Four Quarters, Bristol

Official site of Four Quarters - fourquarters.bar

Official site of Four Quarters - fourquarters.bar

Recently opened after a couple of years of closure, this was formerly Le Château and then the Bristol Ram and was one of the few, if not the only, traditional pub left on Park Street. That’s all changed now though, with the USP here being a large selection of arcade machines that take quarters, hence the pub’s name (if you don’t have any quarters, you can apparently purchase them at the bar) although there was a surprisingly good selection of beer on, albeit entirely keg. It's quite a long, narrow pub, and whilst I seem to remember it opening out somewhat at the back and extending behind one of the neighbouring premises, this is no longer the case. There is however a large skylight window at the rear as well as large windows covering almost the entirety of the front of the pub, so it must feel light and airy in the daylight. Décor wise it’s somewhat rustic I suppose, with sanded wooden boards on the floor, dark blue wood panelling on the lower part of the walls and pale blue paintwork above, as well as sections of white butcher’s tiling. Seating was fairly limited, with punter’s presumably being encouraged to play the machines, and consisted mostly of rather uncomfortable stools rather than proper chairs. The majority of the machines were clustered together in the rear part of the pub, although there were several others dotted around elsewhere and it was difficult to escape their incessant chirping and bleeping. Despite four handpumps on the bar, only one was in use dispensing a cider. One had a pump clip revered and two others were obscured, so presumably there may be a small cask selection on occasions. A blackboard to the side of the bar listed a good selection of keg options though, several from Bristol micro’s, and on my visit these were Bristol Beer Factory’s Milk Stout and Independence, Anspach & Hobday London Black, Lost & Grounded Wanna Go to the Sun and No Rest for Dancers, Left Handed Giant Hazy Pale, Deya Steady Rolling Man, Verdant Headband, Good Chemistry Kokomo Weekday, Newtown Park Maybe Tomorrow (I assume that’s the name of it, and not a “coming soon”), Wiper & True Mimosa and Buxton Right to Roam with three more having sold out. Ciders meanwhile were the excellent Iford New Tradition and BBF’s North Street. Overall, not really my sort of place, but it was interesting to try and they certainly seem to have made a bit of an effort with the beer selection.