North Street Standard, Bedminster, Bristol

Official site of North Street Standard - www.northststandard.co.uk

Official site of North Street Standard - www.northststandard.co.uk

A new edition to the North Street strip, and a sister pub to the Urban Standard in Gloucester Road, this is one of a number of pubs that have opened or re-opened recently at this end of North Street and it is now starting to compete quite effectively with the well established Southville end of the road. It is set back from the pavement and there were a number of picnic benches outside. Decor wise it has a very stripped out, industrial look which seems to be the trend these days, although personally I think they may have gone a bit too far this time and I thought it just felt unfinished. The flooring was mostly rough concrete or screed, although there were a few boards in the rear area which led on to an open kitchen. The ceiling has been painted black with the electrical ducting clearly visible and bare filament style lamps dangling around. Much of the wall has been plastered to be fair, although it is rough painted bricks behind the bar counter, which was itself clad with some sort of stainless steel. A few colourful pieces of artwork from a local gallery brightened it up a bit, and these were available to purchase if required. The chairs were of a metal and wood design and looked as though they had been purchased from an old school. Food wise, the menu offered a decent selection of dishes including “Standards”, sandwiches, steaks and salads. Most of the main courses were around the £8 - £10 mark, and I went for a pulled pork burger with skinny fries, macaroni cheese and a poached egg. This was actually very good indeed, with lovely tasty and tender pork and a very generous portion to boot. The macaroni cheese seemed an odd addition which really didn’t add anything at all, and personally I would have preferred it without, and it was served on one of those wooden boards which really wasn’t big enough. I was particularly concerned about my egg yolk spilling all over the table. They’re minor quibbles though, at £7.95 it was really very good, and a fish pie on the other side of the table was similarly well received. Beer options were all keg unfortunately, and according to a notice behind the bar were “rotating brews” from the local micro’s Arbor Ales and Wiper & True. Going on the number of taps available though, it could only have been one from each. The solitary cider was Cornish Gold, which is a little sweet for my taste but no doubt much better than some of the alternatives.