Blue Ball, Bruton

Billing itself as ‘Notting Hill in the Country’, Bruton’s newest pub aims itself at the London diaspora, though it is starting to build a local cadre of regulars. Pretension extends to abbreviating the actual address to ‘Number One Bruton’. It’s definitely up itself when it comes to marketing, but it did have a good selection of real ales and ciders so they are trying. When we visited there was a mixed clientele including braying idiots, uncontrolled children, entitled PYTs and a couple of tourists. There was an ad hoc pack of designer dogs, though these were better behaved. The pub has been formed from two rooms which presumably once belonged to the adjacent hotel. The larger room on the right as you enter is mainly a dining room, though it does host the dartboard. He other room is the main bar which has a counter in one corner. The floors are parquet, and there are stone fireplaces with woodburners in both rooms. The cask ales and real cider are on stillage at one end of the bar, and there are keg pumps on the counter itself. The ales on were Cerne Abbas Harlequin, Gooden’s Gold, and Otter Bitter, the real ciders were both from Dowding’s. The keg options were Camden Hells, Peroni, Neck Oil, Guinness, Asahi and Orchard Pig Reveller. It’s actually not bad, but sadly doesn’t open lunch times.

Official site of Blue Ball - www.blueballbruton.com

Official site of Blue Ball - www.blueballbruton.com