Duke Of Cornwall, Bristol

Handsome building but sadly a shabby place within that has been whacked around and smells of old fags and damp. Cream, purple and mushroom shades with a bit of exposed timberwork. Sports room in the dog leg area. Modern music, totally out-of-whack with the customer base on a quiet Saturday afternoon, up against rugby on the jumbo screens. The servery looks like a 50s fit and is pretty unique (see pic). Two pumps with a serviceable Doom Bar (NBSS 2.5). Drinks can be taken out the front to a grass area with a view over the way to Shirehampton.

An traditional looking stone built pub facing the river, it is perhaps not as big internally as you might expect from it’s imposing exterior, consisting of two interconnected bars in a Z formation, the rear one being dominated by a pool table. First impressions weren’t very welcoming with a huddle of smokers in the doorway, but they were actually quite friendly as stood aside to let us through. Décor wise it’s fairly unremarkable with dark brown painted wallpaper on the lower part of the walls and cream plasterwork elsewhere. Flooring in the front bar was mostly carpet with some laminate by the bar counter. A number of plasma screens were dotted around, although these were not in use on our visit, and a large log fireplace was off to the right. Some exposed timberwork where the two bars joined was perhaps the most interesting feature. Beers on tap were their own Duke of Cornwall brewed for them by Wadworths, along with Doom Bar. Ciders meanwhile were a trio from Thatcher’s – Dry, Gold and Heritage. If none of that takes your fancy, a machine behind the bar dispensed vodka shots in a selection of flavours including sweet toffee pudding, salted caramel or crispy bacon.