The Black Cat, Weston Central, Weston Super Mare

A recent opening in a converted shop unit, this is Weston’s first micro-pub and is located in a good spot at the end of the High Street just along the road from the theatre. The landlord seemed a friendly chap and was happy to chat, although it was a shame that there was only one other punter in there on our recent Thursday evening visit. Hopefully they are busier at other times. Note also that the licence is currently only until 10:00pm, although he is hoping to get this changed shortly. Internally it’s all one fairly compact room, and whilst it is inevitably quite minimalist, I thought it had a bit more character than many micro-pubs which can sometimes look rather sparse. The flooring is some sort of pale wood effect tiles, whilst the ceiling is whitewashed plasterwork. A large mural covered the entire left hand wall depicting a black cat amongst some tomb stones, and a shelf ran along the bottom of this. Elsewhere was brick effect wallpaper. Beer was served from barrels racked up on stillage behind the bar counter, whilst the ciders were all from boxes. Several more barrels were scattered around the floor of the pub. The current beer selection was all chalked up on a board next to the bar and on this occasion consisted of a trio from Wrington micro Twisted Oak - Crack Gold, Fallen Tree and Solstice and these were joined by Wiper & True Kaleidoscope, Good Chemistry Shadow Future, Red Cat Scratch and Hop Kettle Evening Star. A further four or five beer mats indicated the “coming soon” selection. Ciders meanwhile were all from Bradder’s with their Farmhouse Sweet, Farmhouse Medium Dry and Somerset Medium Soft. A good selection of gins and wine were also available. All in all, I thought this was a very decent new opening for Weston and one of the best micro-pubs that I have been to.