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Detail Pages
The Old Mill, Bristol
Portishead
Postal town: Bristol
BS20 6AF
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 4½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Old Mill
Has had more incarnations and periods of closure in the intervening 15 years than should be justified for a pub in a prime location. Having only recently re-opened (which I didn’t realise until I sat down in the Venga garden and saw the lights on) I decided to pop in. It’s been fully stripped-out and has jumped on the wood and ‘US army green’ minimalist bandwagon. Two rooms just about remain, separated by a chimney breast that I suspect can’t be removed for structural reasons. Two unclipped pumps so a keg Maltsmiths did for me. There's a classic pub waiting to happen here...but much like the reinstatement of the rail line, I doubt I’ll live to see it.
February 2008
[Reviewed as White Lion] A pub housed in an old mill, the place has had a bit of a refurb and gone for the laminate-floored thing presumably to try and rid itself of the dodgy image and dodgy customers it had a few years back. Can't say I was keen, although the back part of the interior still looks the same. Despite the dubious characters I always had a soft spot for it as it’s a homely pub when quiet. Sadly no ale available, so didn't stop for long. I hope it improves because it could be really good. Rated 3
On 1st September 2021
- rating: 3
[User has posted 5107 recommendations about 5090 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Old Mill
Since my previous review this has undergone two changes of ownership and two name changes, and has clearly had an extensive refurbishment being largely unrecognisable from the last time I was in here. A beer garden at the rear has obviously also had considerable investment as well and now looks quite smart with covered seating, AstroTurf and gas heaters.
Internally it’s quite contemporary in style with a wood strip floor in the majority of the pub and the main bar has been opened out with just a dual aspect fireplace and chimney breast now separating what was previously two separate rooms. A whole stack of large church candles were arranged on the mantelpiece above. The colour scheme is mostly a very pale yellow with contrasting deep maroon in places, and there were a few artistic photographs on the walls. Another room at the rear had flagstone style tiles on the floor and a second smaller bar counter, although despite two pumps there were no ales on here on our visit. It looked as though there may have been further seating upstairs, although we did not investigate this.
The menu offered a decent looking selection of food, with the usual suspects of fish & chips, ham egg & chips, steak and ale pie, lasagne, etc., as well as some more unusual dishes such as sun dried tomato, cheese and basil pie or an avocado and chick pea hummus . Prices seemed a little bit above your normal pub prices, with both the fish & chips and the burger coming in at £12.50 for example. On the whole, the food was ok but nothing outstanding and not really worth the premium charged.
Beers on tap were Doom Bar and Timothy Taylor Landlord whilst the ciders were Thatcher’s Gold and Haze. Overall, whilst there’s nothing really wrong with this pub, it didn’t have much in the way of atmosphere, the barmaid was pretty clueless and I couldn’t really work out if it was trying to be a pub or one of those all day lounge type bars. Not somewhere I’ll be rushing back to.
On 25th May 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1951 recommendations about 1864 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Jonathan Wilde left this review about Mezze at the White Lion
Now reopen.
On 6th July 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 365 recommendations about 347 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The White Lion
Large open plan bar with very limited seating, although there was also a back bar so that may have had more. There was a large plasma stuck on the wall showing football and the volume seemed to be rather high, especially as there were only about half a dozen people in there.
The barman was outside having a fag when we arrived which doesn't create a fantastic impression, but he arrived quickly enough to serve us. Unusual bar top made of metal - not anything classy like polished aluminium perhaps, but something cheap and nasty. It remined me of the metal they use for some gent's urinals.
Ciders were Gaymer's Pear, Natch and Blackthorn. The only beer was Bass, but even that was served through a lager style font rather than a proper hand pump so I don't know what it would have tasted like.
On 16th December 2009
- rating: 4
[User has posted 1951 recommendations about 1864 pubs]