Slipway Bar @ Midland Hotel, Weston Seafront, Weston Super Mare

One of many hotel bars along this stretch of the seafront, this does however have it’s own identity rather than just being a hotel bar, and is in fact a surprisingly pleasant and cosy spot and once inside you could quite imagine that you were in a regular pub. There’s a terrace out the front which must be a pleasant spot in the sunny weather, and the landlord was pleasant and friendly. Internally it’s got quite a traditional feel to it with patterned carpet on the floor, a wood panelled bar counter and full height bookcase style wallpaper to the left. Several old leather sofas were clustered around a small fireplace and next to this was a small TV on a stand which looked slightly out of place in a pub, being more the sort of thing one would expect to find in the home. There was also a large flat screen mounted on the wall, but neither were in use on our visit. A fish tank at the end of the bar was something of an unusual feature, and the stained glass panels above the bar counter lent a further traditional touch, although in something of a contrast to this was the matt mirrored ceiling at the rear of the pub. A few sculptured pictures were dotted around the walls. A further room was at the rear, although we did not investigate this. Although there was one handpump on the bar, this was unused with the only beer options being keg Worthington Creamflow which appeared to have run out and John Smith’s Extra Smooth Crap which no doubt lived up to it’s name. Ciders fared better though with Thatcher’s Gold, Thatcher’s Haze and Strongbow Cloudy Apple. All in all, I was quite pleasantly surprised by this, and it’s certainly a better bet that many of the other rather chavvy options nearby.

Official site of Slipway Bar (Midland Hotel) - www.midlandhotelweston.com

Official site of Slipway Bar (Midland Hotel) - www.midlandhotelweston.com