ABOE, Clifton, Bristol

Facebook page of ABOE - www.facebook.com

Official site of ABOE - www.aboebristol.com

Facebook page of ABOE - www.facebook.com

Official site of ABOE - www.aboebristol.com

A recent opening on the Whiteladies Road strip, a sign outside proclaims that this is in fact a cocktail bar, so not your traditional pub but they didn’t nonetheless have a small range of drinks on tap which is more than can be said for many such places. Internally, it consists of a single room at the front which has been divided in to a couple of different areas with some walling. A number of high tables and stools were along the left, and further stools by the large windows made the most of the outlook. Décor wise there were sanded wooden boards on the floor and dark green paintwork on the walls. A few old drinks adverts such as Campari and Cinzanno had been made in to pictures and hung on the walls. Beyond the front area, a kitchen blocked off much of the available space, although there was a corridor leading to a courtyard garden at the rear and this had a shelf and further seating along the right. Unusually the chairs were bare metal and very cold. The music was perhaps a tad on the loud side for easy conversation, but the barman was friendly enough and sported the obligatory bushy beard. Unfortunately there were no real ales on tap, just Whitstable Bay on keg. The solitary cider meanwhile was Aspall’s Suffolk. There was of course and extensive cocktail list, although we did not study this. This is a tricky one to mark – for a cocktail bar it’s ok, although certainly nothing particularly memorable, but if you’re after a more traditional pub then you’re going to be disappointed.