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Poll for date of Halifax crawl. with ROBCamra
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Quinno _
Submitted on Sunday, 26th November 2023
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Detail Pages
Kings Head, Bristol
Bristol
BS1 6DE
Served areas
Reviews of Kings Head (Average Rating: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Quinno _ left this review about Kings Head
Now under new ownership and has had a spruce-up with a hideous green external paint job, which extends inside which didn’t really suit the place on a dark evening; ditto the removal of the bar area carpet which I recall from previous. The tramcar fittings remain unmolested are just as splendid as ever. Not many punters in and it showed at the bar, where my pint of Fyne Jarl was tepid due to lack of throughput (NBSS 2) served-up by a guy doing a passable impression of Neil from The Young Ones. Left a bit disappointed – if it’s this quiet on a Saturday night (the nearby Seven Stars and Shakespeare were both busy) I wonder if it will last. Certainly not GBG standard based on this, anyway. 7.5
November 2014
A couple of visits in the intervening period. Nothing much changes here bar the guest ale which is usually in pretty good shape, if often unadventurous by the standards over the road. It’s a must-see on a crawl round central Bristol and be thankful the Luftwaffe missed it. Rated 8
October 2013
A wonderful heritage pub (listed in the CAMRA National Inventory of Historic Pub Interiors) dating from the mid 1600’s, a few minutes walk from Temple Meads with a lovely unspoilt interior; known as the tramcar due to the turn-of-the-century snug that dominates much of the pub which is laid out like a first class tram car carriage, with long cushioned benches. The interior is all polished dark wood and glass, with old pictures of Bristol on the walls. The sections of the bar back in the front area have gilded panels advertising 'Claret', 'Hollands', 'Cigars', 'Mineral Waters', 'Cigars' and 'Port & Sherry'. In the Tramcar you get 'French Brandy', 'Irish & Scotch Whiskey', 'Jamaica Rum', 'London Gin' and 'Cordials'. Beer choice is decent if often unspectacular (Enterprise list I think) Wadworths 6X, Sharps Doombar and Cornish Coaster often feature, though Butcombe Gold and Betty Stoggs have been spotted. A real cider too - Thatchers. Quality is good but prices are steep though compared to nearby outlets (blame Enterprise again). The pub is kept to a high standard and is well worth a visit for the interior. It’s a shame that Enterprise are bleeding the place dry as the Kings simply cannot compete with the 7 Stars and Cornubia at present. Hopefully when Enterprise go belly-up, the lease for this place can be acquired by a sympathetic local brewery... For now, it's worth a visit for a pint or two to admire the interior. Rated 8
On 5th December 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Kings Head
Recently reopened having been closed since the first lockdown, this is now owned by local micro Good Chemistry Brewing, and is, I believe, the only pub in Bristol on Camra’s register of historic pub interiors.
It’s really quite tiny internally, with much of the front half of the pub being taken up by the bar counter with little more than a corridor to the left and a couple of seats in the window. At the rear is an area known as The Tramcar, and this too is quite diminutive inside with no more than four or five small tables. Consequently it soon fills up, and on our first visit soon after reopening it was strictly standing room only, although on a subsequent visit between Christmas and New Year it was somewhat less hectic. Décor wise it’s very traditional as would be expected, with dark wooden boards on the floor, dark wood panelling on the lower part of the walls, and what may well be William Morris wallpaper up above. The ceiling was painted dark green interspersed with a few black beams. Behind the bar are a number of intricately carved wooden arches, each headed a with a brass plaque to denote the contents on the shelves below such as Claret, Port & Sherry, French Brandy, etc. The tramcar itself is a cosy spot, with wood partitioning on one side to separate it from the corridor, and bench seating around the permitter with a few small stools as well. Perhaps at one time the bar counter extended the entire length of the pub, as there are further carved archways here headed London Gin, Cordials and Jamacia Rum. There were also some push buttons for service here, although I suspect these are no longer functional, especially since the barman placed a sign on the small section of counter at the end of the tramcar directing us to use the main front part of the bar for service.
Beers on tap were their own Bob’s Best and Glowing Embers along with Atom’s Bernoulli’s Principle. A fourth pump appeared to have run out. The solitary cider meanwhile was Pulpt Flare. It’s great to see this place open again, and combined with the excellent Cornubia around the corner, makes an excellent two stop hop when in this part of town.
On 28th December 2022
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Kings Head
An excellent historic and atmospheric alehouse with a long narrow bar, featuring an amusing partitioned section known as 'The Tramcar'. A very friendly welcome too! Regular ales appear to be HPA, Castle Rock, London Pride and Harvey's Best with a changing guest which on this occasion was Hog's Back TEA. The HPA was in excellent form so I was obliged to have a second...
On 27th January 2020
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
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- Facebook page of Kings Head - www.facebook.com
- CAMRA WhatPub :: Kings Head - whatpub.com
- Historic Pub Interiors - pubheritage.camra.org.uk
Bedminster, 1.19 miles, 22 min walk (show)
Lawrence Hill, 1.4 miles, 26 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Beer Garden : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Car Park : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Child Friendly : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Darts : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Function Room : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Hot Food : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Jukebox : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Karaoke : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Live Music : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Live TV Sports : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Micropub : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Quiz Night : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- Wheelchair Access : No last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
- WiFi : Yes - The Cloud - last updated 05 December 2023 by Quinno _
