The Highbury Vaults is a pub where I normally take guests, as it has the feel people are looking for when searching for a traditional pub. It has old beams, dark corners and a very good stock of beers. It is kept clean and tidy. The pub food is done with thought and the chilli is very popular. The staff are nice and the Landlord is a quirky and very nice guy who organises the yearly festival in the area.

The atmosphere can be ruined somewhat by the students who at this time of year are jostling for position in their newly formed groups, bragging loudly about their feats in their previous six form rugby teams and impressing all with their impersonations of the local accent. How funny it is to hear the highly original 'Vicky Pollard’ jokes each year.

You can easily escape to the nicely sized and well planted garden with benches, great for the smokers.

Things to spot: The model railway running through the pub.

one of Bristol’s best pubs. very popular with students and locals alike. it has a very relaxed atmosphere, serves good ale, and retains much of its original character. if your coming from town or whitladies road be prepared for a bit of mountaineering to get there!

The highbury vaults is an institution in Kingsdown. Located very close to the university, it is a place where students, lecturers and workers can all come. A watering hole in every sense of the word.

I don’t come down this way as much as I would like but this pub is a real treat. It doesn’t have a secret to it’s success it just does everything that it can do, very well. For example the menu isn’t large but the food is superb, the bar is tiny but crammed with as much real ale and drinks that can fit, the staff are cheerful and polite to the customers. (To any landlords reading this, follow these 3 points and you will have a great pub).

The first thing you may notice when approaching the Highbury, is a BANKSY stencil on the side wall (I personally doubt it’s authenticity, but its better then a Yates sign). Inside the bar is ye olde pub style but behind the bar it’s vibrant with cuttings surrounding it. There is a reasonable amount of seating inside (it does get busy at lunch time and in the evenings though). The place to be though is the beer garden.

Relatively small the beer garden is enclosed which holds the heat well but also smoke from any people enjoying a smoke. The garden has a nice green leafy atmosphere without it drowning in plants, there’s a few statues and ornaments hidden in the foliage also. The seating outside is plentiful and varied.

However, the two real draws for coming here are: the beers, they had 8 real ales on tap when I came and the food which is very good as well. It is generally typical pub fare but at restaurant standard. On my last trip here I had the sweet potato curry which for five pounds was a huge portion and truly excellent. Finally there are the staff who are great fun. They tut at people that order lager which I find amusing (but others may find offensive, you have been warned).

As mentioned this place does the most with what it’s got, and it gets the simple things right. This is the sort of public house that would convince you to move house just to be closer. Truly excellent.

First visit on a trip last Saturday, good beers, liked the bar billiards, that’s rare these days. Patio was a real tonic. Yes.

Much as I love the interior of this old, real ale pub, on my last (recent) visit we sat outside and were overcome by the fumes from adjacent smokers because there is absolutely no free flowing air in the so-called ‘beer garden’. By the time I left not only did I stink, but I had my first asthma attack in about 6 months. So come on guys, sort it out and remove those ridiculous glass canopies, or at least make part of the beer garden ‘non-smoking’ so we can enjoy it the way it used to be when all the smokers were inside.

This is a nice little real ale pub. The covered garden is the best thing about this pub its very pretty.