Golden Heart, Gloucester

Attractive pub set in a dip of the A417 and one which I must have passed several times before without ever noticing. Primarily a food-led pub, it seems to have unpredictable opening hours. We'd read that it closed at 3pm and had made it our first stop, considering many other pubs we wanted to visit in Gloucestershire weren't opening until later in the day. However, we passed again later in the day at almost 6pm, only to see that the front door was open. One final trip past at around 10pm saw the pub in darkness however, signifying that there is little local trade here. Most of their business presumably comes from passing trade. With all tables reserved for diners, we secured a couple of seats next to the bar in the left-hand room (as you enter). I think this was what Blackthorn described as "a sort of bench built into the wall". A shelf behind it did at least contain copies of the local CAMRA magazine for us to peruse. A real fire gave the pub a cosy feel. The solitary real ale here was Brakspear Gravity, which hardly merits the pub's inclusion in the Good Beer Guide. It didn't bode well for our remaining pubs. But as it turned out, this proved to be the worst pub of the day, with all other pubs stocking multiple real ales. Nice location, despite being on a busy road. But failed to hit the spot.

A traditional looking stone built pub located on the main A417, it consists of a number of rooms internally split across different levels, and was presumably at one time a row of cottages which has been knocked in to one. There are three rooms on the lower level, with the central one probably being the most atmospheric. This had quarry tiles on the floor at the front with a massive fireplace to the right, and piles of logs stocked up ready for the colder weather as well as an old bread oven tucked away at the rear and a few horse brasses on the lintel above. Walls were mostly a shade of pale blue whilst the front wall was all exposed stonework with a bunch of hops strung up above the window. The area at the rear which included the bar counter was really quite small with nothing in the way of any seating other than a sort of bench built in to the wall. This had flagstones on the floor and a small window giving views of the garden and the attractive rolling hills beyond. A smaller room to the left was broadly similar in décor, although with carpet on the floor, salmon paintwork and a small, tiled fireplace. The room to the right was again carpeted, with a large fireplace although this looked to be unused with just some large copper urns in the hearth. Dark wood panelling was on the lower part of the walls. There is probably quite a strong food emphasis at here with most of the tables laid up and a large blackboard above the fireplace, and indeed, something of a fishy smell when I entered. I didn’t study the menu, but most of the main courses looked to be somewhere around the £12 mark, with the specials being slightly more. Beers on tap were Gloucester Cascade, Brakspear Bitter, Wainwright Ale and Mighty Monk. Ciders meanwhile were Stowford Press and Aspall’s Suffolk. Overall, I thought this was a lovely old pub and would certainly return to check out the food if I lived a little nearer.