Pulteney Arms, Bath

Old-fashioned backstreet place in a well-heeled area with limited opening hours. V shaped bar with simple plain décor; wood floorboards, boxed wood bar front, fabric banquette seating. Jazzier rear room down a corridor with nobody in – I think this must be for the foodie brigade who were yet to emerge at 5.30pm. Laid back piped music but otherwise fairly quiet bar a couple of stereotypical big gob American tourists, one of whom loudly announced she had 800 dollars upon her person. Dog-friendly, so expect the odd woof and, in one case, a big hound who accompanied his master to the bar and got upon his hind legs to ape his master’s ordering stance (see pic). Quiz advertised. Five cask over six sticks; Abbey Bath Best (lacked a bit of freshness NBSS 2.5), Timothy Taylor Landlord (shifting, NBSS 3), Wye Valley HPA, Butcombe Rare Breed, Exile Wicked Wolf plus a couple of boxed ciders, served-up by a pleasant and professional team of young females. My seat at the bar allowed me to witness the (lack of) cask turnover, so pick wisely. Pleasant place, if perhaps a bit over-optimistic on what they can shift. GBG’23 listed. I’d pop by again.

An excellent town local with a recurring GBG entry, already well described by others, below. When we visited there were more dogs than humans in, watched over by the pub’s halitosine Labrador, Hugo. There was rugby on the TV, the staff were very pleasant and the regulars generated a good local atmosphere. Ales on were Exile’s Wild Wolf, Landlord, Piddle’s Dorset Rogue, Rare Breed and HPA. There were two boxed ciders from Lilley and Rosie’s Pig, plus 4 megas and two premium lagers. Well worth a visit and a definite for a crawl.

This is a backstreet pub in a well-heeled looking area on the other side of the river from the city centre. Despite the grand looking terraces that dominate the neighbourhood, the clientele seemed very down to earth, resulting in a nice, lively atmosphere. The pub has a C-shaped layout, clearly opened out from a former multi-room set-up, now wrapping itself around the servery which is anchored to the right-hand wall. There’s a tight space to the front, with limited seating, but as you move round the bar, more space becomes available, allowing for tub chairs and other comfier options. There’s a nice fireplace set into the stone wall to the left, with a blackboard, some street lights and a very long oar above. Elsewhere, motre blackboards are mixed in amongst local photos and a selection of paintings. We didn’t see menus, but the bar had a selection of snacks available, which ranged from scotch eggs to pork scratchings and packets of Monster Munch. The pub is dog friendly, and as if to illustrate the point, one of the mutts in attendance had a mad minute where is just went absolutely nuts for no apparent reason, before settling back down again. Another of Bath’s recent Good Beer Guide entrants, they had five ales on handpull - Frome Funky Monkey, Taylors Landlord, Skinners Lullingstone, Wye Valley HPA and Butcombe Rare Breed. My pint of HPA kept up my winning streak of well conditioned ales in Bath and we found the place had a friendly atmosphere that we would’ve enjoyed for longer had we not arrived so close to closing time. I have to say this place far exceeded my expectations, as I was anticipating a fancy dining pub as we approached, but it instead delivers a good, homely pub experience with a warm welcome and some interesting, well-kept beer. Worth the short walk from the city centre to explore.