Downing’s Bar, Bristol

Official site of Downing’s Bar - downingsbar.co.uk

Official site of Downing’s Bar - downingsbar.co.uk

A recent opening on the site of a former charity shop, this is perhaps more of a wine bar as opposed to your traditional pub, with 20+ options being available by the glass, although there was nonetheless a small selection of beers on tap as well, all from local micro’s. It also seems to be table service, and although there is a bar counter, the keg taps were mounted on a wall to the side so it wasn’t really possible to see what they were, and we were directed to sit at a table and peruse the menu. Décor wise it’s pleasant enough I suppose, if a little nondescript. Both the ceilings and walls are purple, with only a colourful painting at the far end of the pub to break up the monotony, besides a few art-deco style light fittings. The flooring was some sort of slate effect tiles which was quite pleasant, whilst the tables were all made from solid slabs of wood sourced from the local Tyntesfield estate, with the seating being comfy leather chairs and stools. Other than that, there was really little of any note other than the odd pot plant and seasonal poinsettias on all the tables. Perhaps it will evolve to have a little more character as time goes on. There were no real ales on tap unfortunately, with the keg options consisting of Wiper & True Kaleidoscope, ZZ Hop New England IPA and Massive Azacc New England Pale Ale. A different style other than just pale ales would have been a good idea I would have thought, and presumably the selection is quite static as it’s printed in the menu. The solitary cider on tap was the local Ganley Naish, although a chalk board listed several more, again all very local, including some from Nailsea. It wasn’t clear from this though what was bottled; certainly the Sixer from Bristol Cider was from a bag in box behind the bar, but I suspect that most were bottled. Overall, I’ve mixed feelings about this. It’s great to see a new venue open, especially somewhere that wasn’t a pub before, and the landlord was very friendly and chatty, so he should certainly be applauded. Ultimately though, it’s not really my sort of place, but hopefully he will do well.