King William IV, Bath

As described below by Blackthorn, the renovations to which he refers have effectively removed most of its village pub character, leaving a rather characterless barn-like establishment with a couple of nice snugs and open fires. On the plus side the staff were pleasant and welcoming, and the beer was good. Bath Gem and Tribute were on,while a 3rd ale had just gone off, leaving an unclipped pump. It was comfortable enough, but I don’t see myself making an effort to come here although I’d be happy to drop in when passing.

At one time this was no doubt a traditional village boozer, but it looks to have undergone an extensive refurbishment and now has a very firm gastro-pub style to it, albeit still offering a “pub grub” menu. The seating was all chunky wooden tables that appeared more suited to dining with many being reserved, although to be fair they weren’t all laid up for food. It just didn’t strike me as somewhere that was particularly cosy to stop and sup a pint. It’s divided in to two halves either side of the entrance door, although both are quite similar in style. Large flagstone style tiles cover the floor whilst the walls are a mixture of cream plasterwork on the top half with the lower half covered in wooden cladding painted in the usual Farrow & Ball shades of green and brown. Painted wood cladding also covered the ceiling, whilst a number of drinks related mirrors were on the walls, including several for whisky and one for Taunton Cider at Norton Fitzwarren which brought back happy memories of when Blackthorn was a decent pint. A large stone fire-place was at one end that housed a wood burning stove and opposite this something of a feature had been made of a pile of logs displayed in a recess in the partition wall. A shelf above the fire-place was filled with old paperback novels, presumably part of some book swap scheme. Food wise, the menu offered a fairly concise selection of pub grub dishes with options such as ham & egg, fish & chips or a “proper” pie, although these were priced slightly above your usual pub prices at around the £10 - £12 mark. There were also a few specials chalked up on a board above the fire-place at around the £14/£15 mark. A Spaghetti Carbonara was a decent and tasty dish, and although it didn’t look an especially big portion was nonetheless quite filling. A Vegetable Chilli on the other side of the table was also well received. The two barmaids were pleasant enough, but service at the bar could be a bit haphazard as they were concentrating on waitressing duties as well as pulling pints. Beers on tap were Butcombe and Gem, along with Butcombe’s Brunel Atlantic IPA on keg. Ciders were Ashton Press and Weston’s Family Reserve.