The Ridge & Furrow, Abbeydale, Gloucester

Facebook page of The Ridge & Furrow - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Ridge & Furrow - www.facebook.com

Recently re-opened after a spell of closure, it’s clearly had something of a refurbishment and still has something of a fresh paint smell to it. It consists of three rooms internally, as well as gardens on two sides, one of which is more of a children’s play area being enclosed by low fencing and having a number of pieces of wooden play equipment. The main room at the front of the pub is a slightly unusual design, having a sunken area in the middle which was a few steps lower than the surrounding area. Décor wise it’s all very plain, with a freshly plastered white ceiling and the walls being all pale green. Perhaps it is still work in progress, as there were a number of TV screens that were just on the floor leant against the wall. The only features of any note were a brick fireplace at one end with a large bronze chimney hood and some arched windows on one side overlooking the garden. Flooring was predominantly wood strip, with carpet in some areas and some grey slate tiling by the bar. Two further rooms at the rear are broadly similar in terms of style, although both were carpeted and the colour shades here were pale yellow and pale pink. The menu offered a basic selection of pub grub dishes, such as ham egg & chips, scampi and chips, fish and chips, burger and chips, etc. If you think there’s a bit of a theme there, you’d be right – not a single dish on the main meals section came without chips. Prices were mostly around the £7 mark, and I noticed that one of the rooms at the rear included a carvery counter, although that was not in use on my visit. Beers on tap were Doom Bar and Pedigree, whilst ciders were Thatcher’s Gold and Strongbow Dark Fruit. Overall, pleasant enough, but bland and inoffensive, and whilst I’m sure it serves the local populace well enough, it’s clearly not a destination pub and I can see little reason to go out of your way for a visit.

bought by Trust Inns will have a refurb before it opens