Not already a member?
Join our community and
- Rate & review pubs
- Upload pictures
- Add events
JOIN for free NOW
Chat about:
Random news of the day with Real Ale Ray
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
Café René, Gloucester
Gloucester
GL1 1TP
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
paulof horsham left this review about Café René
This is an extraordinary pseudo French-ish style Cafe bar which feels like a cellar, with old wine bottles on the walls, but obviously isn't, being located down an alleyway opposite an old church in the centre of Gloucester.
The bar offered 3 ales, 2 ciders and 3 craft beers (albeit 1 is Neck Oil, a somewhat less crafty choice these days). An amiable barman and a simple pub food offer, for example the absolute doorstep of a cheese sandwich I was served, just adds to the charm. Terrific!
On 28th March 2024
- rating: 8
[User has posted 453 recommendations about 425 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Brainy Pool left this review about Café René
Quirky. Calls itself ‘le pub’, has wine bottles covering the walls, French posters everywhere. It simply has to be tongue in cheek, since you then reach the bar to be greeted with a choice of gravity real ale, cider and perry. What a brilliant place, thankfully i timed my visit to Gloucester perfectly as this pub only reopened a few days ago. The interior is spacious enough and full of character, outdoor seating is available and food served but it doesn’t dominate the pub at all. Apparently it can be a brilliant raucous night out in normal times, and I can believe it. Some Françoise Hardy would have been nice but the 60s pop/soul music playing was just fine anyway. a must visit!
On 8th August 2020
- rating: 9
[User has posted 1058 recommendations about 1023 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blackthorn _ left this review about Café René
Tucked away down a small alleyway just off of Gloucester’s main shopping street, the name doesn’t sound particularly inspiring implying something that is more food led and maybe does a couple of bottled beers on the side. This is not the case at all though, and this is very much a proper pub, albeit one with a good sized dining room. It looks to be quite an old building, and with an old church being directly opposite in certainly looks a lot more appealing than the surrounding area. A number of outside tables and chairs would be a nice spot in the warmer weather.
Internally it’s quite traditional, with plenty of wooden beams on the ceiling, exposed brick walling and pattered carpet on the floor. A prominent feature as you go in is a large brick well in the middle of the room, and this extends down some considerable depth. A good selection of beer mats were tacked on to the beams nearest the bar and a feature wall had been made out of old wine bottles at either end. As might be inferred from the pub’s name, there is something of a French theme here as many of the pictures and signs on the wall were in French. There was a skylight window in the roof and a projector screen was rolled up in the corner, so presumably they may screen some sporting fixtures. A dining room was off to one side and this looked quite elegant with wooden panelling on the walls and a wine bottle ceiling.
Beers were all dispensed from barrels racked up on the end of the bar with no obvious signage showing what they were. However, a chalk board above the bar listed Arbor’s Blue Sky Drinking, Boss Blonde and Grey Trees Mosaic. Ciders were well represented with Stowford Press, Cornish Rattler, Black Rat, Rekorderlig Strawberry & Lime and Orchard Thieves on tap, and in addition to this a board listed the real cider options as Supermoon and Rhino which are both new ones on me. All in all, a quite unexpected find and well worth checking out.
On 28th February 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1948 recommendations about 1861 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Cafe Rene
Tucked away down an alleyway, just off Southgate Street, Café Rene is an unusual building, parts of which supposedly date back to medieval times. However, there has been much alteration over the years which has resulted in a pub with an attractive, traditional appearance and a few notable 'modern' elements. Entering through a large porch area which has an impressive cider press in one corner, you find yourself in a carpeted main bar. There are a few seats around the entrance, but the main focal point is a remarkable well which possibly dates back to Roman times and boasts a small fountain feature and a grille which allows you to peer into the abyss without fear of toppling in. Moving into the left hand half of the room, the servery can be found along the rear wall, with cockerels and bunches of grapes carved into the canopy and pillars, in keeping with the pub's unexplained French theme, which sees many of the walls lined with wine bottles, lots of Gallic themed pictures and adverts and even a few Parisian road signs. In the far corner, there was a selection of comfy seating, partly obscured by a large screen which had been unfurled to show the Grand National to a seemingly luckless clientele. As soon as the race finished, the screen was retracted and loud pop music started playing, which drove a number of punters away. There is a second, restaurant style room to the right of the servery, which has a spectacular ceiling covered with wine bottles, wall panels with a fleur-de-lys motif and some attractive old wall lamps. Seating is comprised of standard tables and chairs and everyone in here seemed to be eating. There are also a few benches out in the alleyway which give nice views over the neighbouring church.
There were four ales on the go when we arrived, with a choice of Greene King IPA, Black Country Pig on the Wall Mild, Stroud Budding and Plain Ales IPA alongside three real ciders. We fancied a pint of the mild, but it was flat and lifeless which was a real shame. We quite liked the ambiance in the pub, so having struggled through the first pint, we decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and tried a pint of the Budding, which was better, but still pretty poor.
The dubious ale quality was a real shame, as we all enjoyed this slightly quirky, unusual take on the traditional pub format. Some of the reviews below suggest we got unlucky on this visit, so with that in mind, I would probably consider giving it another go as there is potential for this to be a real winner.
