Flan O'Briens, Bath

Faux Irish bar, much more light, bright and stark than the norm. Some tin signs and Guinness paraphernalia to get the box ticked. Surprisingly two cask in St Austell Proper Job and Abbey Bath Best. Less surprising was the quality of the latter (NBSS 1.5) a bit stale. Far better examples of the Oirish genre elsewhere, give this a swerve. 4.5

After a few disappointments it was nice to come into a relatively normal pub in Bath City centre. It’s a fake Irish bar as described by others below, but the reception was genuine enough, and the staff were welcoming and pleasant.  They were clearing out from behind the radiators on the raised area at the side and found a few old newspapers from both Mulligan’s (the pub’s previous incarnation) and Flan O’Brien’s dated 1990s.  Ales on were Tribute and Bath Best Bitter from Abbey Ales, both in very good condition.  An enjoyable visit, and one I should be happy to repeat.

An Oirish-type pub in the street food area, which seems to have acquired rather more Guinness ephemera since the last review. Still not much like a genuine Irish pub in my experience, but there were a few actual Irishmen in, so they must be doing something right and the outside tables were popular. The Butcombe Original was fair enough.

A prominent pub built of Bath stone and occupying a large corner plot just opposite the Theatre Royal, it doesn’t have quite as much of an “in your face” Irish theme as you might infer from the name, and as far as I could make out the only items representing the Emerald Isle were a few small flags and some Guinness ice buckets. Inside it’s all one large, open room with very high ceilings and large windows on two sides giving a light and airy feel. The flooring is dark black boards whilst the paintwork is mostly a pale khaki green with dark brown paint on the timberwork. There are a few old black and white photos on the wall and a small fish tank behind the bar, but other than that there was little of any note. A large projector screen was showing the rugby as well as a plasma screen elsewhere and the volume was somewhat too loud making it difficult to escape from the commentary if you weren’t interested in it. Beers on tap were Doom Bar and Butcombe, whilst the solitary cider was Thatcher’s Gold. Overall, this isn’t a bad pub, but it’s not especially great either. At least it’s not been gastrocised or otherwise tarted up, but it doesn’t offer much in the way of atmosphere and the beer choice is somewhat uninspiring.