It’s a criticism often levelled at online reviewers of pubs, bars and restaurants that their write-ups of new establishments are on the interweb before the paint has even dried.
Walking into The Beer Emporium takes that to another level.
The new King Street bar has been open for a week but when I visited after work yesterday evening, the upper floor was still strewn with sawdust and a ladder and builder’s leg had to be stepped over as a waitress led me down the stairs.
It’s only when downstairs that the size of The Beer Emporium becomes apparent, taking up two arches with the third housing the kitchen.
Food includes hot and cold “British tapas” including purple sprouting broccoli, and potted shrimp on toast. There are also some substantial mains, the meatiest of which is the 7oz Dexter Rib eye steak which will set you back £18.
The food menu is promising but the beer menu is stonking – with more than 100 bears to choose from.
On cask and keg there is the possibility of 24 beers, whose current lineup includes Dark Star Hophead and Camden Ink, as well as Bristol Beer Factory West Coast Red and Arbor Ales Limelight from closer to home, as well as Orchard Pig Reveller.
But it’s the bottles which will make beer lovers salivate.
I counted 83, made everywhere from Argyll to Watou, Hawaii to Skipton, with names like Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial Porter, Copper Dragon, Cheeky Pheasant and Bigfoot Barley Wine.
There is even a brew from Easton, the Weyerbacher Old Heathen. That’s Easton, Pennsylvania; not Easton, BS5.
You could come here every night for a month and not sample everything, but you’d certainly have fun trying, especially with The Beer Emporium being open from midday until 2am – although being underground even with blazing sunshine outside it feels late at night.
Last night saw a jazz quintet perform, with live music every Tuesday night.
The Grade II listed building was built around 1860 and was once used by Bristol’s oldest wine merchant, JR Phillips & Co, to store wine.
The as-yet unfinished room upstairs will soon become a small sampling room and bottle bar.
It’s hoped that it will be open in time for the weekend, because at the moment it’s about as unwelcoming a frontage that you can imagine.
Regardless of not quite being finished yet, this is a new bar definitely worth trying out; just watch out for the ladders on your way in.
The Beer Emporium, 15 King Street, Bristol, BS1 4EF. 0117 379 0333.
