Quicksilver Mail, Yeovil

Regular Good Beer Guide entry (only in Yeovil) - a coaching house on the far outskirts of town. Sparsely populated at Saturday lunch - made for a slightly oppressive atmosphere, as no one was breaking the silence. Butcombe Original (good condition) and one other cask on. Is it worth the walk out of town? You probably need to see the other options to make up your mind. And then you'd say Yes.

Well described below, this Victorian house remains a GBG pub, previously a Bass pub but now a freehouse. This causes disappointment when the only beers on are Butcombes and Tribute, though both were well kept and in excellent condition. The welcome is far from warm, though, especially from the young, monosyllabic barman who needs some attitude adjustment. The lower restaurant area wasn't open when we visited, so food, which looked like reasonable value for money, was being served in the upper bar. The pub is dog-friendly, the TV was showing live football, which competed with an annoying music system, and there are gaming machines in the bar for those who feel the need. I'd be happy to come in if in the area and wouldn't mind coming to see one of the live acts in the function room.

Roadside pub located towards the top of a rather steep hill. Two level (reflecting the hill slant I guess) with a bar on the upper and a dining room on the lower. Bit of an eclectic one that seems to reflect the licenses offbeat humour, from a burburry carpet to a ‘please keep the noise down on leaving’ sign that references the local badgers via an exterior A-board proclaiming 'Cold Food, Warm Beer, Grumpy Landlord'. Interior décor consists mainly of a mix of sports, music and old town(?) prints. Naff piped chart music on our visit with mute News 24 on large screen. Karaoke and live music advertised. Three ales, Butcombe (flat - over-vented?) Dartmoor Jail and St Austell Tribute. Perhaps a second ale might have swung me a little but I must admit to being a bit disappointed by this one.

The Quicksilver Mail official site with menu and event details - www.quicksilvermail.com

The Quicksilver Mail official site with menu and event details - www.quicksilvermail.com

Situated at the top of Hendford Hill, the Quicksilver Mail is a large, welcoming pub, about 10-15 minutes walking distance from the town centre. The front of the pub is split in two, with the bar on the left and dining room on the right. The bar area is carpeted with scrubbed tables and chairs and one rather drab looking banquette along the back wall. The walls are painted blue and white and there is an eclectic mix of memorabilia on show including a selection of music posters on the back wall and sporting items on the front wall such as programmes from Yeovil Town’s famous FA Cup exploits over the years and a framed display about the Calcutta Cup. A fireplace on the left hand wall has a TV screen above which was switched off during my stay, and an attractive old pub sign alongside it. Steps take you down into the dining room which is mainly decorated with some rather lovely movie posters. Formal table and chair arrangements fill the room in neat rows and there were a few people enjoying decent looking meals on my lunchtime visit. The lunch menu had typical pub grub mains priced at a very reasonable £5.50, although the evening specials board was a lot pricier, with most main courses around the £13.50 mark. To the left of the servery there are some steps that lead up to the rear of the pub, where you can find a second bar which I believe doubles up as the pub’s function room. From here you can access the toilets, which include some excellent bawdy metal advertisements, or the car park which has some picnic benches nearby. Music played unobtrusively throughout my stay and live music seems to be a staple of the pub’s entertainment. As Yeovil’s only Good Beer Guide representative, I was hoping for a varied and interesting ale selection, so it was a little disappointing to find just two working hand pulls offering Sharp’s Doom Bar and Butcombe Bitter. However, any disappointment was quickly forgotten as my pint of Butcombe was sublime. The barmaid who served me was very friendly and the staff in general seemed to have a good rapport with their customers. This is somewhat in contrast to the board outside the pub which declared ‘Good Beer, Good Food, Grumpy Landlord – Don’t believe us? Come in and see!’ It might be argued that it’s a long uphill walk from the town centre to get to a pub serving just two fairly commonly found ales, but I was certainly not complaining after my excellent pint. Had I not been tight for time I would have stayed for a bite to eat too and enjoyed a bit more hospitality from this well run establishment.