The Old Farmhouse, Bristol

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Blackthorn _ left this review about The Old Farmhouse

In the past this has been a tricky pub to review as it seems to be continually changing. On one occasion a layout and menu lasted only a couple of months (and was actually quite good) before all being revamped again. They then covered up the lovely flagstone floor with some cheap and tacky wooden flooring which flexes alarmingly as you walk in from the garden. However, it doesn’t seem to have changed much in the last year or so, so hopefully things are now on a more stable footing.

It’s a very extensive pub with several different areas as well as a good sized patio at the front and a small, adjacent kids play area. As you go in to the main door you’re now faced with a carvery counter which I always find slightly off-putting in a pub. This used to be the main bar with the carvery counter further down towards the restaurant which seemed entirely logical, but for some reason these have now swapped places. This bar is reasonably attractive with a flagstone floor. To the left past the smaller bar counter is the restaurant area in a converted barn which is a decent enough spot with a high vaulted ceiling. To the right is a cosier, carpeted room with a large stone built fireplace at one end, the main bar counter and a TV perched on the window sill that looked a little out of place. Beyond this there is a further seating area up a few steps.

The service at the bar was unfortunately pretty much non-existent on a recent Wednesday evening. The first time I went to the bar there were two punters in front of me and nobody serving. After a couple of minutes someone tuned up, but it was some time before I got served due to an apparent problem with the whisky. The conversation went something like this –
Punter – Can I have a house double whisky please.
Barmaid – Sorry, there’s only enough left in the bottle for a single
Punter – OK, I’ll have a single then please
Barmaid – You can’t have a single, that one is priced as a double.
Punter – (shrugs in exasperation) – OK, just give me a single and I’ll pay for a double.
The next time I went to the bar there were three people waiting and nobody serving. At this point I gave up and went elsewhere.

Having said that, the barmaid was pleasant enough, and undeniably attractive. Whether she was dressed appropriately or not is another matter – a tight black dress that barely covered her arse might be OK in a trendy city centre venue, but for somewhere in the middle of a residential area that bills itself as a great family pub, it looked a little out of place. But then maybe I’m just getting old.

I didn’t eat on this occasion, but on a previous visit the food was found to be quite reasonable, although a lasagne came with a rather miserable selection of brown around the edge lettuce leaves. On the plus side, the portions were quite generous (although the lasagne was perhaps a little light on meat), and the beer battered cod came in two decent sized portions. Not bad I thought, for meals around the £7/£8 mark. There were a few specials chalked up on a board above the fireplace and a good selection of puddings chalked up on a board in the bar.

Beers on this occasion were Hopping Hare, Sussex Bitter, Badger and Tanglefoot. Ciders were Blackthorn and Stowford Press.

On 21^st April 2011 - rating: 6
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