On 14th May 2014
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
ROB Camra left this review about Cafe Rene
Called in here 3 times during our 2 days in Gloucester. We first called in late in the afternoon when it was pretty quiet. 3 ales on the bar all served from the barrel and a good selection of red wines. We were impressed by the menu for the restaurant area as well as the room itself, so we booked in for later that night. Very busy in the evening, but the service was efficient and the food was excellent. Called in again the following evening when there was live music on, not to our taste in this instance, but there were plenty of people in the bar listening. We'll definitely be back in here next time we're in Gloucester.
On 12th January 2014
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3224 recommendations about 3135 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Soup Dragon left this review about Cafe Rene
This is a terraced pub, with lots of benches out front and still as described by Roger, the Hatter and the Captains below. The pub is a palimpsest; having Roman, medieval, 18th century and modern features, as well as a name that conjures up images of comic Belgian landlords and pictures of the fallen Madonna with the big boobies. Anyhow, the place incorporates a Roman well as a feature within the building and sits in what was once the precint of the Greyfriars monastery. This later became the grounds of a 'pub' and later still, after being covered, a wine bar in the 1970s. The exterior is in brick and stone, and is a couple of buildings knocked through. The interior has a couple of rooms set-out in an L-shape. The back room is a restaurant. The front area is the bar, which is in white and plain brick. There are no real pictures, but an array of wine bottles forms a display and adds to the Allo Allo feeling. The service seemed ok and the clientele were younger based, all dressed up in fancy dress and a band was playing for Halloween. I didn't see a TV. Beer, and i shall say this only once, was a bit annoying! Pump clips were dotted about but i couldn't see any real ale, as the place was pretty crowded and only after did i find out that there were barrels on the other side of the bar to where i was. There were real ciders advertised. I simply had half of keg Shipyard Pale Ale, which was OK. I quaffed and left, but wish i had tried a beer and stayed longer. Worth a pop-in.
On 29th October 2013
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3067 recommendations about 3062 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Cafe Rene
Café Rene is located through a small passageway in Southgate Street opposite the Robert Raikes House. Despite being a historic part of the city with several buildings and the adjacent church dating back to the 12th Century, the Café Rene is a more recent structure dating from the 1980’s. Prior to that there was a courtyard that contained a roman well, now preserved within the pub that was built around it making it a remarkable and unusual centerpiece.
The building is accessed through a large entrance porch that leads to the L shaped interior. The main bar is off to the left beyond the aforementioned well whilst in front is a larger restaurant area. As the name suggests, the place has more of a wine bar cum restaurant feel but this shouldn’t deter anyone just looking for a few beers and seems quite drinker friendly.
Much of the wallspace is taken up by racks of used wine bottles and be sure to take a peek at the incredible bottle ceiling in the restaurant section. Seating is quite conventional with a few pews and some old barrels doubling up for tables. There is also a cellar bar with a programme of regular live music and seating in the passageway outside which can be a bit of a sun trap.
On the beer front there are no hand pumps but a series of casks laid out across the far section if the bar. 3 ales (Moles Rucking Mole, Freeminer Speculation and Wickwar Bob) as well as Black Rat and Cheddar Valley ciders and a couple of perry’s (Broadoak KB and Black Rat Perry). The ales I tried were a bit flat (a regular problem with direct from the cask servings) but tasted fine. Prices were very good ranging from £2.70 to £3.50 for the 7.5% perry. Although I didn’t have any, the food looked good and was also reasonably priced.
The name is a bit offputting if you are just doing the rounds in the pubs but I like dthe charcter of the place and would certainly put it on my shortlists for future visits to the city.
On 9th September 2011
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about Cafe Rene
Very popular with the under 30's and with great outdoor seating in the courtyard leading from the shopping centre to the front door,there was a lively atmosphere here even on a Monday evening.The interior is quirky and I liked the well in the main drinking area ,the restaurant ceiling made up of empty wine bottles and the french roadsigns and adverts.I should have followed the lead of the regulars and ordered cider ,as the ale on stillage was poor.Regular gigs and a disco called Beavers show that music is a major theme here,and everyone was friendly.Shame about the beer.
On 20th July 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Thuck Phat left this review about Cafe Rene
Mr Larter's accurate review below nails the main points.
Cafe Rene feels more like a bistro or wine bar than a pub but it's nicely done, atmospheric and friendly with a definite emphasis on food and music.
There were two beers on, both served as with the ciders and perries, from barrels on the bar: Whittingtons Cats Whiskers and Battledown Natural Selection. We tried both and struggled to finish both as they were pretty warm and not great. Maybe the thing to do here is to go local and try the ciders and many of the outdoor drinkers seemed to be doing just this.
We didn't eat but some were and the food looked good.
I'd come back here for something to eat or a glass of cider but not for ale.
On 20th July 2011
- rating: 6
[User has posted 679 recommendations about 678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about Cafe Rene
Can be hard to find as it is down a passageway but when you do find it you will be pleasantly surprised.The pub is split into 2 areas with a well in the middle of one of them.There are a couple of real ales direct from the cask and a couple of ciders.Well woth a visit.
On 25th May 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]