The Strawberry Thief, Bristol

A town bar specialising in strong lagers, mainly Belgian, as described below. There is still no real ale available, though the lagers are complemented by local craft beers. I had a pint of House Party Pale Ale at an expensive £6.50, OK as these things go but predictably unsatisfying. The foreign staff were attentive enough, but it lacked atmosphere and wasn’t for me, but I can see how it would appeal to the Bristol crowd.

Official site of The Strawberry Thief - www.strawberrythiefbar.com

Official site of The Strawberry Thief - www.strawberrythiefbar.com

A recent addition to Broad Street, the unusual name comes from a design of William Morris wallpaper that was apparently printed nearby at one time, and there is an example of this in the small rear bar. The pub only offers table service which some may feel precludes it being a proper pub, but I understand that this is a licensing restriction rather than any deliberate intent. The only food currently offered is quiche, although apparently a kitchen is coming soon. The bulk of the pub consists of one large room at the front, with large windows to let in plenty of light and a sanded wood floor. It has quite an elegant feel with large brass lamps and high ceilings. Decor wise, the colour scheme is pale blue and there is white wood panelling on the lower part of the walls. There are several pieces of floral artwork around, as well as a number of empty beer bottles on the ledges and window sills. A tiled fire-place was off to one side, although this appeared unused. Towards the rear was a smaller walk through area with a tiled floor and beyond this the bar, although this too was quite a small room with only one table. Beers were all of the Belgian variety, both the bottled and draught versions. The tap beers were Pauwel Kwak, Westmalle Dubell, Blanche de Bruxelles, Kasteel Rouge and Bruges Zot. Tasting notes were helpfully provided on the menu and I opted for the last one as I’m not a fan of witbeer and this one sounded quite pleasant with it’s citrus notes and hints of coriander and it did indeed seem decent enough, although I’m certainly not an expert. Prices seemed high though with the cheapest one coming in at £5 per pint and rising to £7.40, although four of the five were quite strong (up to 8%) and only sold in halves.