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Submitted on Saturday, 1st July 2017
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Detail Pages
The Bank Tavern, Bristol
Bristol
BS1 2HR
Served areas
Bank Tavern
Here's what's happening at the pub this week
7:02 PM Jun 12th from Twitter Web App
Reviews of The Bank Tavern (Average Rating: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The Bank Tavern
As described below, this is a decent alehouse tucked away just off the shopping streets and hidden by The Lanes bowling alley. Basic food was on at a fair price, there was a family in with well-behaved children but otherwise it was solo drinkers. Ales on were 1846 Stout, Red 5, Don’t Worry, Be Hoppy, Wildwood and Natural’s Proper Drop. The ales were in very good condition, served with a smile. Craft beers were Stateside IPA and Neck Oil, predictably over-chilled and over-priced. I’d be very happy to come back in for a few beers, and it’s a good candidate for a crawl.
On 2nd February 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3285 recommendations about 3250 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Bank Tavern
A long-overdue revisit. Feels somewhat lighter inside than I recall – has the varnishing been toned down? There is certainly less ‘stuff’ than before. Four cask were on though a weird selection with three of them being 4.8% or above. My Butcombe Original had not matured long enough to be as truly enjoyable as I know it can, but it did enough to pass muster (NBSS 3). Comedy in the bogs, with the gents cubicle door having had a large chunk sawn out of it to accommodate what I assumed to be a replacement toilet. Pity the chap who fitted it, re-hung the door and then thought “oh shit!”. Anyway this is still a good pub to know about in the city centre but it isn’t really first division.
May 2013
Nestled away in the warren of narrow streets that snake through this part of the city centre, the Bank sits adjacent to a couple of 1970’s office blocks that tower overhead and rather cut out the natural light. This is a small, fairly basic boozer, L-shaped with dark wood panelling, boarded floor, padded banquettes, leaded windows and flock wallpaper. Four ales and two ciders on during my visit. The ales were a good mix and my chocolate stout (at 6.9%!) was tasty and a very reasonable £1.65 with a taster offered unprompted. Blackboards above bar hosted scribblings with ‘word’, ‘universal truth’ and ‘fact’ of the day which were amusing rather than crass (a fine line). Décor of note includes framed British banknote detail art, flowers in vases on the windowsills and a little hanging box with pigeonholes housing a variety of pieces from a Monopoly set. The rear fire looked real though was unlit (it could have done with being on though). The toilets were in pretty good order and appeared to have had a recent revamp. Classic rock at a reasonable volume was the piped music of choice. The sticky tables could do with a proper bit of grease-busting though. A good little stop-off and I’ll be seeking this one out again next time in Bristol. Rated 7
On 10th December 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5099 recommendations about 5082 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Bank Tavern
This is a small, compact city centre pub with a simple, single room interior. The room is bare boarded throughout with the servery running midway down the right hand wall. High stools serve drinking ledges to the front of the room, with banquette and chair seating covering much of the remaining perimeter space. The bar has a dark wood panelled counter, broken part-way along by a massive pillar, and a fairy-light strewn canopy topped with a collection of board games. The front part of the room includes a deer skull collection above the front door, a large banknote image of the Queen above what appears to be a former fireplace and a limited pump clip collection. To the rear there are more banquettes, a smart fireplace with dark wood surround and a few dusty books on top and a few more banknote images of the Queen. Lots of outdoor seating was available in the small square outside the pub, resulting in the typically London-based phenomena of having more customers outside than in on an evening visit. A huge St George’s flag was spread across the ceiling although there was no suggestion that sport is regularly screened here, and a hip music soundtrack played throughout my stay.
On the bar, four hand pumps offered Butcombe Original and Rare Breed, Milk Street The Usual and Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout. I decided to have a pint of The Usual, served to me by a real cheery geezer-type of barman, and thought it was maybe a little past its best, if still very much drinkable.
This place offers a very simple, uncomplicated drinking environment with some basic but comfortable seating, friendly staff and a decent selection of local ales. I liked the vibe in here although can imagine it would feel very different if all those people sat outside suddenly decided to pile into the pub, and would suggest it makes a solid addition to a crawl of this part of the city.
On 8th January 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
View more reviews of The Bank Tavern (15)
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- Official site of The Bank - banktavern.com
- Facebook - The Bank Tavern
- Twitter - Bank Tavern
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Bank Tavern - whatpub.com
Montpelier, 1.06 miles, 20 min walk (show)
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Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Beer Garden : Yes - some front outside seating - last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : Yes - Discount amount not stated by Bristol CAMRA - last updated 21 April 2017 by ROB Camra
- Car Park : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Darts : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Function Room : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Hot Food : Yes - Lunchtime only - last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Jukebox : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Karaoke : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Live Music : Yes - every other Thursday - last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Micropub : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Quiz Night : Yes - Tuesday - last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
- WiFi : Yes last updated 10 December 2021 by Quinno _
