The Windmill, Bristol

This is a smartly presented back street pub with a good focus on real ales, which marks it out in sharp contrast to a number of other pubs in the immediate area. The pub has a single bare boarded room with the servery along the back wall. The bar has a rough wood plank counter and nice traditional dark wood, mirrored bar back. Banquette seating has been positioned along the front wall and to the left, supplemented by a mix of chairs. There is a piano over to the left with plenty of sheet music on it for good old pub sing-along sessions, whilst to the side, there is an unusual bike storage facility under modern, arty wallpaper, partly covered by a blackboard listing the pub’s menu and a TV screen which remained turned off throughout my stay. To the rear left, there is a cosy looking raised seating area with a few more tables and chairs around a basic fireplace with a plain mirror above and a number of random pictures on the other walls. The right hand side of the pub has more seating available, mostly around another fireplace with a nice photo of a scene from the pub above it. Steps lead down to the Family Room, which I never managed to explore. Pump clips cover many of the ceiling beams, there were a great many flyers and local listings magazines lying around and a “hits of the ‘70’s” soundtrack played quietly in the background. Four handpulls offered Prescott Hill Climb, Purity Gold, Twisted Oak Fallen Tree and an Ashridge cider. The Fallen Tree was a nice drop which I enjoyed supping whilst flicking through the listings papers and eavesdropping on the locals, of whom a fair few were in on my Saturday afternoon visit. This felt like a much-loved local’s pub in an area where pub quality is perhaps a little variable. I found the place to be warm and welcoming, with comfortable surrounds and some well kept ales, which is just about all you can ask for. Perhaps not worth a trip out from the city centre in its own right, but anyone in the neighbourhood will be well rewarded by popping in.