The Cottage Inn, Hotwells, Bristol

Another former harbour side building that has now a different use as a public house, this time the former harbourmasters office. Location wise, its in a fantastic position providing very good views of Clifton up the hill across the harbour and on up to Clifton. Internally it is one open room but subdivide into several areas , most with tables for dining. And as you’d expect from its location there is a bit of a nautical theme to the decor. To the front of the pub is an outside patio area with a limited number of wooden bench seating, but this is a popular spot when the suns out, as it was on the Sunday we visited and you need to be prompt to get a space outside. We didn’t eat, but a lot of people were, so it seemed quite a popular place for this, and the food menu was quite extensive and traditional pub fare. The pub is a Butcombe house and there are four hand pumps on the bar which were dispensing Bitter, Brunel IPA and Gold and then a Guest Ale. The two Butcombe beers we tried were very well kept. All in all a decent pub with good beer and food , but best of all , a fantastic location on a sunny day. Well worth seeking out.

Acquired by Butcombe Brewery in 2009, this is one of the best pubs around Bristol Docks.