You never want to end an evening on a sour note. Having completed Bristol, and therefore Gloucestershire, I scoured What Pub for pre-emptive potential.
Sadly, places called “Clifton Sausage”, “Amoeba” and “Illusions Magic Bar” (honestly)offered little potential, so I did a revisit of the Victoria. Yes, sometimes I go back to the same place twice.
Always good to see the scary suburbs of a town,
and the Vic is menacingly placed next to the mysterious LIDO (an anagram of some sort).
I had no recollection of the place, at all. Which shows how similar a lot of the Bristol pub stock are in feel.
“Small and cosy” says What Pub. Indeed. This is the view from the door.
Literally, that’s the approach to the bar. The two ladies, without the option of “two pints of Bass, please” were engaged in a lengthy discussion about their drinking options.
Clearly, I couldn’t move forward, lest I risked blocking them on or inadvertently getting involved in mansplaining activity, and you don’t sit down before you order, do you ?
So I cautiously explored the second room, peeping round the corner while protecting my place in the “queue“.
At least lengthy transaction in front of me enabled me to make a firm decision before reaching the bar (Tiny Rebel), clock the black board offering CAMRA discount, and count out my £3.87 in pennies.
Of course, the discount only applies on Dawkins ales. Which is fair enough. I have no recollections of Dawkins ales. Have I missed out ?
The Tiny Rebel Citra Milkshake IPA (again, honest) was a bit special, cool, thick and with the milkshake not dominating (NBSS 4). I love Tiny Rebel, me. And the chips in their bars are nearly as good as Brewdog.
There were a dozen folk in their twenties having polite chats about CAMRA revitalisation issues with their mates. A great pubby atmosphere reminiscent of the Live & Let Live in Cambridge, except that no-one was drinking free tap water here.
My faith in Bristol pubs was restored. The Vic even have loos with the word “Gentlemen” on the door. How quaint.
My alternative route back to Temple Meads ensured I wasn’t tempted to pop in the Bag o’Nails and cuddle a cat, so I just ticked off two iconic sights;
Sadly, I arrived back at the station with 12 minutes to spare, just enough time for a nightcap of Otter in the Spoons. You know what, it was nectar.
retiredmartin 
Statue of Quinno I presume”.
Uncanny.
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Noticing the “All keg sold in 2/3 pints” sign behind the bar. What, even the Carling (or whatever equivalent they sell), not just the “Craft£££”?
That second room looks a bit Wideman-y.
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Carling only sold in ironic thirds.
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Today’s instalment of What I Did On My Summer Holiday in Florida involves The Brick Wall Sports Bar and Grille in Port St Joe.
Imagine if you will a retired couple who know nothing about food,running a bar or even sport.
The husband is a cranky old so and so who is not a people person and the wife wishes they hadn’t opened a sports bar.
So six months after opening they decide to close for six months to look after their five ageing dogs – just as the college football season,one of the biggest sporting events in the TV calendar,gets underway.
We read about all this on their Facebook page so decided we had to give it a try especially as all beers were two bucks and all top shelf drinks three dollars as part of the closing down sale.
It was every bit as bad as you can imagine.
Kyle prowled the room glowering at people,Mindy’s ample behind never moved from a tall stool at the end of the bar and neither lifted a finger to help the harassed staff.
The food was terrible,the atmosphere strained – but as theatre of the absurd goes we enjoyed a fabulous evening watching a slow-motion train wreck lubricated by cheap drink.
Running a good pub is harder than it looks as RM will probably testify from his travels.
Tonight the Bo Springs Band at the Haughty Heron beckons.
Ye-haaa as they say around these parts.
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Brilliant . I look forward to all the micro pub closing down sales over here.
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Another ex-Ushers pub although I don’t remember this being Watney’s.
Dawkins used to be a small local independent pubco with three or four pubs. It took over a microbrewery in Timsbury some years ago and now brews in Bristol.
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“LIDO some sort of secret club for people with wet hair”
I thought it was a song by Boz Scaggs? 😉
“So I cautiously explored the second room, peeping round the corner while protecting my place in the “queue“.”
Or you could have dropped some of your £3.87 in pennies on the floor just behind them and taken just long enough to pick it all up by the time they’d ordered. 🙂
“My faith in Bristol pubs was restored.”
Much better lacing than the previous Otter.
“Yer Brizzle (I)”
Lovely shot.
“You know what, it was nectar.”
Go figure! 🙂
Cheers
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Oooh, always love a Boz Scaggs reference. Was he big in Canada ?
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He was pretty well known.
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I have Silk Degrees on vinyl, bought for 25p in 1992 when the local radio station moved to CD. Ha !
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Dear Good Beer Guide expert, How come Bristol gets so many entries in the Good Beer Guide for such a small place? Best Wishes, Confused.com
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Is it small ? Gets about as many as Leeds when you throw in the suburbs, and undoubtedly gets more tourists. Whoever went to Leeds on holiday ?
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