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The Grog & Gruel, Fort William
Fort William
PH33 6AD
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Aqualung . left this review about The Grog & Gruel
This place is under the same ownership as the legendary Clachaig Inn at Glencoe. It's a fairly ordinary long narrow room with a wooden floor and the bar on the left. There was plenty of space on a Thursday afternoon.
Of the eight hand pumps five were in use with Williams March Of The Penguins, Loch Lomond Southern Summit & Bravehop, Strathaven Clydesdale IPA and Cairngorm Stag. I mwnt for the March Of The Penguins and Bravehop (both £3.20) which were excellent, particularly the Bravehop. Prices here are less than a pound a pint dearer than the JDW (85p a pint to be exact) but with a far better range on my visit. £3.20 for a 6.0% abv beer is good value especially in Scotland. I would definitely return here.
On 18th May 2017
- rating: 9
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Grog & Gruel
A long lobby entrance leads to a fairly long and narrow single room, done in a basic alehouse style. Embossed wallpaper and a ceiling painted nicotine plus look out for the antler light fitting. Some booth seating to the right of bar, else it’s pretty much standing room only. Live music advertised. WiFi. Long bar with 8 pumps, dispensing 5 Scottish micro ales and some Scottish cider. My River Leven IPA and Loch Lomond Southern Summit were both in good nick. The best ale pub in the town, although to be honest Spoons does run it close.
On 25th June 2016
- rating: 8
[User has posted 5081 recommendations about 5064 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
David Ross left this review about The Grog & Gruel
To my amazement, the numerous beer fonts here contained no brews I actually recognized: precisely none of the standard range of ales or lagers. I opted for a pint of Cairngorm Lager, on the basis that I had at least heard of the mountain range. It cost me £3.65, which is actually very expensive for the town. The impressive collection of font clips above the bar suggests that there is a regular rotation of beers on sale, although I'm not sure about the wisdom of excluding the better known ones. It is, for example, one of the few British pubs I've ever been in which doesn't sell Guinness. I didn't sample any of the gruel available, but this is a very pleasant pub with a good atmosphere and a wide range of unusual beers.
On 8th July 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 769 recommendations about 683 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Will Larter left this review about The Grog & Gruel
This is the local Camra area's pub of the year for 2012, and you can see why with its nine hand pumps arrayed invitingly on the bar. One was serving cider (though the offered taster to a customer who asked if they served Magners didn't appear to hit the spot) and there were seven ales available among the others: all from Scottish breweries. A collection of former pump clips is neatly and proudly displayed, alongside a rather grotesque pig's head, apparently made of papier-mache. (The pig features in the pub's logo and is repeated in a number of other decorations.)
The pub is a lengthy, deep and narrow affair, featuring a lot of wood: floor, bar, screens, pillars, not to mention tables and chairs, and a wood burning stove (not lit, though I could have made a case for it being so). The right hand wall, opposite the bar, has been adorned with small stones, arrayed to simulate a dry stone wall. I had a very enjoyable Orkney Black Gold, and my only regret was that I had another 25 miles to cycle so didn't dare stay for another.
On 7th September 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3740 recommendations about 3477 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
simon adams left this review about The Grog & Gruel
cracking pub great pint and belting atmosphere what more can I say alot better than the ben nevis bar where I had my sorry excuse for a meal the night before
On 14th July 2010
- rating: 9
[User has posted 4 recommendations about 4 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tony o'sullivan left this review about The Grog & Gruel
good atmosphere,and a nice pint..
On 8th March 2007
- rating: 8
[User has posted 85 recommendations about 83 pubs]