The Darlington Arms, Bristol

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Blackthorn _ left this review about The Darlington Arms

A roadside pub on the A38 just a mile or so south of the airport, this should be a prime spot with plenty of passing trade but it seems to have struggled somewhat over the last few years with frequent spells of closure and looking quite deserted even when it’s been open. It’s now under new management and has had something of a renovation, so hopefully things are looking up.

Besides the rather odd uPVC porch tacked on to the front, it has a fairly traditional appearance with a leaded stained glass window incorporating the pub’s name at the front. Inside it consists of a bar to the front, restaurant at the side and a small games room at the rear with a pool table and darts board. There was also a table skittles game in the middle of the bar. Décor wise, it’s now quite contemporary with a sanded wood floor, pale green paintwork on the wood cladding on the lower part of the walls and white plasterwork elsewhere. Whilst not unpleasant, it doesn’t really have much in the way of character other than a couple of colourful watercolours on the walls and the obligatory exposed filament lamps that every single pub renovation fits these days. An old brick fire-place at the rear had a real log fire blazing away.

The menu offered a selection of pub grub dishes such as ham egg & chips, fish & chips, burger, etc., and these were mostly priced somewhere between about £9 - £11, so perhaps a pound or two more than your usual pub prices. My rabbit biryani was a decent enough dish and everything was served in an on-trend selection of iron skillets, slates and wooden boards rather than anything so mundane as a plate.

Beers on tap were Butcombe, Tribute and Twisted Oak’s Fallen Tree, whilst the ciders were Gold and Haze, both from Thatcher’s. Overall, I’ve mixed feelings about this. It’s obviously good to see it open again, the landlady was pleasant and friendly and the food wasn’t at all bad. On the other hand, it lacked much in the way of any atmosphere, and I’m not sure it’s somewhere I’d make a beeline for if I were just having a pint.

On 3^rd March 2016 - rating: 6
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