Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Pub of the Week: King Street Brew House
Two fermentation tanks are enclosed behind glass next to the central bar at the King Street Brew House, both still empty but soon to start brewing in order so this bar lives up to its name.
Not that the after-work crowd mind that things are not yet fully up and running – with these tanks on the raised ground floor just a glimpse into the brewing that will mostly be taking place in the basement microbrewery.
Soon before 6.30pm on a recent Friday night, several dozen customers are sat on picnic tables or standing on the King Street cobbles outside. A bit of elbow room is already needed inside to make one’s way to the bar.
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“I really want this job,” a ponytailed woman shouts to her friend while tightly clutching her handbag. “I so want this job!”
Nearby, a group of 10 men are making antler horns at each other. “Stag stag stag!” one shouts, spilling much of his pint of Amstel on the floor.
The ceilings here are low enough for anyone over six foot tall to reach (although tip-toes are required) meaning that many people, not just the stag party, are shouting to make themselves heard over the din.
Pick a recent on-trend design feature and you’ll probably find it here: chairs are glorified barrels of beer, pillars are either painted black or covered with green tiles or exposed brick, lights are exposed filaments or contained within Kilner jars, and oversized upside-down test tubes contain everything from what looks like a bicycle chain to rusty keys.
Beer options the other night included four choices from the James Street Brewery within sister venue The Bath Brew House, with other choices from Dark Star, Anarchy and Beavertown. And there’s more in bottles and cans from local favourites Moor and Wild Beer, and further afield Flying Dog, Kernel and Anchor.
Food served here sees platters from £16.50; mains include burgers from £10.50, fish and chips for £11, and dark beer chili brisket for £12.75; sandwiches from £5.75 for the fish finger option; and puddings that include a pear and beer tart for £6.
Sunday lunch is also being served from March 20, with one course for £11.95 and two courses for £16.95.
King Street Brew House couldn’t have opened in a more suitable Bristol location.
The Beermuda Triangle of Small Bar, The Beer Emporium and Royal Navy Volunteer has been well documented.
The difference between that trio and this is that behind this new opening is that King Street Brew House is owned by The City Pub Company, the owners of more than 20 businesses across the south of England (including recently opened Prince Street Social just around the corner) as opposed to independently minded beer aficionados opening their dream bars and pubs.
And that’s the rub. A trio of businessmen with deep pockets have muscled in on an area of town with a distinctly Bristol identity.
Walk into Small Bar and you know that you’re somewhere special – with seven beers from their own in-house brewery, Left Handed Giant, currently chalked up above the bar (one of which, the USPA, is also at the King Street Brew House). Walk down the steps of the subterranean Beer Emporium and be confronted by somewhere that could only be in Bristol, with the ground floor bottle bar the best small off license in town. Study the beer list at the Volly and appreciate that each one has been chosen with care, including three from the New Bristol Brewery on a recent visit.
There may be Wiper & True and Bristol Beer Factory on keg here, but walk into the King Street Brew House and you could be in a dozen similar establishments from Bath to Norwich. The real taste of Bristol is elsewhere.
King Street Brew House, Welsh Back, BS1 4RR
0117 4058 948
Photos by Darren Shepherd
Read more: The Prince Street Social – review