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Nettle & Rye, Clifton Village, Bristol

Pub added by elizabeth mcgraw
16 Kings Road
Clifton
Bristol
BS8 4AB

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Blackthorn _ left this review about Nettle & Rye

Renamed, refurbished and recently re-opened, this pub is now run by the same team behind the Naval Volunteer in King Street and the influence from there is clear both in the style of the pub and the craft ale offering behind the bar. It consists of one large, open-plan room downstairs as well as a separate restaurant upstairs, although we did not investigate this.

The bar counter has moved from the right hand side to the back since it’s re-opening, but other than that the layout is largely unchanged. Décor wise it’s all very neutral, with pale sandy colour paintwork on the supporting pillars and cream or very pale grey elsewhere. There was some exposed brickwork at the rear and the flooring was a mixture of slate tiling and wood strip. A couple of plasmas were mounted up in the corners at the rear of the pub which seemed slightly out of place perhaps, but fortunately these were not in use on our visit. Seating is mostly high tables and chairs with one large table to the right which would hold at least twelve people, perhaps to encourage conversation with strangers. A couple of beer barrels provided somewhere to rest your pint if you were standing.

Food wise, there is a bar menu served downstairs and this consisted off a concise selection of dishes such as burger, fish & chips, steak & chips, etc., and these were mostly priced somewhere around a tenner. A selection of sandwiches is also served at lunch times and there is also, I believe, a separate restaurant menu.

As is typical in many of the new breed of “craft beer” venues, although you are presented with a range of eight hand pumps on the bar these were all unlabelled and instead you have to refer to a menu on the wall which listed 20 choices, although these also included a few ciders and at least one lager. Furthermore, it was not immediately obvious which of the ale offerings were keg and which were cask. The friendly (and bearded, naturally) barman informed me that numbers 13 – 20 related to the hand pumps, but with two of these being cider that left six cask ales, which on this occasion were Ilkley Mary Jane, Fyne Ales Jarl, Magic Rock Rapture, Fyne Ales Maverick, Fyne Ales Avalanche and Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout. Four prices are listed against each beer since one third and two thirds measures are also available. Prices seemed a bit steep with most beers coming in between £4 and £5 a pint, although some were even more than this – I spotted a Ilkley IPA at £5.40. Ciders meanwhile (keg and cask) were Sampford Courtney Traditional Devon Cider, Purbeck Dorset Blush and a duo from the Handmade Cider Company – Thirst Aid and Medium Dry.

On 23rd November 2015 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1937 recommendations about 1850 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Pub SignMan left this review about The Hophouse

Given that it is situated next to the attractive Clifton Arcade, I was hoping that the Hophouse may also have some fine Victorian architecture to marvel over, but unfortunately this is a fairly modern looking, gastro-style pub. You enter directly to the main bar which sees the servery running down the right hand wall with its chunky bar counter, large overhead lights, plain mirrored bar back and fancy looking keg dispense fonts. For such a reasonably sized room there were surprisingly few seating options, with a few standard tables and chairs to the front, either side of the front porch, and one or two more at the rear of the room. We ended up perched at the end of the bar under the large blackboards listing the various drink options available and next to a pile of the day's papers and a large, bright floral display. A few paintings and pictures of the local area, including the nearby suspension bridge, line the walls and there is a fire set into the left hand wall behind a glass screen, that is probably supposed to look very stylish, but actually looks pretty stupid. Upstairs there is a similarly sized dining room with a keg only bar, exposed floorboards and lots of formal seating. Various display cabinets and wine racks can be found around the room, whilst the walls have been decorated with more old pictures and a bizarre collection of trays and chopping boards. The menu seemed like an upmarket version of pub staples, perhaps as you might expect to find in this sort of neighbourhood. Main meals clocked in at around the £12 mark and the menu lists the source of all their meat, fish and veg.
There were four ales on handpull, all from relatively local micro breweries - Tiny Rebel Cwtch, Gloucester Dockyard Dark, Two Cocks Roundhead and Wild Beer Bibble - plus five ciders and a range of continental lagers, mostly from Germany. I tried the Bibble and found it was a very good pint kept in excellent condition.
Despite being arguably more focussed on food than drink, this is a pretty good place to stop off for a pint if you're out and about in Clifton. The place is smart and clean and offers an interesting range of drink options. It may not have the traditional feel to it that you might expect on approach, but we found it a pleasant place to while away some time.

On 13th December 2014 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3102 recommendations about 3102 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Malden man left this review about The Hophouse

A large open plan bright and airy room with a modern feel. This is another pub where we were asked if we were eating before having a chance to start ordering drinks, so clearly rather food-centric but certainly not exclusively so. The main bar at ground level has a wooden floor, pale green decor, a number of high butcher's block type tables but some standard issue types too. A row of stools along the bar reminded me of the type you see in old films featuring 1950s American diners. The fire behind a glass screen was lit but this is just a feature, it certainly wouldn't keep a room of this size warm, even when needed to. Along a back wall is some shelving with a few books and board games.
A large feature staircase with stainless steel wire balustrading climbs to the upper level which looked to be more for formal dining. All tables were set and some reserved; the colour scheme up here is a lightish blue now.
The beer selection was decent and not at all mainstream, focusing on local micros. Moor Revival and Merlin Magic, Bristol Beer Factory Acer, Cheddar Crown and Glory and Glastonbury Hedge Monkey. Beer arrived in a jug by default. A number of ciders on too, Devon Mist, Sheppys, Orchard Pig, Cotswold Cider and Burrow Hill; these were listed by county of origin on a chalkboard. All the ales on were £3.50, the ciders £3.60-70.
Certainly not your traditional pub however an excellent ale and cider choice and with a good LocAle policy. I didn't check out the food menus but saw a couple of meals being carried through which looked good.
Some pavement seating to the front where the doors can fold back, all rather continental cafe style.

On 6th June 2012 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Blackthorn _ left this review about The Hophouse

A busy and popular pub in the heart of Clifton village, this used to be owned by Wadworth's but has recently been refurbished and presumably sold on going on the complete lack of any of their beers on the bar. Although the layout is unchanged, it has a more contemporary feel to the place and is looking somewhat fresher than it was.

The main bar is an open plan affair, with large folding windows at the front that open up in the summer. Paintwork is a pale shade of green, with some painted wood panelling around the lower part of the wall, and the flooring is mostly bare boards with some black tiles around the bar. There was a trendy, modern fire with a glass front sunk in to one wall. Lighting was mostly from several large hanging silver domes above the bar, and there was a plasma in one corner showing the rugby. The commentary was piped throughout the pub and this was somewhat intrusive if you just wanted a quiet pint. There were several dishes of complimentary nuts on the bar and stools all along it for punters to sit.

Upstairs it has quite a different feel to it, being fully carpeted and having a deep maroon paintwork with some large black and white photo’s. There was a corniced plaster ceiling, and some rather old fashioned lamp shades. There were many stools around the perimeter, and elsewhere there were partitioned bench seats as well as tables and chairs. Staff all seemed friendly and helpful.

There was an unusual choice of beers on tap with Mystery Tor and Hedge Monkey from Glastonbury, Yeovil’s Star Gazer and Moor’s So Hop. Ciders were Aspall’s Suffolk and Orchard Pig.

On 5th February 2012 - rating: 6
[User has posted 1937 recommendations about 1850 pubs]