Part of a small chain of bars specialising in cider, pizza and pies, this place opened in the summer of 2013 in one of the prime Harbourside units, making it an inevitably popular weekend destination. The place operates more as a restaurant, so is best avoided by drinkers at peak dining times, but the range of ciders make it an interesting prospect if you can time your visit well. You enter to the right side of the unit, passing a large cart wheel to emerge into a large room with an open kitchen to the right and the servery along the rear wall. Long canteen style benches are arranged in formal rows through the main body of the room, creating a somewhat chaotic and messy environment as staff tried to get to vacated spots to clear the tables. The décor is pretty dull, with a tiled floor and lots of exposed pipes running around the ceiling - nothing you haven't seen hundreds of times before. Over to the left there is a raised seating area with slightly comfier looking seating and the room extends a little to the rear here, where it might be possible to bag a relatively peaceful spot. The large windows at the front allow you to enjoy watching the crowds pass by, but there is plenty of people watching to be done inside, with large groups stuffing their faces with pizza and pie, creating a raucous environment on our Saturday evening visit. A few picnic benches are available outside, should the weather permit al-fresco drinking. The raison d'etre here is the cider, which comes in plentiful supply. The bar back has a series of cubby holes into which numerous boxes of cider are stored, with plenty more available on handpull or keg tap. A board behind the bar listed 20 different cider options in all, but with the keg and bottle options I suspect that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. A few bottled beers were available alongside on real ale - a house beer from St Austell called Stable Drop Pale Ale. I sampled this but found it in pretty terrible shape, presumably the result of low turnover. We tried some cider as well and thankfully it was much better. This is an interesting concept for a chain and may have just caught the current wave of enthusiasm for 'real' cider at just the right time, although I guess it's always been pretty popular in these parts. The location is a mixed blessing and means it's best avoided at the weekend but I imagine the place will do very well and it makes an interesting 'alternative' to consider.

4th Sep 2014, 19:50

Picture submitted by Graham Mason approvedmore