The Cornubia, Bristol

Located off Victoria Street and close to the floating harbour is The Cornubia, an attractive looking pub with a listed frontage. The pub is slightly set back from the road edge and used to be the brewery tap for Georges, who used to brew nearby. The building dates back to 1773 and was originally a pair of Georgian town houses. It’s a pleasant L shaped bar with additional space in a room to the left of the main bar. It’s traditionally furnished and decorated with an unspoilt cosy feel to it. Framed CAMRA certificates on the wall tell us that the current landlords – Phil and Jackie – previously ran The Crown and Thistle in Gravesend, which was the National CAMRA Pub of the Year in 2003. At the far end of the bar is a fish tank housing several turtles. On my recent visit 7 beers were on, all priced at £ 2.90p, although a blackboard at the far end of the bar revealed that beers up to 4% ABV and between 4% and 5% were on offer to CAMRA members at prices of £ 2.20p and £ 2.50p respectively. Beers included Glastonbury Hedge Monkey and Slaters Why Knot, amongst other local micros. The pub previously served beers by The Hidden Brewery, but I understand that they are now in liquidation and none of their beers were on ( are they still brewing ?). Unfortunately, on my recent Monday evening visit, both beers sampled by me were not in good condition, being what I refer to as “dilemma pints” – the dilemma being that you’re minded to take them back, but they’re not quite bad enough for you to insist forcefully that they’re replaced. This was therefore a disappointing visit, but given the obvious pedigree of mine host and hostess, I’ll put it down as a one off and give it another go next time I’m in Bristol.

There's clearly some history to this attractive looking pub, much of which surrounds the owners, Hidden Brewery. I understand they have now taken to closing the pub in the afternoons so it's probably best to phone before making a special trip. Inside it seems a bit disorganised but that gives it a lived in feel and I imagine it's a decent place to spend a couple of hours on a quiet afternoon. Beer was mainly from the Hidden brewery and there were a number of bottled beers available.