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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
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The Canteen, Stokes Croft, Bristol
Bristol
BS1 3QY
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
E TA left this review about The Canteen
A surprisingly pleasant experience given the location and the fact that it's not a traditional pub. The layout is as described below, the kitchen area to the right selling 'street food' (road kill?) at reasonable prices. Although it felt like a student bar, the average age of the punters was in the 60s when we visited, though this didn't stop it having a youthful vibe. The 4 working handpumps were dispensing BBF's Milk Stout, Wiper and True Best Bitter, Branch Hang Down and Farmboy Cider. There was also a good range of craft and keg. The beer prices were surprisingly high for the area, even though the food was cheap, and they only accepted card - maybe this is why younger students were not overly represented. I'm not sure I'd make an effort to come back but it was fine for a quick lunch while passing.
On 10th February 2025
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3516 recommendations about 3480 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about The Canteen
A popular student hangout on the Stokes Croft strip, this looks a fairly uninspiring venue being housed on the ground floor of an unremarkable sixties office block. A paved terrace runs along the entire front of the pub, and this was very busy despite the rather chilly weather.
Internally it’s all one long open plan room, with a fairly basic appearance. The flooring was some type of black screed, whilst the plain whitewashed ceiling had a cable tray running down the middle. Much of the walls were whitewashed brickwork, although the front wall of the pub was entirely floor to ceiling windows, which did at least give it a somewhat airier feel than would otherwise be the case. A long bar counter ran along the back wall, and at one end there was a small selection of sausage rolls, cakes and “freshly baked organic bread”. The semi open kitchen was off to the right, and a large chalk board menu (large as in size, not number of options which were only five or six) was hung here. To the left was a stage area with a few lighting rigs, speakers and so on, and the backdrop to this was a red velvet curtain with the pub’s name on. A bookcase was off to the right, and despite the presence of small candles on all the tables, this is not what I would describe as a cosy pub by any means. A vending machine contained a very eclectic selection of goods including packs of tea, badges, watermelon seeds and pregnancy testing kits! Further to the right was some sort of games room including a pool table, and although this had it’s own entrance it was also accessible from the pub.
Beers on tap were Sharp’s Atlantic, Bristol Beer Factory’s Beam Me Up and Russian Hill, New Bristol Brewery’s Crème Brûlée Stout which sounded intriguing and Butcombe Gold. Ciders on tap were North Street Cider and Ashton Press, whilst a stack of boxes behind the bar added Big Apple and Devon Blush from Ashridge and Wide Eyes Medium. Overall, whilst this isn’t really my sort of place, it’s always very busy and I’d have no objection to popping in again if passing.
On 4th March 2019
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2060 recommendations about 1962 pubs]