Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Pub of the Week: The George
On a sunny midweek lunchtime, the doors of The George are flung open on two sides of the historic building and locals sip pints in the patches of sunshine by the door as they smoke cigarettes and chat. Inside at the traditional wooden bar with worn-in locals perched on equally worn-in stools, the barmaid greets a couple of customers who have come in for lunch, asking after family members and chatting about the blue streaks she plans to get in her hair while she takes their order and pours drinks.
At a big table in the seating area of the bar, a group of mums peruse the menu of steaks, burgers (£4.50 with chips or £3.50 without), fish and chips, pies and other classics. The women laugh and catch up as their babies sleep peacefully in their prams, lulled to sleep by the occasional chirp from the fruit machine by the door and the low hubbub of chatter as the tables begin to fill up, single parties happy to share their empty seats with others.
The inside of The George is as traditional as it gets
Old boys propped at the bar or on sunny tables in the window read the papers nursing foaming pints of beer, of which there are a good supply – Abbot Ale and Greene King IPA grace the hand-pulls, while on tap there are classics including Guinness and Fosters. In the fridges are a good range of soft drinks and above sit a dozen different spirits and several bottles of wine.
is needed now More than ever
The decor harks of days gone by in both the main bar and restaurant: there are photographs of olden-day Shirehampton adorning almost every bit of the yellow walls, alongside tiny intricate watercolours of carts and horses, cartoons of fox hunts and an old advertisement for Cowan’s finest old Irish whisky. It’s the sort of place that would be a tourist destination for anyone looking for an ‘authentic’ British pub experience, were this place located in the centre of Broadmead.
A sign above the seating area in the bar proclaims this a non-smoking area of the pub: more evidence if it was needed of the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it attitude of this long-running establishment. Let’s hope it never changes.
The George Inn
4-6 High Street, Shirehampton, BS11 0DT
0117 9828697
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