Pub of the Week: The Whitmore Tap

My previous favourite fact about the pub that is now called the Whitmore Tap is that it has an entrance on two different streets.

Those two entrances on Whiteladies Road and Cotham Hill both remain in this new iteration of the pub formerly known as the Penny Farthing which has been given a new lease of life by Butcombe as their first ever taproom.

But there is now a new favourite fact: being that it’s named after after Butcombe’s founder, Simon Whitmore, who begun the business in 1978.

Butcombe is a resolutely traditional brewery. Never cool. But solid and dependable.

The Whitmore Tap could be a sign of the brewery coming out of its shell, however, as it attempts to use its unmistakeable Bristol background (despite being located just the other side of the airport in Wrington) to become more rooted in Bristol’s beer scene.

Just check out some of the beers on tap among the full range of Butcombe’s cask, keg and bottled beer and cider:  Goram IPA, named after one of the legendary giants who created the Avon Gorge; and Underfall lager, a homage to the city’s historic boatyard.

Even the glasses these beers are served in – currently via table service – are a veritable Bristol paradise. Alongside the requisite Suspension Bridge is etched Cabot Tower, Bristol Cathedral, the M Shed cranes, the Matthew and the We The Curious planetarium.

Looking out of the Whitmore Tap towards Whiteladies Road – photo: Martin Booth

On its first Thursday night of opening, all of the outside tables on Whiteladies Road were taken and inside, even the quiet of Kings of Convenience could be heard on the stereo above the chatter of seated drinkers.

Opening when it has, the Whitmore has been designed with social distancing in mind – with glass screens separating the booths from one another, most closely resembling Four Wise Monkeys on Corn Street which was also designed during a lockdown.

From one wall, a deer’s head and antlers looks down over drinkers, with a framed painting on another wall featuring the Mona Lisa nursing a frothy pint – part of which is still on her top lip.

Should she want any food to accompany that pint, the kitchen upstairs at the Whitmore – where there is also a new dining room – can rustle up everything from snacks to salads, and Belgian-style frites to burgers (up to £17.45 if you want to add ox check to a bacon and cheese burger and chips).

Some of the beers are recommended as matches with the food, and a map on the menu also shows the location of the predominantly South West suppliers, including bread from Hobbs House in Chipping Sodbury and eggs from Clarence Court in Lacock.

Whichever way you enter the Whitmore, you will find a new pub attempting to find its place in Bristol.

The Whitmore Tap, 115 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2PB
www.whitmoretap.co.uk / 0117 325 9450

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: New bottle shop and tap opening