Brent Knoll Inn, Highbridge

A village pub as described by Blackthorn, below, and as he says, it’s dated. Food is basic pub grub, served with a smile, but it’s lt down by its ale which is both poorly kept and over-priced – about 15% dearer than similar nearby pubs. The ales on were Bath Gem and London Pride, both rather vinegary and only just drinkable. There was another handpump with Thather’s Cider, and one which was dry. We found the staff were friendly, but maybe just a bit too much so, almost Stepford in their manner. It’s not a pub to which I warmed, and the beer price and quality mean I am unlikely to rush back. It’s on the 2018 Somerset Ale Trail.

This is a real 70's pub. Everything about it seems decades out of date – the plastic menus, the paper table cloths, the Whitbread Trophy Bitter font, the whole look of the place. Even the food – when did you last see a pub offering Sherry Trifle and Black Forest Gateaux? Having said that, it's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just the character that the place has got. There's a lounge bar with a dining area off to the right, and a bar to the left with a TV and darts board. The dining area, whilst part of the main bar, is very clearly geared towards food, being all laid up with those paper tablecloths, napkins, place mats and cutlery even when the kitchen had stopped doing food. Tidying some of this away would have made is slightly more welcoming to drinkers, especially as by now the bar was packed and they were starting to spill out in to the lounge/dining area. This has got to be one of the friendliest pubs I've ever been in. I tried to order my food at the bar, as I would normally expect to in a pub, but the barmaid not only insisted on taking it at the table, but carrying my drinks over for me as well. On top of that, they apologised for keeping us waiting, cheerily thanked us when we left, etc. I'm sure this would be a great pub to frequent if you lived nearby. Beers were Otter Ale, London Pride, and possibly that Trophy Bitter. Or maybe that was just part of the décor. Ciders were Thatcher's Gold and Thatcher's Dry.

The pub is actually called the Brent Knoll Inn