So there’s a bit of sunshine in Bristol and everybody starts smiling. “EVERYONE IS HAPPY TODAY – what a difference Mr Sun makes! i can’t help but want a croissant,” writes @helsmartin from Redland on Twitter, pretty much summing up the sentiment of many, while also inducing serious pastry envy.
To celebrate the appearance of Mr Sun and the overarching need to get outside to soak up some vitamin D, here’s our pick of some of Bristol’s best alfresco drinking spots:
This pub’s beer garden is one of the best in Bristol, dominated by a fabulous mural which features pigs in a hot air balloon and a yawning cow. The Farm may still be known primarily for its beer garden, but delve a little deeper and you will be more than pleasantly surprised.
The Avon Gorge Hotel, CliftonThe White Lion bar at the Avon Gorge Hotel has a huge terrace with an unrivalled view of the gorge and Suspension Bridge. The bar is expensive, very expensive. There is normally a long wait for a drink. But there is no better terrace to visit when the sun is shining brightly.
Under The Stars, CentreIn other cities, a bar on a boat would be a revelation. Here in Bristol, however, we are spoilt for choice. Under The Stars is a perfect sun trap, with a large deck providing an ideal space to catch some rays while eating and drinking. Head below deck for films, music and quizzes.
Boston Tea Party, Park StreetFor a road with so many bars, pubs and restaurants, Park Street is not well served for outside areas. The wonderful terraced garden area out the back of Boston Tea Party makes up for this, where you feel a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
The Kellaway, HorfieldDuring one lunch in the beer garden of the Kellaway, the Horfield pub formally known as the Kellaway Arms, a mangy duck with most of its feathers missing stole a piece of bread from my hand. The duck lives in this spacious south-facing beer garden. Watch out for him.
The Victoria, Westbury-on-Trym
The Victoria is a great little local pub hidden among residential streets at the bottom of Chock Lane. Like many of the nearby houses, it is made from rock hewn from the nearby slopes, on which is the Victoria’s ‘secret garden’, so really is a local pub.
I’d like to suggest the Masons Arms in Stapleton. Doesn’t look much from the outside but has a beautiful, big & well tended garden sloping down into the Frome valley. Decent ales and real cider.
The Clifton Gorge Hotel/White Lion bar?! You’ve got to be joking. Badlu run, bad service, little choice. It relies completely on its location to pull in the punters. And it’s recommendations like this one that will ensure it’ll never have to get its act together. I’d say avoid.
Where’s the Ostrich Pub in this list?!
Helen, the rubbishness of the White Horse is one of the reasons I love Bristol – there’s something endearing about its inability to make the most of its location. I love when you go there on a beautiful, sunny weekend afternoon, and you can barely make it to the terrace because everyone’s inside watching football…. with all the blinds drawn, of course.
And have you ever tried getting a buggy or wheelchair through there? Jeez.
Nope, if there was someone with even a tiny bit of vision in charge, that place would be intimidatingly swanky and brilliant. Instead, we get a sports pub selling Blackthorn. It’s hilarious!
Anyway, back on-topic: come on. It’s summer. It’s drinking. It’s time to line up in a queue to buy fancy lager, then go sit by the water and swing your legs over the edge of the harbour wall, before getting the fear about falling in. Arnolfini bar all the way.
Kings Square seems remarkably popular.
South of the river the Victoria Park pub has a pretty good garden on a nice day.