Cosies, Bristol

A small, basement pub tucked away on the corner of Portland Square, it is perhaps in a slightly unlikely location but advertises itself with a string of lights which is visible from all around the square. Once you’ve walked down the steps you find a few arches off you your left which each house a table and chairs and this is a cosy and secluded spot with it’s atmospheric lighting, and of course being outside it’s a popular spot with the smokers. The pub itself is a L-shape affair with the front bar having a flagstone floor with a few tiles around the bar, some exposed stone wall on the left and what was presumably at one time a fire-place on the right but has now been plastered and made in to a bit of a feature. Among other things it included a model Dalek. The seating was wooden benches and there was a candle on all the tables to add to the ambience. The rear bar was down a couple of steps, and this was probably the more atmospheric of the two rooms with a brick vaulted ceiling. The menu was chalked up on a board next to the bar and consisted of a concise selection of meals such as pulled pork, ploughman’s and a sausage sandwich as well as a few burgers and salads. These were mostly priced at around the £6 - £7 mark. I suspect that they may only do food on a lunch time though, there was certainly no sign of it on the evening that we visited. Music features prominently here I believe, although it was just CD’s playing when we were there, and these were playing at a volume that was just about ok; I certainly wouldn’t have wanted it any louder. Beers on tap were slightly disappointing with just GWB’s Bees Knees served from a box behind the counter. There was a solitary unused pump on the bar, so maybe this is used on occasions and they also had keg Bombardier and Butcombe Blond. The solitary cider was Ashton Press.

Official site of Cosies - www.cosies.co.uk