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The Bag o' Nails, Bristol
Hotwells
Bristol
BS1 5UW
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Bag o' Nails
Quirky little pub full of cats, in fact it smells like a pet shop when you first walk in, once you have become accustomed to the aroma its quite a decent pub with a good selection of beers to be had, my Tapstone Hotwire was quite moreish, although a bit out of town its worth the walk.
On 9th October 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Bag o' Nails
The Bag o' Nails is a small looking pub that is close to the busy Anchor Road.
Once inside there is a small oblong shaped room which runs to the rear,the floor is bare boarded and the bar is on the left side,the seating is tables and small stools and pew seats and small stools.
There was a good choice of real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Hawkshead Bitter,which went down well,the other real ales noted were Tapstone Wild Woods,Redemption Hotspur,Castle Coombe Dark Lane,Bristol Beer Factory 12 Apostiles and one from Kettlestone.
The pub was very busy on my Saturday afternoon visit.
I quite liked this pub.
Pub visited 15/7/2017
On 27th October 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Mark Davey left this review about The Bag o' Nails
Great beer, nice pub, friendly locals and good service, but, sorry Luke, can't stand cats! They make me itch and I really am not sure that it is hygienic having them living on the bar. I was dragged in by my fellow crawlers and couldn't wait to leave. I am itching right now whilst typing this, just thinking about the Bag O nails.
On 7th March 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 292 recommendations about 276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Bag o' Nails
Have popped in a couple of times since the last review and thankfully the slovenly youth has not been spotted behind the bar, so a big improvement - hopefully she was marched off the premises. The range of ales remains though whilst the quality is usually decent, it isn’t – in my humble opinion - as consistently top notch as the Three Tuns or Grain Barge. The plethora of kittens that have appeared may not be to everyone’s taste, easy to squash one as you navigate the tiny interior and on my last visit one was deposited on a nearby table in a box. Still, remains a worthwhile visit if not quite premier league.
May 2013
A revisit to the BoN after its period of closure and subsequent re-opening under the auspices of a ‘well-known’ (by reputation, I’ve never met him) local landlord. Fairly quiet on our Sunday late afternoon visit, for the most part it was the three of us plus a chap sat at the bar who appeared to be a companion of the barmaid. There’s been some cosmetic smartening-up of the interior but the layout and feel is the same as it was before - a small, intimate little room with basic furnishings, wooden flooring and a range of ales at the bar. Something I hadn’t noticed previously was a porthole in the floor which was backlit like a disco. There was also a pub cat that stayed resolutely asleep in his window bed for the duration, despite me deciding to take advantage of the free record player and plonk some Kraftwerk on. Five ales on over six pumps with some interesting choices. The quality however was pretty hit and miss; an ‘Australian Pale Ale’ (unknown brewer) was fine, the Tyne Bank Jamaican Mild was OK if a little below par, but my companion’s Glastonbury Love Monkey was cloudy and clearly past its best (I said they should take it back but they wouldn’t…). The young barmaid was professionally apathetic and seemed utterly disinterested in our presence from start to finish, too busy talking to the chap at the bar and only acknowledging our presence when it was time to hand over money. We tried the advertised (and well-hyped) pork pies which were fair but maybe not quite as jaw-dropping as the (perhaps ironic?) write-up suggested. Again, the barmaid took her good time to rise from her stool, take the order and serve up. In a small little local’s pub that creates an extra intensity to an uncomfortable atmosphere and we felt like invading outsiders. I wonder if the chap at the bar clocked this, as he made an effort to pass the time of day with us after the pie-ordering episode. I really wanted to like it in here but there were too many negatives. I hope I caught it on a bad day but the subsequent good beer quality and friendly welcome in the Hope & Anchor put this one into stark perspective for me. Rated 5
May 2009
A teeny-tiny little place with a slightly foreboding look (it doesn't immediately scream "come in!") which nevertheless manages to pack in several excellent ales (microbreweries a speciality), including a mild on my visit. The interior is very small and basic, no-frills except for some pictures on the walls and some oddments in corners - the focus in here is having a drink and some banter. Hot pies and pasties are available at the bar. Well worth the short walk from the city centre. Rated 8
On 31st December 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5081 recommendations about 5064 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Bag o' Nails
A short way out of the city centre, the Bag o' Nails is a compact, single room pub offering a warm, friendly setting to enjoy some well kept beer. The pub has a simple layout comprising one long, narrow room with the servery down the left hand wall. There is lots of dark wood throughout, especially in the front bar area, whilst further back the décor is a bit more eclectic including a large dancing girl mural, red textured wallpaper, a fireplace lined with fairy lights with a mirror and modern art print above and a record player which provides the pub with its soundtrack. You can browse a selection of records for something you fancy putting on and can even bring in your own vinyl to play, as long as it meets with the landlords approval. Seating options comprise benches and low stools for the most part, with a row opposite the bar making it a little cramped at the front when it's busy. The servery sees a nice wooden leaf frieze running around the bar back and a pillar at the end of the counter has a list of 'house rules' written on it - all rather light hearted and a good topic of conversation. The floor in front of the bar has a couple of portholes looking down into the cellar, lit with bright coloured lights, whilst the front windows were filled with a number of plants. Having ordered a pint, I was most surprised to find a small kitten stood where I expected my glass to be, although a sign on the door had forewarned that the pub has a cat and that we should be careful to ensure it doesn't run outside as you enter.
