Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Pub of the Week: The Cross Hands
Sundays are an occasion to be savoured at The Cross Hands, a place where friends, family, dogs, children – and everyone in between – is welcome.
The clock hands have long since passed 3pm on this particular winter afternoon, but people are showing no signs of shifting from the warm confines of the roomy inn, as more rounds of drinks are brought, and the final roasts are ferried from kitchen to table.
With a blast of cold air, the door opens and a woman enters, pausing to embrace the occupants of a nearby table before heading on to join a group to the back of the building.
is needed now More than ever
Two friends continue putting the world’s to rights long after their meals are finished at a table by the window, overlooking the outside patio where one man, and his reluctant dog, huddles puffing on a cigarette.
Once a traditional coaching inn on the fork of Downend Road and Staple Hill, the Cross Hands has been a part of the Fishponds community in some guise or other for decades. It reopened in its current form after a thorough revamp in 2010.
With wooden floors and tables, a vast bookshelf laden with games, books and artefacts, faux candles flickering on window ledges and chandeliers, adding just a hint of grandeur, the pub is cosy, comfortable and expansive enough to fit the mix of families, loose children, couples and groups with ease.
To the back of the building, a handful of parents attempt to breathe life back into their frozen hands as they push their eager, hardy offspring on the swings in the sheltered garden.
Over at the bar, couples sit nursing a relaxing afternoon drink and the busy barman has the vague air of someone a bit worn out by the extended lunchtime service. Drink options are as varied as the clientele and roasts are the order of the day.
In keeping with leisurely Sunday pace, it’s a fair wait for roasts, but they eventually arrive on plates piled high, glistening with fresh, tender veg, ample gravy, golden roasties and the obligatory Yorkshire pudding
The veggie option of beetroot and nut roast is a bit on the crunchy side, but full of flavour and the extra bowl of cauliflower cheese is creamy, comforting and plentiful, while the small pot of horse radish packs a fiery punch.
People of all ages amble past chalkboards advertising quiz and curry nights, and head up the back stairs, where pink balloons herald a celebration in the function room upstairs.
It’s the stuff Sundays were made for.
The Cross Hands, 1 Staple Hill, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 5AA
0117 965 7759
www.thecrosshandsbristol.co.uk
Read more: Pub of the Week: The Orchard Inn
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