The White Hart, Brislington, Bristol

Marked as closed

Apparently it’s due to re-open this weekend, but the door was open as I passed this afternoon, so obviously in I went, and the friendly young lady behind the bar was happy to serve me a half of London Pride (at £1.75 - £3.50 a pint? not cheap). There were two handpumps on the bar, but neither had clips attached – yet. This is nothing like the pub it was. All the bric-a-brac has gone, the walls are painted a brownish grey colour, and the bar counter is a bit smaller on the right than it was. In fact it’s now very minimalist, although the parquet flooring looks original, and one of the large tables in the area on the right looks to be a solid antique. It seems it’s being re-branded as a Mediterranean restaurant. This review is based on only a 10-minute snapshot visit, but I think that I can safely say that it’s not the sort of place that someone who likes the traditional pub is going to want to sit in for a quiet pint, but it might be the sort of place where you could get some decent tapas. Maybe another visit to sample the food at some stage might be in order. The pub name outside still refers to it as “Ye Olde White Bear”, but judging by Alex Silver’s posting, that is likely to change.

XXX CLOSED XXX It seems the White Hart closed on Thursday 4th March 2010, not the following day as was publicised. I guess a ploy to stop the place getting wrecked? Anyway, after many years as a Customer (1975) and as a DJ and Bar staff, it is really sad to see the White Hart close it's doors for the last time as a Public House. Until a few years ago, a John Barras themed pub with great food. Originally a Coaching Inn, the White Hart stands at the bottom of Brislington Hill. It had a new roof a couple of years ago, lick of green paint and a degree of decorating inside, but a lot was missed and quite frankly, it got really tatty. According to the local Press, the Pub is expected to be transformed into a permanent headquarters for the Bristol School of Performing Arts. [admin note: marked as closed 09/03/2010]