The row of handpulls on the bar offered up a fine selection of ales, with Mumbles Oyestermouth Stout and Gold, Siren Soundwave, Red Willow Wreckless, Ashley Down December, Wiper and True Milkshake Stout, Chantry New York Pale and Bristol Beer Factory Nova all available. A very strong range and I enjoyed a very well kept pint of the Oyestermouth Stout.
This is a fantastic little pub with much to recommend and I really enjoyed this visit. It's the sort of place you'd be really happy to have as your local and I thought it was arguably the best pub of a very good day's drinking around the city.
On 7th December 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about The Bag o' Nails
First time to visit the Bag of Nails since it period of closure a while back and to experience it under the current stewardship. I understand from other sites that the current landlord is a bit of a marmite character for some locals and his style of humour and published rules are not appreciated by all. I have a level of understanding for this as the first published rule especially could offend those not of a pachyderm disposition.
Personally I can take it as intended and it just adds to the character of this small pub and it’s his pub to run, so if he wants to stamp his humour on it and make rules posted on the front door to preclude Stag and Hen parties from visiting, then that’s fine by me.
For me it obviously helps that he runs a fine characterful small pub with a good offering of regularly changing local ales, and a very good pint of Bristol Beer Factory Nova was had.
I also very much liked the old school record turntable available in the alcove at the end of the bar with an extensive list of albums that can be played. But here again you should do this with the knowledge that if you put something on he doesn’t like, the landlord reserves the right to take the needle off it…
And as I also keep cats, this pub ticks so many personal boxes..
On 2nd December 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about The Bag o' Nails
The landlord here has chalked up many of his humorous rules on a post near the bar. The first one I saw was Rule No. 13 which read 'No Fake Liverpudlian Accents', so after ordering my pint of Red Willow Brewery Reckless, he agreed my accent was genuine and proceeded to pour my pint. It was at this moment that a black kitten ran along the bar, I thought I was seeing things. The landlord also loves cats and it did say on the entrance door 'don't let the kitten out'. As you can gather quite an interesting pub, plus the three chaps behind the bar all had long beards. Would defo call again.
On 20th November 2014
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Bag o' Nails
I rather liked this pub. I was very impressed when an ecumenical matter called for pussy, and the barman instantly provided a black cat to parade up and down the bar, which allowed itself to be petted by said Pubs Galore member. That's service for you. I too appreciated the list of guv'nor's rules on a chalkboard, and particularly No 15 calling for good English with the enjoinder that the "bad use of English will be so, like, punished".
This is a small, narrow pub, that was just about able to hold the assembled Pubs Galore crawlers. Apart from the list of rules, I spotted a couple more interesting things - the red-lit alcove with a turntable surrounded by loads of vinyl records, with more rules pinned on the wall of course, plus prints of blues greats around the place including a gilt framed photograph of Robert Johnson. The beer was good as well.
This one is definitely worth including on any crawl of Bristol pubs.
On 18th November 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Bag o' Nails
I liked the ethos in here,a friendly welcome from behind the bar,nine handpumps dispensing ale and a cosy small interior where it is easy to get chatting with fellow imbibers.The Pubsgalore crawl helped fill the interior,which is predominantly in red with bench seating opposite the bar and a few round tables beyond to the back.It's all hugger-mugger with the lively music that was playing well chosen and not too loud.The pub rules chalked up to the side of the bar are harsh but perfectly fair and set the tone well.There is a sign outside dissuading pub crawlers,but this didn't prove to be an obstacle on my visit.The round perspex panels set in the floor by bar and backlit from the cellar are an interesting feature.
The ale selection was Mumbles Gold,Ashley Down December,Red Willow Reckless,Oystermouth Stout,Chantry Pale Ale,Siren Soundwave,Wiper & True Milk Shake Stout and BBF Nova (in decent shape). Thats a lot of Locale and a good variety of styles which for me would be quite enough to justify another visit either on a crawl or maybe for an extended stay to enjoy the atmosphere.
On 15th November 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Bag O' Nails
I don't have the local knowledge that the reviewers below have, but I can say I did enjoy my visit here. A small boarded single room, bench seating at small tables opposite the bar, the bar has a decorative frieze above with a floral theme, there are a couple of feature walls with swirly wallpaper and a series of glass portholes in the floor. To say the place is a bit wacky would be an understatement, various "rules of the pub" are displayed on a chalkboard pillar and would not attract any awards for PC correctness if that's your thing. Among the reportable are "no stiletto heels" (left mine at the door) and no changing the record, there is a fully operational turntable in here. Loads of board games, pics of Che Guevara next to George and Mildred. A few sketches behind the bar, a wooden stegosaurus, music and beer books on the front window cill.
Seriously good beer here, Devilfish Stingray, Moor So Hop, Cheddar Ales Totty Pot and Blindman's Golden Spring. Ashridge cider. There is a shelf above the bar containing a myriad of bottles for sale, many from Belgian breweries. Loads of pump clips behind the bar indicate the changing range. Well worth the short stroll out of the city centre towards Hotwells.
On 28th October 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1708 recommendations about 1681 pubs]