Talbot Inn, Bristol

Official site of Talbot Inn - www.hungryhorse.co.uk

Official site of Talbot Inn - www.hungryhorse.co.uk

Now a Hungry Horse, so there are no surprises here. As you enter the smell of cheap, mass produced food is overpowering. The staff were functional, unfriendly and a bit rude, but that’s about right for this chain. There was a herd of coffin dodgers out for a group meal, a couple of young mothers with their offspring and one or two solitary drinkers, but no real pub atmosphere. Two ales on, GK IPA, which was in good condition, and Abbott, which we didn’t try. Not a great pub, and I don’t see my revisiting unless there’s a change of ownership.

A good sized pub on the main road out of Keynsham, this is part of the Fayre & Square chain and consequently follows the somewhat formulaic offering of all their pubs with little in the way of any character. It consists of one large open-plan L-shape room although low partitioning separates this off in to different areas. The front part of the pub appears to me more used for dining whilst a popular quiz was in progress towards the rear. Decor is the usual salmon and mustard colours and the floor is mostly carpeted with some attractive mottled tiling in the main thoroughfares. There were a couple of fire-places around, but whether these are just decorative or actually used in the colder weather I’m not sure. There was also some exposed brickwork in one corner, but again I suspect this is not original. There is some outside seating at the front, but being on a busy main road, the outlook is not the best. Food wise, the menu looked to be of the usual cheep and cheerful type and was divided in to sections such as From the grill, chicken, fish, burgers and pub favourites. Main courses were mostly around the £6 - £8 mark, although many were also available as part of a “2 for £10” deal. A display cabinet housed a selection of giant desserts for punters to peruse. We didn’t eat on this occasion so can’t comment on the quality. Beers on tap were Butcombe, Gem and Doom Bar whilst ciders were Blackthorn and Thatcher’s Gold. Although this is not really my sort of pub, it clearly meets local demand and was pretty much full to capacity on a recent Thursday evening visit with both diners and quizzers. Consequently service at the bar was somewhat slow with the two bar staff trying to take food orders as well as serve drinks.