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Chat about:
Beer of the Week (w/e 15th June 2025) with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Pony, Bristol
Chew Magna
Postal town: Bristol
BS40 8TQ
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Pony
Since my previous review, this has been closed for a while, and although it reopened a couple of years back now under the same ownership, I was unsure whether it still qualified as a pub, i.e.; you could just pop in for a pint. In fact their website describes it as a restaurant, event venue, cookery school and kitchen garden with no mention of the pub side of the business. But on a recent Friday evening visit, I found that there were no diners in the front bar and the friendly waitress confirmed that it did indeed still operate as a pub as well. That said, there were no drinkers in the front bar either, it was completely deserted, with all punters eating in the restaurant at the rear.
Décor wise, the main bar area is perhaps a little more contemporary in appearance than I recall from my previous visit, although it still retains the attractive parquet wood floor and a couple of exposed brick fireplaces. There were a few small wooden beams on the freshly plastered ceiling, and a small bookshelf at one end. Seating was a mixture of wooden pews with a padded seat cushion as well as further scatter cushions, plus regular wooden chairs. Lit candles were on the tables and some unusual pieces of artwork were scattered around the walls. A snug at one end was a little cosier perhaps with a rug on the floor whilst an adjacent toom looked to operate as a private dining room with a large laid table filling much of the available floor space and a deep red hue on the ceiling and khaki green on the walls. Overall it offered the sort of upmarket feel you might expect in an expensive and modernised gastropub.
The dining room at the rear has been extended significantly since my previous visit, and is now an impressive light and airy space with glazing all along the back wall and several French doors opening out on to a veranda, which gives spectacular views of the very attractive manicured and landscaped gardens as well as the rolling fields beyond. The dining room itself is very attractive with Farrow & Ball style green paintwork on the ceiling interspersed with a few oak beams, plenty of rugs on the floor, a large central wood burner and much exposed stonework at the back and along the side. It’s all very, very nicely done. The menu is a bit of a cross between a tasting menu and an a la carte – there’s a set number of courses, and a set price (£60), although you can choose what you want for starter (or larder as they call it), main and dessert. Some of those options then have supplementary pricing, including the Lion’s Maine which was a £60 supplement! That said, everything we had was really very good indeed and thoroughly enjoyable.
Unfortunately there were no real ales on tap, but then again they probably don’t get the throughput to warrant it. The solitary keg option was Bristol Beer Factory’s Independence, whilst the cider was North Street. Overall, certainly a fantastic restaurant, but as a pub I’m not so sure.
On 16th June 2025
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2070 recommendations about 1970 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Pony & Trap
A pleasant and traditional looking country pub just outside Chew Magna, the beer garden makes the most of the outlook with great views over the rolling countryside. Inside the traditional look continues, although the focus here is nowadays very much on the food with renowned local chef Josh Eggleton at the helm who has held a Michelin star for the last three years, and in fact the pub was recently voted the third best gastro-pub in the country. Although the website says that farmers still pop in for a pint, in practice the vast majority of the tables were laid up for food, and I don’t think there was anyone there who was not eating when we visited.
The bar area at the front of the pub has parquet wood flooring at either end with some quarry tiling in the middle. There is dark green wood panelling on the lower part of the walls with cream plasterwork above, and exposed stonework in a couple of places. A fire-place was down at the far end with a few horse brasses dotted around and a Chesterfield armchair or two. Various earthenware jugs were on the window sills and a row of pewter tankards hung above the bar. A few black and white photographs were dotted around showing either the pub or other country scenes. A small alcove at the rear had whitewashed stone walls and one large table and beyond this is a small extension used as a restaurant which has a much more contemporary feel with a large arched window overlooking the garden.
Food wise, the menu is several steps above your usual pub grub as would be expected, although there was still the option of a burger and chips at £12.50. Other than that, most of the main courses were in the £18 - £20 range which is actually quite reasonable for a Michelin starred restaurant, and we thoroughly enjoyed everything that we had.
Beers on tap were Butcombe and the seasonal Crimson King from the same brewery. A third pump appeared unused, whilst the solitary cider was Aston Press. Overall I really liked this pub with it’s picturesque setting, traditional, cosy ambience, really friendly staff and great food. But then again, I appreciate it may not be “pubby” enough for some.
On 14th November 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2070 recommendations about 1970 pubs]