The Coronation Tap, Clifton Village, Bristol

Official site of The Coronation Tap - www.thecoronationtap.com

Official site of The Coronation Tap - www.thecoronationtap.com

This is Bristol’s original “cider house” and is something of a local institution. This is no doubt helped by their Exhibition cider, which is proudly advertised outside and is apparently so strong it’s only served in half pint measures! They sell a lot of it, and there’s generally a couple of dozen ready poured behind the bar. The pub has entrances at both the front and rear, although quite often the front door is locked and not in use. Once you’ve managed to get in, which appeared to be baffling quite a few people, you find a surprisingly cosy pub, with wood panelling covering the walls from floor to ceiling giving it a sort of log cabin ambience, along with wood flooring and some inset wood benches. It’s not what you’d describe as light and airy, due to only one or two very small windows. One wall had numerous photos of bands that have appeared in the pub, and these are a regular occurrence on two or three evenings a week. The pub is very popular with students and frequently gets rammed, although at 7:00pm on a recent Saturday evening visit it was surprisingly quiet. Ciders on tap at the bar were Stowford Press, Thatcher’s Gold and their own Exhibition. These were joined by barrels racked up behind the bar dispensing Thatcher’s Traditional, Cheddar Valley, Addlestones, Old Rosie and Thatcher’s Dry. For the beer drinkers, Doom Bar and Gem were available.

This pub has two entrances. one in Sion Place and one in Portland Street