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The Somerset House, Clifton Village, Bristol

11 Princess Victoria Street
Bristol
BS8 4BX
Phone: 01179736831

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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 The Somerset House

Although this has been a Clifton Village stalwart for many years, it has recently undergone an extensive renovation and there is now much more of an emphasis on food. In fact the signage outside has been changed to say “Pub & Kitchen” and the loos have been shifted upstairs to make way for the open kitchen where you can see the chefs hard at work. Apparently there are also plans afoot to open a Champagne & Gin Bar upstairs which will no doubt suit the local well heeled residents.

As soon as you get in to the hallway there is now glass partitioning in to the front bar which gives it a more open feel. This is the larger of the two bars and seems to be used for a mixture of drinking and eating. The tables are mostly small round and metal with bar stools to sit on. This didn’t strike me as particularly comfy to eat at, but nonetheless at least one of these was reserved. A large brick chimney breast with a wood burning stove was a prominent feature with a few rifles hung above it. The flooring is dark boards and this continued down a couple of steps in to the rear bar with a wine rack partition between the two areas.

This rear bar is very much more geared up for eating with a table for fourteen reserved on our visit. As previously mentioned an open plan kitchen is off to the right and this was adorned with strings of garlic and chillies. To further emphasis the foody nature of the pub, an industrial food mixer was a decorative feature next to the kitchen counter. To the left is black button back bench seating, there is some exposed brick work on the walls and elsewhere is the usual shade of gastro-pub green paintwork. An arched ceiling with a skylight at the top has been painted in a contrasting cream colour. The tables here came complete with retro “3D” binoculars which was an unusual feature.

Two menus were offered, a regular and a specials. These offered a decent selection of dishes, with most of the mains being somewhere around £10 - £15 on the regular menu and £15+ on the specials menu. I enjoyed both my starter of Lime Bay Crab on toast and a main course of Pan Fried Brill, Scallop and Prawn tagliatelle. Slightly less successful in my opinion was a desert of Apple Doughnut with Mulled Cider and Toffee Sauce. Not there was anything wrong with it, it just wasn’t as good as I expected. Three courses for two and a bottle of wine came to £80 though, so this is clearly a cut above your regular “pub grub”.

Beers on tap were predominantly from Caledonian with their Deuchars IPA, Flying Scotsman and Golden XPA. The only other beer option was their own Somerset House Ale. Ciders were Symonds Founders Reserve and Scrumpy Jack.

On 12th August 2013 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1937 recommendations about 1850 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Jonathan Wilde left this review about The Somerset House

Drove past earlier and has a lease for sale board on wall but is still open. Long time since I've been in here but was heading elsewhere so didn't have time to stop.

On 15th March 2012 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 365 recommendations about 347 pubs]