The Ram, Bath

As the previous reviewer has said, it is quite surprising to see a cafe on the right-hand side as you enter this pub. It seemed quite popular with plenty of passers by popping in for coffee, cakes or pies, but seemed a little out of place, especially with a stone fireplace sat behind the counter. The brightly (yellow and orange) bar is to the left. There are bare boards, flowers on each table to add more colour, a piano next to a pillar, various pictures of Bath on the walls and a few pottery owls on a shelf behind some seating. I counted 3 TVs in all, but they were off on a Friday afternoon. At the bar, there were 4 handpulls clipped with Butcombe Original, Purity Mad Goose, Harvey's Sussex Best Bitter & Thatcher's Stan's Cheddar Valley. The latter had only just been put on and wasn't on the till. It was the first time the young barmaid had poured it and she decided to charge me £2.50, which I thought was reasonable value for Bath. Apparently a CAMRA discount is also offered. I didn't dare enquire about that. Thatcher's Gold was the keg cider. A wifi code can be found behind the bar. Pavement tables to the front are popular on warm days. A much better pub that I had anticipated. The cafe is a strange feature, but it still seems to be first and foremost a pub and if the cafe business helps it to survive, then good luck to them.

There seems to have been a change of emphasis here, as the vibe now is very much cafe bar rather than pub, with cakes and pies displayed in catering cabinets on the right hand side, nearest to the front door. There are two sets of keg taps on the stretch of bar across the back wall, with half a dozen hand pumps between. On a Tuesday night there were just two cask beers on: I swerved Doom Bar and had a swift half of Purity Mad Goose, which was very good. Maybe the cafe vibe is a daytime thing, and as I was polishing off my beer I noticed three young lads coming in. They must have been regulars as they were not asked for proof of age; they had three glasses of coke. Kids, eh?

The earthy cousin to the Ring, although in central Bath that's not a huge gulf. I actually preferred the inside here; wood floor, exposed stone, varnished wood and some tidy padded bench seating. Less stellar at the bar though, three cask over six pub pumps - Doom Bar, Bath Gem and TTL, the latter of which foamed and frothed and took about 3 mins to get a half out whilst the loud barman cheerily informed me that the beer engine was knackered and it was the first pour of the day, so fate was on my side as he probably poured off 3/4 a pint of grot. My eventual output was a hazy mediocre thing (NBSS 1.5). In the right hands, this one could be a contender. 5.5

Much as described below, it’s probably the most local-like of the three pubs in this enclave. The atmosphere was improved by the woodburner in the stone chimney breast in the main bar, and there is now a large TV in the main bar making it easier to watch the sports. Ales on were Landlord, Doombar, Butcombe Original and Gem, all in good condition. Craft beers were Camden Helles and Pale, plus there was a bank of megakeg ciders and lagers. I enjoyed it here and would happily come back, either as part of a crawl or just to have a few ales.