering distance from bed!

The Nova Scotia, near Baltic Wharf. Oh my word! Food tip top. Allows dogs (Kaiser gives it the claw's up!) and beer good. Not the place place for nice decor, but so what. Offers good value for money and it's near the boat - usually.

The Pump House, (opposite the Nova Soctia on Baltic Wharf). It's OK I suppose. I think it's a little souless and pretentious. Bev and I went there after they'd had a refurb and the great and the good were invited (that didn't include us obviously). Inside, the decor was very white and clinical. Beer OK, but can't comment on the food as we've not eaten there. We were put off by the Chefs dressed in their whites smoking in the front of the building and none of them looked as though they'd been near a bath for at least a fortnight. Cigarette flavour is not my favourite.

The Waterfront Inn. It's OK, but just that - OK. Didn't eat there. Not a pub to make an impression on us.

The Ostrich. Toilets were grubby. We didn't eat there so we can't comment. Beer OK but it should be a nice pub considering its location and the way it looks inside.

The Mardyke, Hotwells Road. Walkable distance from the floating harbour, if, like me, you moor near to the Cottage for the peace and quiet. Booze is cheap, cheap, cheap. If you want vfm for your drinking exploits, this is the place for you. Locals told us that other pubs nearby can't compete because of the very low beer prices and because it doesn't shut 'til midnight on a mid week night. Of course, the only down side is that people go there to get tanked up cheaply and that means that you shouldn't be surprised to see someone resembling a baglady at the front door as you go in just after tea. I've told my Mum about doing this, but will she listen.......?

The Plume of Feathers, Hotwells Road. Used to be frequented by Irish music enthusiasts who would go there and "jam" once a fortnight. Sadly, last time we were there, it had closed. May be open in 2008 with any luck. An absolute dump of a pub, but people were very friendly and beer OK.

The Orchard Inn, Hanover Place. Just opposite Force 4 chandlery, so once you've popped in for a look and left £100.00 poorer (well, that's what I always do!) you can stroll over the road to the Orchard for a fine selection of ciders. After a few pints, you will be convinced you have become a paraplegic as the industrial strength cider dissolves the marrow from your bones, and leaves you a helpless wreck in the gutter outside. I've been there 20 times now and the strength of their drinks has left me in a pants-distressed state more than once! I thought we Welsh were good drinkers, but the people who drink that cider must have titanium intestines and kidneys the size of pumpkins!

Eating? For me, it has to be "Old India" on St Nicholas Street. Restaurant? - stunning! Food? - first class! Service? - excellent! Slightly (and it is only slightly) more expensive than your usual drink-fuelled racism-centres-of-excellence near to the local Wetherspoons. Well worth the visit and the sort of place that if I was re-visiting, I would consider booking first, because it's worth the effort to be guaranteed a table. The waiters wear blazers. First impressions made an impression.

Joint first for Bristol on the eating stakes was another Indian. "Tikka Flame" on Anchor Square off Canons Road was absolutely fantastic. Again, you don't get the usual lager and sweat addled clientele gagging to hold their bottles of WKD down. You won't find any pineapple-hair-styled, short-skirted young ladies screeching "Wayne! Get here!" to their yellow-fingered, eyebrow-studded, drain-on-the-state, drunken, Giro-spending boyfriends as you wait for your bottle of chilled medium white. A really nice restaurant with first class food and definitely recommended.

So on this gastric journey, we should head down the river to the fair town of Portishead.

Beer venues?

The Albion, Bristol Road. We've never eaten there, but we will give it a go. It looks like a pub-chain place (maybe a Hungry Horse) but the staff and beer was OK. Nice to go to eat I would think. Haven't eaten there, but it's on Bev's wish list.

The Phoenix, Victoria Square. Definitely worth a visit. A real eccentric pub owned by Tony and Monica. You will be impressed by their photos on the pub walls with them and a host of celebs from years ago. They clearly lived a "full" life. The pub is like like going to your mates house and once you're in there, it is a struggle to leave. By the way, Ghandi's is next door but more on that in a moment. Tony (he told me personally) ended up in Portishead on a Borstal Ship anchored opposite the now impressive block of flats viewable from the sea. The pictures of the ship are on the walls in the pub. He then stayed, got bankrupt. Fought back, and made a success of the pub. The tales he could tell. (I love meeting characters like that.)

