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The Crystal Palace, Bath
Bath
BA1 1NW
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace is a Fuller's pub very close to the Baths and the Abbey. Indeed, 4 of the other customers here were about to attend a wedding at the Abbey. Quite a few of the other customers were tourists. The bar staff needed to have exceptional amounts of patience to deal with some of them.
There are a couple of rooms inside, with a covered area and garden to the rear of the pub. The two rooms inside are a public bar and a much more formal dining area. All customers were either in the bar or the outdoor areas at the rear.
London Pride & ESB are the regular ales, with the other 2 handpulls occupied by Oliver's Island & Harry's Dirty Harry Raspberry & Blackcurrant Cider. Halves of the Oliver's Island and the cider came to £5.90.
The young owner seemed fairly down to earth and was chatting with a local. It seemed they were moving back to London over the weekend to Bromley. We presumed to take over another Fuller's pub.
Compared with the Huntsman, the other Fuller's pub a stone's throw away, I marginally preferred the Crystal Palace, but there's not too much to choose between them.
On 26th August 2023
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Quinno _ left this review about The Crystal Palace
A little away from the madding crowds, this is a three roomed upmarket Fuller's house in an attractive square by the abbey. It's done with a touch of class; boxed wood panelling comfy seats and retained glasswork on the rear extension. Four cask advertised though my choice was deemed as not ready, so a pretty good (NBSS 3.5) Pride with polite service was my lot. Beware that you’ll be paying a consecutive price combo uplift of it being a) Fuller’s and b) central Bath. A decent place, I could have stayed for a second on a different day. GBG’23 listed. 7.5
On 4th May 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5089 recommendations about 5072 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Crystal Palace
Hidden away down a quiet side street near the main shopping streets, in the sort of location you’d never just stumble across, this is a large Fullers dining pub with a reputation for well-kept beer. The pub has a two bar layout, with a large conservatory-style area out the back. We entered through the left side - a bafre boarded room with full height wall panels painted in drab neutral colours. The bar is to the right, also serving the right-hand room which we didn’t explore, and has a nice traditional counter and gantry in front of a smart bar back. The room has plenty of mixed eating, including a couple of very comfy looking armchairs in front of a fireplace which had a plain mirror above and lots of ornaments on the mantelpiece. Doors to the rear lead out to the conservatory which has floor to ceiling windows along the back wall, bare floorboards, wallpaper and similar decor to the bar area. The windows look out to a pleasant courtyard garden which seemed to be well stocked with high-end garden furniture, large umbrellas and plenty of greenery. Music played quietly in the background throughout our stay and I didn’t spot any TV screens.
The usual Fullers ales were available - London Pride, ESB and Spring Sprinter on this occasion, plus Moor Resonance as the sole guest. The bar staff were really friendly and I can’t fault the pint of Spring Sprinter they served up either. Clientele seemed to be mainly middle aged, middle-class holiday-makers, so the atmosphere was a little stilted.
This is a decent Fullers house which offers some familiar, well-kept beer in a predominantly food-led environment, although we visited between lunch and dinner and found the place was mainly occupied by drinkers. The pleasant courtyard and friendly staff were definite plus points and I’d say this is worth including on any cavity centre crawl.
On 12th October 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Crystal Palace
Three roomed Fullers pub with little pub ambiance, typical Fullers lineup , though my Wild River was decent this is one for the tourists.
On 30th March 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
E TA left this review about The Crystal Palace
An historic Fuller’s pub which is still much as described below. The rear conservatory was open, which allowed smoke to drift in and mingle with the scent of stale chip fat from the kitchen and the aroma from the open disabled toilet to make the atmosphere less pleasant than it could have been. The staff were not at all welcoming, rather officious and fairly inefficient. The clientele seemed to consist mainly of elderly tourists, one of whom spent rather too long whining at the waitress about an unwelcome piece of lemon in her diet coke. Ales on were Oliver’s Island, ESB and Pride plus a guest, Butcombe Bitter. The prices are extortionately high, even for Bath. I find this pub falls short on many levels and I shan’t be returning.
On 9th July 2021
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3285 recommendations about 3250 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Crystal Palace Tavern
A traditional pub located in an attractive square just next to the abbey, this is one of three pubs in bath that have recently benefited from a combined £7.5m refurbishment. It’s a good sized, inverse U-shape layout with a couple of bars each side joining at the back in to a conservatory overlooking the courtyard. A picture of the Crystal Palace is just inside the door, although I’m not entirely clear on the connection between the venue for the Great Exhibition and the pub.
The left hand bar has something of a hotel drawing room feel with wood panelling all down one wall and there was also wood flooring, the usual Farrow & Ball paintwork and plenty of pictures hung on the walls. A stone fire-place was off to the left, although this was not is use even in January, so is perhaps, merely decorative. There was a gold gilded mirror up above it, and a plasma screen perched somewhat incongruously in the corner, although fortunately this was not in use. The bar to the right looks to be more geared up for dining with a number of the tables being reserved. The décor here was a little softer with a carpeted floor and a large stone bust in the corner.
The conservatory at the rear had a sloping wooden roof and a lighting level that may either be described as atmospheric or gloomy depending on your point of view. There were large bi-folding glass doors covering the entire back wall and this leads out to a pleasant, tiled courtyard. This is almost entirely covered by two large umbrellas, making a suitable outdoor refuge for the smokers. Besides the wicker furniture, there was plenty of foliage and some atmospheric lighting on the stone wall at the rear.
Food wise, the menu offered a decent looking selection of “pub grub” dishes such as Faggots, Haddock & Chips, Burger, Roast Chicken, etc., and these were mostly priced somewhere around the £10 - £12 mark, so perhaps slightly above your usual pub prices. In addition to this there was a selection of sandwiches and a small specials board. A sign also advertised some type of burger deal on Monday nights.
Beers on tap were predominantly from Fullers, with their ESB, London Pride and the seasonal Jack Frost. The only other offering was Butcombe. Ciders were Thatcher’s Gold and Cornish Orchards Cornish Gold. Prices seemed a little steep though with a pint of the Thatchers and a G&T costing £9.10. Overall I quite liked this pub though, and felt that the sympathetic refurbishment has brought it up a notch or two. It was only really let down by a group of somewhat rowdy guys breaking in to song every few minutes. Not entirely the pub’s fault, but it took one of the punters to ask them to keep it down a bit rather than any of the bar staff.
On 6th January 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Crystal Palace Tavern
Tucked away on a small square. Beers from abbey ales, marston's and wychwood. Food served.
On 10th October 2011
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about Crystal Palace Tavern
Well-run sort of pub close to Roman Baths. A bit touristy as you might expect, but some nice beers and plenty of tables for food.
On 9th December 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Crystal Palace Tavern
After spending an exhausting 3 hours walking around the Roman Baths found the Crystal Palace Tavern and went in to try the local Brewery Ale.
Yes it attracts the tourists (like me), and the beer prices are probably a notch higher than other establishments in Bath, but I found this to be a half decent pub.
Great location in a quiet square, spitting distance from the Abbey and the Roman Baths. Two good bars either side of a central serving area, and a large patio area out the back where the smokers are protected by a jumbrella.
Service was fast and efficient, despite being crowded, and I found the Abbey Brewery Bellringer to be very drinkable, but as this was the first time I have had it you cannot take this as an expert view.
On 28th January 2008
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]