The Curfew, Walcot, Bath

Situated on a busy traffic junction, the Curfew is quite thin from the outside. A tiled entranceway gives way to a bare wood floor. There is a seating area to the front with wallpaper, a fireplace and a TV. An Irish rugby shirt hangs high on the wall and there is an Irish rugby banner above the bar, which can be found to the rear right. The landlord appears to be Irish and was quite a cheerful fellow. To the rear left is another room down a couple of steps and there is also a rear patio in addition to a couple of outdoor tables to the front. 3 cask ales were on, with 2 of them being double clipped - Butcombe Bitter, Bass & Electric Bear Gizmo. A cider was occupying a sixth handpull. That was Thatcher's Stan's Cheddar Valley. Electric Bear Tondo was available on keg. Keg ciders were Blackthorn & Thatcher's Gold. Events being promoted were a BBQ party for Bank Holiday Monday whose entry fee of £15 seemed a bit steep. There are also open mic nights on the first Wednesday of each month. My Gizmo was an enjoyable tipple. I thought this was quite a nice place with a friendly gaffer and worthy of its place in the Good Beer Guide.

No longer a Wadsworth pub and now in the same ownership as the Ring O'Bells in Widcombe, just south of Bath Spa station. A mix of local and national brands. My half of Electric Bear Gizmo (brewed in Bath) was fine (NBSS 3.5) but not really to my taste. Worth the short walk out from the Star, but not a patch on it as a pub.

As described below, this is a Wadworth’s town pub with little to mark it out as special. On arrival we had to navigate around 2 scruffy individuals smoking in the doorway, one of whom turned out to be the barman. At the front was a sorry-looking set of tables and chairs from which to enjoy the view of the traffic queuing for the bridge. It was empty and felt drab and neglected inside, with a mixed bag of background music which helped raise the mood from suicidal to dismayed. Ales on were 6X, Seafarers, Henry’s and Swordfish. I tried the 6X which was in average condition, certainly not good enough to justify another. I doubt I’ll return.