The Market, Bath

A curious bar directly opposite the Theatre Royal. In many ways I would describe it more as a Bar / Kitchen than your traditional pub, and indeed the open plan kitchen area takes up a good one third of the available floor space. Along with the bar counter, this leaves room for just one chunky, large, farmhouse table which is perhaps designed to encourage strangers sitting together, although there are also a few bar stools in the window. It’s the type of place that does free Wi-Fi, has various free lifestyle magazines around, and you can quite imagine groups of mothers popping in during the day for a coffee and a chat. Outside however, there is plenty of seating which is unusual for central Bath. There are a couple of dozen picnic benches and this is a very popular spot in the sunnier weather. Other than some intricate wood carving above the bar counter, there is little of note in the downstairs bar area. Upstairs however, it seems to have a much trendier theme, more wine-bar like perhaps. This was divided in to two areas, with the first part at the top of the stairs being a smallish room with a few tables and chairs and a brick partition wall. Paintwork was predominantly cream and a pale green and there were various black and white etchings on the walls. A curious “artistic” display at one end consisted of various planks of wood placed between two old step ladders. Perched on these were an array of artefacts such as crates of straw, a large glass bowl, a few rolls and a loaf of bread and even a small cow in a fish tank. Quite what this signified, I’m not entirely sure. Up a couple more steps was another room, this time housing a second bar counter. This was the most modern part of the pub, with a mirrored backdrop to the bar displaying the range of spirits, wine, etc., that was on offer, Paintwork here was a mixtures of cream and burgundy and one wall had a pile of log ends attached to it. We didn’t try the food, but the menu looked to be a reasonable selection of dishes, with an emphasis on pizzas and burgers, as well as a few sandwiches and sharing platters. Most of the pizzas were around the £8 - £10 range. The drinks list on the back of the menu advised that you should check the blackboard for the current selection of cask ales. I did this, and could see no mention on the blackboard of any ales, nor were there any visible on the bar, other than Bath’s Dark Side stout. Ciders were well represented though, with Thatcher’s Gold, Bounders and Stowford Press.