The Avon Packet, Southville, Bristol

Blackthorn _ left this review about The Avon Packet

A traditional looking pub with glazed green tiling on the exterior, this is in many ways in a prime spot overlooking the river and being just a short stroll from the popular and trendy North Street, but at the same time seems to be out on a bit of a limb and was virtually deserted on our recent Monday evening visit.

Internally it consists of one quite long but narrow bar running along the front of the pub, with the bar counter off to the left. This takes up much of the available floor space, with the only seating in this part of the pub being a few bar stools at the counter, and a padded bench seat in the corner. Décor wise it’s either traditional or dated, depending on your point of view. There is some type of bare concrete screed on the floor, rough Artex style plastering on the walls and nasty polystyrene ceiling tiles in places, although elsewhere there are also black beams liberally adorned with glass tankards and a very large collection of key fobs. A few old pictures were dotted around the wall, many of old Bristol cars, as well as a few old photographs of the locale, particularly the river. A few nautical bits and bobs such as a model yacht, ship’s clock and lanterns were also dotted around. An old Victorian style fireplace was off to the right, and a large TV above this was showing some talent show or other, but fortunately the sound was off so this was not too intrusive. Further rooms were at the rear, similarly narrow and broadly the same in terms of décor. There was a darts board at one end, although it appeared that you’d have to stand extremely close to it to actually throw any.

Beers on tap were Courage Best and Doom Bar, but this is really more of a cider pub and the available options were Blackthorn, Natch, Cheddar Vally, Stan’s Traditional and a trio from Thatcher’s with their Gold, Haze and Dry.

On 19^th April 2024 - rating: 6
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