Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Pub of the Week: Chums
Mark Farrell sits on a small table next to the bar at Chums being regaled with tales from a fellow jovial Irishman who is spinning an anecdote so enthusiastically that he has stood up from his chair.
Many more anecdotes will be spun here. It’s virtually the law in a micropub – the second in Bristol after the Drapers Arms on Gloucester Road – which resolutely forbids any form of electronic entertainment. So no flatscreen TVs, no jukebox, no music, just contented chatter and the clink of glasses.
On a recent evening, four friends, all with grey hair, talk about a recent campervan excursion to the Forest of Dean, with HPA from the Wye Valley brewery their tipples of choice.
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There are also three beers on tap from Butcombe, two from Oxfordshire’s XT, with cider from G Watkin and wine available by the glass.
Chums – formerly a convenience store – has its bar enclosed in wood panels in the middle of the room, with one large hatch and one small hatch through which to shout your drinks order.
There is seating for some two dozen people on mismatched tables and chairs, with splashes of colour on the walls provided by ink and watercolour paintings by Polish artists Jeizy Roszekczyinski which are all for sale.
Farrell is a well-known face behind the bar in Bristol’s pubs. The experienced landlord, formerly of the Plume of Feathers and Three Tuns in Hotwells, originally wanted to have his micropub on the harbourside, before finding this location on Chandos Road, yet another great addition to a street swiftly becoming a food and drink destination.
Named after Farrell’s walking group, Chums is part of a new breed of no-thrills pub taking things back to basics. Pull up a chair and join in the conversation.
Chums, 22 Chandos Road, Redland, Bristol, BS6 6PF
07757 681261
www.facebook.com/CHUMS-903685713040516/
Read more: Pub of the Week: The Drapers Arms