The Plough, High Street. What a pub! Let's you take dogs in which is a bonus for us. Would I eat there? No chance. Booze is OK and the toilets are as squalid as you'd expect in a pub which is frequented by louts. However, on a mid week day in the rain, I've been glad to shelter there with Bev and Kaiser. It was my first taste of English cider (I know that Strongbow isn't Welsh), but by that I mean a regional cider. I went in there with the attitude that I'd show these English boys how to drink, and after two pints I reverted to the safety of Foster's lager, telling my mates that the cider wasn't strong enough. The truth is, that I was my spinal cord had gone into spasm and I couldn't feel my legs! Score: England 1 - Wales 0.

The White Lion, High Street. It's the first pub you get to if walking from the Marina after Damo has diligently locked you in - or should that be "inn"? The pub doesn't allow dogs but you can sit outside. I have fond memories of sailing to Portishead in my old boat "Bear Cub" with two mates, Chris and Bertie. Bertie sadly died of cancer just before Christmas, but I know he would be laughing if he knew I told you that after a bouncy ride up from Cardiff, closing the boat down, and a brisk walk into the town, we were ready for the first pint of the evening. To enter the pub, you go down two or three steps, and then up one, to get into the bar. Bertie didn't see the last step and whilst stone-cold sober, he made a "Bodie and Doyle"-type entrance into the bar, rolling across the floor like a stuntman with his glasses revolving like they were in a dishwasher. The barmaid couldn't serve us for a full five minutes as the entire pub cracked up in hysterics.

The Royal, Pier Road. This is the one you can see from the sea as you come in "up-channel" and the food is really nice. A quiet little place with plenty of room and nice gardens in the Summer. I noticed that last time I was there, they'd turned the grassed area into a patio so no more grass stains! A good place to go for a day trip up from Cardiff on the flood, returning on the ebb.

Eateries? OK, you're probably noticing a pattern here. But the only place I've eaten at is Ghandi's Tandoori on the High Street. I must admit that when I go sailing, we do have a bit of a bender in the evenings and for me after a few beers, nothing, but nothing will do for supper except curry. However, I can't just have an average curry. Oh no. Smart boy here likes it hot. So more than once I've called at Ghandi's to order a Chicken Phall, pilau rice and two chapattis. Ghandi's Phall is THE hottest curry I have ever, ever eaten. The last time I went to Portishead with Bev, we had a stack to drink followed by a visit to Ghandi's. Chicken Phall for me, and something cream-laden and so sweet you could have it for afters for Bev, and we're into a taxi for food on the boat. As I struggled to eat my Phall, I was forbidden by Bev to ever have it again. My nose ran like an athlete, and I struggled to get my breath. This was a curry of mass destruction and I dreaded rectal contractions that would surely follow when my backside went into labour at some time the following day. Sad to say, I wasn't disappointed and I await a call from the Sphincter Transplant Coordinator at Harefield Hospital any day now.

So, as we go further down channel, it's Weston Super Mare. This was an oft frequented port of call when I used to sail with Chris and Bertie in Bear Cub which was a bilge keeler, so it could take the ground just near to the pier and harbour wall. The only pub I can remember is Scally's Bar on Carlton Street. It looks as rough as a bear's backside, but the people there were really, really friendly. Book - judge - cover etc... etc... On a Sunday, they festooned the bar with nibbles of all descriptions and played proper music too. By that I mean tunes originally written and performed. Not like the aural junk they force upon us by pretty boys murdering a 70's classic (Westlife, take note!).

OK. Going further down channel to Porlock Weir, I have only been to the Anchor by the harbour. We had fish and chips, which with beer and lungs full of sea air, is a very powerful anaesthetic. A few beers, a full tum, and the gentle rocking of the boat at anchor, and I would have slept through any F12!

Watchet next. Whatet is OK, but, there's a few "but"s. Bank holidays? The pub's don't do food, at least the one's I went into didn't. Gutted! It gets worse. The nearest Indian is in Williton - a taxi ride away, and getting a taxi can be a challenge. Still, all of the pubs are clean with great food (if it's not Easter Sunday) and all within staggering distance to the harbour. Despite my apparant criticism of the food thing, I can't really say anything bad about Watchet. It holds many fun filled memories for me. The Anchor Inn on Anchor Street used to have a plate over the door with the landlord's name. His name? R Booze. Serious!

