Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Pub of the Week: The Pump House
Sometimes life deals you unexpected hands. Cycling with my wife along the Floating Harbour towards the North Somerset countryside on a recent Tuesday lunchtime, the heavens opened. If this had been a documentary, Lemon Jelly’s track All the Ducks Are Swimming in the Water would have been playing with lingering shots of raindrops splashing into the docks.
We rounded the tight 180° turn near Pooles Wharf all cyclists breathe a sigh of relief when negotiating, and there it was. The outside tables were unsurprisingly unoccupied but then we pushed open the door. Warmth replaced wetness and we spied hundreds of gins behind the bar. Life was good again.
The Pump House – the sister pub of the Bird in Hand in Long Ashton and the Redann Inn in Chilcompton near Radstock – is one of those sturdy stone buildings that will remain standing long after all that is around it has gone.
is needed now More than ever
Split over two levels, the first floor mezzanine is the restaurant area, while the ground floor is the pub, with comfy leather sofas in one corner and reclaimed church pews elsewhere.
They are all overlooked by antique metal advertisements, many of which have a Bristol theme, featuring everything from Will’s Gold Flake cigarettes to Lennards (“for good boots and shoes” which used to occupy “the finest commercial building in the city” in what is now the former Habitat building just up from the Clifton Triangle recently bought by Bristol University).
Special events held throughout the year include gin samplings, Tuesday steak nights, and epic tasting menus with as many as 25 courses.
“Chloe’s perfect negroni” and “Tenzin’s Himalayan lady” were on offer on a small chalked sign at the bar, but we stuck with the theme here, ordering a gin of the week as an aperitif, a Polish variety which came with a twist of lemon and a strawberry (a reminder of when Gromberry and then Jarsberry Ram were positioned outside on the Gromit Unleashed and Shaun in the City trails).
From the early autumn menu, scallops the size of squash balls were wonderfully juicy accompanied by meaty chicken wings. The triple cooked chips arrived scalding hot but slightly under-seasoned, while on the other side of the table a tasting plate of artichokes got a resounding seal of approval.
“Do you want some bread?” a waiter asked as he spied Jo drinking the remainder of her velouté with a spoon. For pudding, we shared the delightful popcorn panacotta, salted peanuts, toffee and bananas.
Ales here are from local breweries including Wild Beer and the New Bristol Brewery, and a wine list available by the glass, carafe or bottle.
But if you come to the Pump House without sampling at least one gin it’s like going to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and not sampling any of the chocolate. There are more than 500 to choose from – with every table having a fresh flower in an old bottle.
From our window seat we could see the Create Centre and B Bond warehouse between which at the beginning of this year a death-defying high-wire act formed part of the opening ceremony for Bristol’s Green Capital year.
You couldn’t finish 2015 much more in style than with a visit to the Pump House.
The Pump House, Merchants Road, Hotwells, Bristol, BS8 4PZ
0117 927 2229
Photos by Daisay Johnson