The Clifton Sausage, Bath

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Blackthorn _ left this review about The Cow Shed

A recently opened sister venue to the Bristol branch, this one seems much more food orientated and is, in reality, a restaurant and not a pub, although that’s not to say that you couldn’t perhaps just pop in for a drink if you were so inclined. Finding somewhere to sit might be tricky though, with most, if not all, tables occupied by diners on a recent Thursday evening visit.

It’s split over two levels, the street level entrance and a lower level. Perhaps it was a shop in a former life, and the window display still gives that impression with an old dresser and various other bits and pieces. The front part has just one U-shaped seat enclosed in a wooden booth, with a bar counter beyond this. At the back was a conservatory which is perhaps a recent extension and as well as modern plasterwork retains some of the original Bath stone walling. Flooring is sanded wooden boards and there was a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The overall feel is quite contemporary. The conservatory and the terrace beyond give great views of the rolling hills beyond Bath.

Food wise, the menu was certainly a step or two up from your usual pub grub, with the cheapest main course coming in at £13.25 for a vegetarian risotto, whilst other options included a burger, chicken salad and various fish options. As it’s name suggests, there are also a good selection of steaks available. I opted for the roasted pork belly with Stornoway black pudding, apple, celeriac puree, puffed pork skin and a sage jus, and whilst this was decent enough I didn’t think that it lived up to some of the dishes I’ve had in the Bristol branch, and at £18.95 it’s not exactly cheap.

Unfortunately there were no real ales available, or anything at all on draught come to that. There were a couple of small taps on one end of the bar but I suspect that these were just for wine. As this is a pub review website, I’m going to mark it as a pub – which it’s not. But if you want to try it for food, and have some great views with outside seating, which is something of a rarity in central Bath, then by all means give it a go.

On 26^th June 2015 - rating: 2
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