The Bull Inn, Yeovil

Community pub - through the front door, you are faced with a left or right decision. Pool tables in either room don't aid the decision making. No need to fear, the bar is a central island and serves both. Multi TV Screens - loud volume - all setup for the impending five nations rugby. Beer choice was a bit of a new one for me - all keg, with the usual culprits but they did have St Austel Proper Job and Bath Ales Gem - on keg. The Proper Job was far too cold and a very different experience to when its on cask (a fav). Option over the road - but believe it or not, I couldn't actually find the bar in the there - covid one way system leading me to a posh restaurant type place. So I scuttled back to the Bull.

Official site of The Bull Inn - www.bullinnilchester.com

Official site of The Bull Inn - www.bullinnilchester.com

A basic working village pub, consisting of several rooms on the ground floor of an historic Georgian building on the town square. There is a small garden at the back, with a covered terrace area which looked a bit shabby. Inside, there is a dining room one side, and a bar the other, which has been subdivided into different areas. There is a games area with pool table, there are various tv screens showing live football, and there are gaming machines, plus a separate skittle alley behind, which doubles as a function room. Food is standard pub grub plus various steaks and burgers, reasonable value for money but definitely not haut cuisine. They also have a takeaway food service, but this was less interesting. Two handpumps were showing Doombar and Abbott clips, but the former had just gone off. Spitfire was brought on to replace the Doombar, but it didn't quite taste right, so maybe there's a line issue. The Abbott was reasonably well kept so I don't think the cellar has a problem. A reasonable pub to drop in for lunch or a few pints, provided you don't mind the limited beer selection.

This was closed when we arrived in Ilchester, the sign outside saying it opened at 2pm and started food service at 3pm, so we went instead to the Ilchester Arms opposite which is owned by the same proprietors. A quick look in the Bull on the way back found it had more of a pubby feel to it, with a pool table in a room to the left, and a skittle alley which also houses a bar billiards table in an outbuilding to the rear. I spotted two ale pumps, one serving Plain Ales Inntrigue, but didn’t have time to stop for one.