Swansea next. Blimey. Where do you start? Best places first then.

Anywhere on Wind Street, especially the No Sign Bar, Pitcher and Piano (for Bev - 'cos it's sofistikated, like!), the Adelphi (although it looked like it was up for sale when I was there last week) and the Queens Hotel - a real pub which always has the footy, rugby and jukebox on, sometimes all at the same time! Nice pub and nice people. Watch for a piece of white marble on a plaque behind the bar. It was the first piece chipped from a new memorial dedicated to Merchant Seamen who lost their lives during the Second World War. Worst pubs? Anywhere, were the students go. I don't mean to be mean, but they're usually dirty with minging toilets and eating in them is a serious gamble with your digestive tract. Oh, and when I say they're minging, I mean the pubs, not the students. The Wig and Pen near the Crown Court is nice after a walk there from the Marina. Nice food and the bar is OK too. You could pop next door to an old church now converted into a - yes you guessed it - Indian Restaurant. It's called Miah's and is the place I took Bev to on our first date. (Aw!) City Life website describes it as "Highly recommended." I would fully agree.

After a beer, if you don't eat at Miah's, you can walk along St Helen's Road back to the City and eat at the Vojon Indian restaurant (sorry it's another Indian) where the food is first class.

You then stroll along St Helen's Road to the Kingsway and call at the Cafe Mambo for cocktails. If you're with the lads, there's no problem, as they'll probably want lager. Take a girl however, and she'll want a cocktail. Cocktails taste like a sweet, but cost like a fillet steak. Still, who says money can't buy you happiness. It can buy you a cocktail, and to Bev, that's happiness.

Going back up channel to Cardiff, well, where do I start? I'm not saying that it is the font of all that is good. It's just that I'm more familiar with the area and could, therefore, write reams and reams. Perhaps I'll leave to to another day or even another person, except to say that Cardiff Bay pubs are extortionately priced for beer and the food is only OK. I would not recommend Terra Nova as its staff all need a kick in the hoop. If they paid as much attention to waiting customers as they do to their staff gossip or flirting with each other, it would be marginally better. Salt Bar is souless and boring. The Packet nearby - now you're talking. A real pub with friendly people. Act like a "Richard Head" however, and you're likely to meet some opposition. Respect other people's locals is always the watchword(s). The Ely Jenkins used to do surprisingly good food, with steaks an apparant speciality. Beer good to. It's a Brains pub so what do you expect. The Dim Sum Bar in the Bay was an experience. Listen to this! I went there with Bev and my mate's daughter one Christmas at the end of the working week. I bought two cocktails and a Stella for me. My change from a £20 note comprised of a few "brown" coins. I thought I'd found a 2p piece in my pants when I changed that night, then I realised it was just the shock! Apparently, it used to be frequented by the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Alan Hansen and Mark Lawenson whenever there was major football matches at the Millennium Stadium.

Best for food? Nandos gives good vfm. The restaurants in Atlantic Wharf are all good, every one of them, and all reasonably priced. A cockney might describe the food in the Salt Bar as "Eartha Kitt" and the service, "Barry White"! The Indians in the Bay aren't great (except for the one in Atlantic Wharf), but the best restuarant of all is on the first floor and it's called the Pearl of the Orient. A Chinese restaurant like no other. It's great in every way and can't complain about any aspect.

OK, I hope you enjoyed the Bristol Channel version of the Good Food Guide, or rather, "Lizzy D's Fat Boys Day Out!"

Take care all,


Lizzy D

 

[mrbloto]

another pub in the bay that used to be frequented by the cyc sat squad in the not to distant past was the bute dock tavern another proper pub. ( a toast for absent friends)

 

[mrbloto]

another must in the itenery swansea yacht is a must with its reasonable menu cheap beer a night on the jetty outside marina for a swift start in morning

 

[graham]

Hello Mike I thought you would come up with one or two recommendations /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Im surprised you couldnt get pub meals in Watchet. We have had good grub in both the Star and the Bell.

Turn right at the Marina gate go straight on passed the harbour and the tiny museum.they are both on the left.



The lack of an Indian is a shame I wouldnt mind betting one appears when the new flats and houses around the Marina get built.