The White Lion, Westbury-On-Trym, Bristol

Official site of The White Lion - www.emberinns.co.uk

A good sized Ember Inns pub in the centre of Westbury village, it has a rather bland, corporate style of decor similar to many other chain establishments up and down the country. It is a large pub split over a couple of levels and in a roughly O-shape formation with a central bar counter accessible from the lower level. The front part of the pub seems to be more the drinking area and there were a number of fruit machines here as well as a plasma that was showing Midsomer Murders, although quite why anyone would sit in a pub and watch that, especially when the volume was so low as to be virtually inaudible, I’m not sure. The paintwork was a mixture of very pale green and contrasting maroon, whilst the flooring was primarily a generic patterned carpet with some tiling around the bar. A few old black and white photographs of the locale were dotted around the walls and there were a number of small alcoves tucked around the pub with book cases and such like trying to create a cosy ambience. There were also a number of open fires around which was a nice touch, although these all appeared to be gas rather than coal or wood. The menu offered an extensive selection of dishes divided in to sections such as sharers, pasta & salads, burgers, fish, chargrill and proper pub food, the latter consisting of options such as lasagne, chilli con carne, chicken & leek pie, etc., and these mostly appeared to be priced around the £8 - £10 mark. There was a good range of beers on tap, and all the beer mats tacked above the bar counter suggest a frequently changing selection. On this occasion the were 6X, Butcombe, Brakspear’s Bitter, Doom Bar, Top of the Hops, Bombardier and Rev James. Ciders too were well represented with Thatcher’s Gold, Stowford Press, Blackthorn and Thatcher’s Old Rascal. All In all, although I’m not really one for chain pubs, I thought they’d made a decent effort with this and I would happily return if in the area.

Official site of The White Lion - www.emberinns.co.uk