swachacker's profile

A great wee pub, tucked away at the bottom of the hill. There’s always a good selection of real ales on in the Bag, plus a wide selection of bottled continental beers. Really friendly, and with a great traditional pub interior, the only problem with “The Bag” is that it’s tiny, so if you’re in a big group seating could be a problem!

Now offering Pasties! :D

A nice enough place to stop - very friendly staff, great location if you’re on your way to/from the local campsite! Average selection of beers available, including some interesting creations from Becks…:S plus good coffee. They do food, too, should you feel peckish!

Ideally placed just across the road from Bristol University, there are so many possible excuses for paying it a visit.

Whether you’re tempted by a Pub Lunch, are killing time before/after/during a lecture, or are just looking for a nice place to read the paper that isn’t a Coffee House, this J D Wetherspoon pub does nicely. Yes, the pints may not always be top notch, but there are good ones; and many worse to be found elsewhere.

Oh but they’re all the same and have no character I hear Anti-Spoons scream - just have a look at the Whispering Gallery in the back, a feature found in only a handfull of pubs in the UK.

All in all a perfectly fine place to go - especially if it’s quiet. And who knows - you might even bump into a StormTrooper like I did! :D

It came as quite a surprise to be attending an Ale Society gathering in a Wetherspoon’s, but veterans assured me that despite being a “spoon’s”, this place served a good pint. I was not disappointed.

I was overjoyed to see that they had an old-fashioned “island” bar set-up, something that just seems to add character to a place. And if the large open main area gets a bit noisy for you, head to the hall at the back and see if you can grab a table! I only give if 4 stars, because although great, it could do with just that little bit more character.

I’m so annoyed I didn’t visit this place untill the end of the Real Ale Festival - it really does serve a good pint, and clearly deserves is spot in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide.

The cinema de lux is a welcome step backwards in time from the gigantic multiplexes that the majority of todays cinemas have become. An impressive lobby, with plenty of friendly staff on hand, leads on to smaller, more cosy lobbies for each group of screens - so no more joining a massive queue for popcorn (which, incidently, is nice and fresh)!

Unfortunately, as well as the best of the old, there are a couple of not-so-good points. Firstly, although the seating is tiered so that the man with the huge head isn’t blocking your view, the screen is…normal.

What’s wrong with that, I hear you say? Well, after the last few years of huge screens that literally required some head movement, even a screen on the larger end of normal just leaves you un-satisfied. You know that, like the giant tub of popcorn in your lap, you shouldn’t really need it and yet you have to have it!

The other minor contention is the seats - it’s just an opinion, but I find them annoying. They’re “floating”, ie as you sit down the seat opens up, and you are able to tilt forward and back. Whilst this allows you to find the perfect position, you have to work through the whole movie to stay that way - which is just a nusance!

On the whole, I thought this was a great cinema, and not hugely over-priced for today either (if you’re a student anyway - £5.50 hehe :P). The staff were brilliant - it’s been a long time since I’ve been to a cinema and felt like a valued customer rather than muck to be shifted around. It only gets 4 stars though, because of the normal sized screen and those laze-proof seats

A really nice place right at the bottom of St Michael’s Hill and the top of the Christmas Steps - bright and modern but not to a fault. It’s a Butcombe pub, so you’ll find Butcombe Ales and not much else, but there are worse things to be stuck drinking (Brunel’s my favourite :D). The food is great, too, especially the chocolate fudge cake…:P

Great place to enjoy a few pints with mates - good selection of ales, including, I was pleasantly surprised to find at one point, Caledonian’s Deuchars IPA: a welcome taste of home!

The food here is great, too - it’s not cheap, but it’s delicious. Plus you get it served on a slate! (Though this can be problematic when it comes to sauces…:S)

Absolutely top-notch beer, particularly the Dunkel! Watch out for the pretzels, too - delicious, and only about a month’s worth of salt! This place is usually packed full of tourists, but that’s not nescessarily a bad thing - to be blunt, they wouldn’t keep coming if it wasn’t worth it, major attraction or not.

Can’t believe that no-one has given this place a review yet! An excellent chippy, which has spawned an excellent Italian next door, L’Alba D’Oro (Golden Morning) is not the cheapest place to get a fish supper. But I challenge anyone to step inside, order their dish of choice, perhaps even from Mr Crolla himself, and having eaten it feel short-changed. The staff are friendly, the premises are fantastic, and the food superb.

And it’s not just the food that’s superb - whether you’re a stout traditionalist looking for a can of 'Bru, or a connoisseur searching for a fine wine, the chances are L’Alba D’Oro will provide. That’s the great thing about this place - it’s a high-class establishment, but it isn’t snobbish at all and is the everyday client looking for a fish’n’chips is still just as valued as anywhere.

This place is brilliant - a visit here was always a welcome treat growing up. You can buy a nice indulgance to take home, sit in and have a coffee with it, or go the whole whack and have lunch there. Lovely little coffee shop, I’ve only given it 4 stars because I think the quality of their cakes has dropped a bit in recent years.