Five the Beach, Clevedon

I have stopped in here for a coffee previously on a couple of occasions, and I had never considered adding it as a pub. In fact, I didn’t even realise they sold alcohol so I was surprised to see it listed here. Having visited again I found that they do, but it is very much more of a café/coffee shop than a pub. There is some seating outside at the front which offers good views of the bay, whilst internally it is fairly small and the tables are quite tightly crammed in. It is light and airy though with good sized windows to make the most of the views. Flooring is some sort of dark laminate whilst the paintwork is predominantly khaki green with some contrasting burnt orange. A few colourful pictures were on the wall, many featuring ingredients such as Marmite or HP sauce, whilst a few books and board games were on a shelf in the corner although I suspect these were more intended for kids to play with. As befits it’s coffee shop credentials, there were a selection of cakes on the end of the bar, whilst the menu seemed to concentrate primarily on breakfast dishes with a few other options such as baguettes and light bites. Prices seemed expensive though, with a “half English” (three choices from the full English) plus toast coming in at £7. Unfortunately there were no beers on tap, real or otherwise. In fact there were no drinks on draught at all. The menu said that they were licenced and to ask for details, but going on the bottles on a shelf behind the bar the only beer was Butcombe Blond and the only cider Ashton Press. This is a tricky one to mark. As a coffee shop it’s perfectly fine, but not spectacular; the location is very pleasant and the staff were friendly. But if you’re after a more traditional pub, then this certainly isn’t for you.