The Bath Cider House, Bath

A recent opening in an area of town that seems to struggle a bit, the premises has been closed for some time and the restaurant next door has changed hands countless times with nobody seeming to be able to make a go of it. This has now a sister venue to the Bath Brew House and has had some considerable investment, and hopefully will do well. The street level bar, if you can call it that, has just one table with an impressive view of the fermentation tanks at the rear. All the action takes place downstairs with a good-sized room as well as a terrace that looks have though it may have some great views over the hills beyond Bath, although it was too dark on our visit to appreciate this. The styling is fairly industrial which of course suits it’s brewpub ethos, with sanded wooden boards on the floor, some exposed brick walling and air conditioning ducting on the ceiling. Further fermentation vessels are at the rear, with some copper pipework leading to taps behind the bar. The bar counter itself was clad with wood strip in a multitude of colours, and there was further rough wood panelling on some of the walls. Seating was a mixture of regular tables and chairs as well as some high stools. The food offering was entirely pizzas, and my Big Boi BBQ with beef meatballs, pulled pork, pepperoni, red onion, BBQ sauce and mozzarella was very good indeed, although at £21.50 you could well argue it should be. That said, they are very, very big (14” square) pizzas, so one would be enough for two to share. Beers on tap were Fortitude and Independence from Bristol Beer Factory, although of course cider is the main focus here and this was divided in to the usual keg offerings on the front of the bar, their own dispensed from taps on the wall behind the bar as well as a good selection of bag in boxes. On this occasion the choice was Stowford Press, Inch’s Medium Apple, Angry Orchard. Thatcher’s Gold, Lilley’s Bee Sting and Lilley’s Apple & Pear on the front of the bar, Yuza Sour Hybrid, Bath Gold and Passion in Cider was their own offering and the boxes consisted of Gwynt y Ddraig’s Happy Daze, Cotswold’s Voodoo and Freak Show, Sandford Orchard’s Devon Scrumpy, Healey’s Flattler, Heck’s Perry, Old Rosie, Harry’s No 8 Traditional Sweet, Lilley’s Crazy Goat and Santa and a couple from Rich’s. All in all, a great new edition to Bath’s already very good pub scene.

Previously a night club called the Nest, it is still a late night bar that has gained the cider house tag. It feels a bit like a chimera in that respect, not quite managing to be either, but managing to be something out of the ordinary. You enter at street level into a small room, a former shop front, then walk downstairs the level below into a large hall, wooden floored, with a long bar at the side and a selection of wooden tables. There is a pizza servery at the end nearest the stairs, and a further, though much smaller, room beyond that and near the toilets. At the rear of the hall is a large picture window with an impressive view over part of the City. This in turn leads to an outside terrace with what looks like infant school furniture and a gaily painted fence. The cider plant is on display on both floors, with a large pipe leading to four taps in the middle of the wall behind the bar. Only one brew was on, though, the other three taps signed ‘coming soon’. There were 11 boxed ciders and a perry, plus 6 keg ciders, a craft ale, Gamma Ray, Guinness, two premium lagers and, thankfully, two handpumps dispensing Fortitude and Inspiration from Bristol Beer Factory. Sadly it doesn’t open lunchtimes during the week, but it does stay open late providing an alternative to the other nearby late bars.

Facebook page of The Bath Cider House - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Bath Cider House - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Bath Cider House - www.bathciderhouse.co.uk

Official site of The Bath Cider House - www.bathciderhouse.co.uk