Princess Victoria Street in Clifton has a rather mixed recent record for pubs and restaurants.
What was once the Greyhound is now The Prom and attracting a young music loving crowd. Fifty restaurant barely lasted 50 days, while the soon to open Wallfish in Keith Floyd’s first bistro will hope to be more successful than short-lived previous incarnations Clifton Kitchen and Bistro Biere.
Somerset House was always the black sheep of the family, old in the teeth regulars (and some with not many teeth at all) smoking outside presenting not the most welcoming countenance at a tired pub from a bygone era.
After a major refurbishment, the Somerset House is unrecognisable from before.
Farrow & Ball is just over the road and would have done a roaring trade, with a 50 shades of grey analogy not going amiss on the walls.
Four antique muskets sit above the fireplace, there are four battered leather seats in the corner nearest the front door, yet the country pub feel is offset by lighting that could come from a 1950s film set and wine and champagne kept in a metal cage.
Ladies’ bottoms also form the decoration in the gents, with one of the small frames already ripped off the wall.
Ales on tap when I visited over the weekend were Flying Scotsman and Golden IPA from Caledonian brewery.
There is also a large wine list, categorised into such headings as ‘juicy, fruit-driven and ripe whites’ and ‘spicy, peppery and warming reds’, with many wines by the glass from £4.10 or bottles up to £55 for the Pongrácz Desiderius from South Africa.
Waitresses in crisp white shirts and black aprons bustling about are also an indication that the new Somerset House is a “pub and kitchen” – no mention of gastropub these days.
A menu changes daily, with the options on the Sunday afternoon when I visited including Lyme Bay crab on toast (£6.50) and calf’s tongue with celeriac remoulade (£6) for starters, and mains from £12 the pick of which were pan fried cod (£12) and roast striplion (sic) of beef (£14).
Puddings from £5.50 included baked cherry clafoutis and caramelised lemon tart served with raspberry sorbet.
Somerset House, 11 Princess Victoria Street, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 4BX. 0117 973 6831.
