Wessex Flyer, Hengrove, Bristol

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Blackthorn _ left this review about Wessex Flyer

I wasn't really expecting to like this place. It's got a typical Harvester, or some other similar corporate identity to it. It's located on a "leisure park" so many of the punters are probably just popping in for a pint before the cinema or the bingo. It's certainly not the sort of place that I would decide to meet someone for a beer.

But having said all that, and accepting the market that it's being aimed at, they've not done a bad job. It's a large pub with several different areas, some geared more towards eating. It looks as though it's recently been refurbished with a mixture of slate floor tiles and carpeting, There's comfy seating with a number of leather chairs, friendly and efficient staff, a feature log wall as you enter, and some trendy modern flat fire places hanging on the wall. OK, it's not a real fire, but this is a modern building.

They obviously see themselves as food orientated since the first question we got asked when getting to the bar was "will you be eating with us today?" The menu's pretty typical of what you would expect, with a selection of baguettes, burgers, pub classics, etc.

I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd had no real ales, but they had three hand-pumps on the bar (although only two were in use on a recent visit) serving 6X and Tribute. Also Blackthorn and Strongbow ciders.

So, this is a difficult one to mark. It's not really my sort of place, so on the likelihood of me going back it's got to be about 3/10. But if you like that sort of food, or are staying at the travel lodge, or want somewhere better than McDonalds to take your kids, then it probably warrants 8/10. So I'll settle for somewhere in between.

On 1^st April 2011 - rating: 6
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