Coeur de Lion, Bath

This really is a small pub with a very attractive stained glass frontage.There is a woodburner close to the bar and a few tables while the upstairs room indicated for dining ,but can be used by drinkers who want a seat.The outside tables make perfect sense in good weather.The downstairs loo is certainly cramped for anyone sizeable. The fly in the ointment was poor ale quality with both Keystone VPA and Braydon YerTiz clear but in poor condition.The other option was Abbey White Friar with the final handpump having a reversed clip.Bad luck on our trip? Maybe but I would be wary of a return given the strong competition close by.

Official site of the Coeur de Lion - www.coeur-de-lion.co.uk

Official site of the Coeur de Lion - www.coeur-de-lion.co.uk

Positioned down an attractive passageway off The High Street is The Coeur de Lion, reputedly Bath’s smallest pub. It’s a comfortable and traditionally furnished single room pub with a striking stained glass window denoting “Devenish’s Public Bar Weymouth”. The interior features some exposed brickwork, a few Bath Rugby photos and fewer than half a dozen tables. A newly opened room upstairs provides additional room for diners. Additional seating is outside in the narrow passageway. On my recent lunchtime visit, it was pleasing to see how this pub, despite its proximity to the Abbey and its picturesque location, has consciously remained first and foremost a pub and has resisted the temptation ( unlike other pubs I could mention ) to sell its heart and soul to the food orientated tourist trade. There are clearly a loyal crowd of regulars on first name terms with the friendly staff. Formerly a Devenish pub – as the frontage indicates – it’s now owned by Abbey Ales, Bath’s only brewery – and not to be confused with Bath Ales, who are based in East Bristol ! On the 4 pumps were Abbey Ales Bellringer, Teignworthy Neep Tide and a beer called Old Codger – the origin of which, in an inexcusable momentary dereliction of duty, I have not recorded. The Bellringer - £ 2.90p – was in good form. The fourth pump was serving Hells Bells, the Abbey Ales own brand cider. The pub is listed in the 2011 Good Beer Guide. This pub is well worth seeking out, but I imagine that large groups are discouraged for obvious reasons.