The Bull, Crews Hole, Bristol

Under new management since May 2017.very friendly staff.every weekend has entertainment disco every other Friday,karaoke every Saturday and live music every Sunday afternoon.nice Sunday dinners.and a larger back garden.also children and dogs welcome.and they offer bar snacks every day

A good sized, traditional brick built pub overlooking the River Avon, this has been closed for a while but re-opened last year after some refurbishment work, although I suspect that this was in fact little more than a coat of paint which has been applied straight over the top of crumbling plasterwork and splashed over the electrical sockets, so not what one would call a top quality refurbishment. Initial impressions were not promising, having to negotiate a group of leather clad biker types huddled in the doorway for a smoke. Inside, the pub consists of a single, L-shape room, with a raised area off to the right and this was being used to host a one year old’s birthday party on our recent Sunday afternoon visit. Décor wise the paintwork is mostly a shade of Farrow & Ball brown, with patterned carpet on the floor. In some ways it’s a bit of a mixture of old and new, with some elaborate cornice work around the ceiling but any genteel ambience that might be lurking has been obliterated with modern and cheap looking light fittings that look as though they came straight out of the Argos or Ikea catalogues. There are a few whisky mirrors dotted around, and an old fire-place was off to the left, although this was not in use on this occasion. A brick archway led through to the beer garden, although we did not investigate this. There were also a couple of screens showing the rugby, which perhaps accounted for the somewhat “blokey” atmosphere that seemed to prevail. Beers on tap were Flying Monk’s Birdman and Doom Bar, whilst something else from Hancock’s appeared to have run out. Ciders were well represented with Blackthorn, Natch, Thatcher’s Gold and Taunton Traditional. All in all I was a bit disappointed with this, and with all the new housing in the area I thought they would have tried to appeal to a wider demographic and try and move the establishment a little more upmarket.

A thank you to ROB CAMRA for a perfectly timed reopening as I was doing my shopping at nearby Sainsbury's so stopped in for a pint on way home. Not much has changed inside since my last visit. Bar is still in front as you enter with the pub opening up either side to where the bay windows are situated. The right hand side is elevated with seating and a large TV on the wall. The left has an open fire which being winter was roaring. Doombar and Butcombe where the ale offerings. At present is still work in progress with the rear garden being cleared and the plaster still drying inside. All I all I would say this is a welcome reopening for the residents that live on the banks of the Avon in what is a very remote area of Bristol with the nearest pubs being a fair mission away up quite an imposing hill or a walk along the banks and over the river and up a slightly less imposing hill.