Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Pub of the Week: The Knowle
At just after 5pm on a recent weekday night, all is quiet on the residential streets surrounding the Wells Road. But, push open the door of The Knowle and enter a warm environment humming with noise and energy, packed with people determined not to succumb to the midweek slump. Friends slap each other on the back as they catch up, and a birthday party of smiley women clutching gift bags settles down for an early dinner.
Efficient staff patrol the spacious pub, handing out foaming pints of Birra Moretti from the tall polished taps, as well as Caledonian Brewery’s Over The Bar and a Butcombe bitter from the hand pumps. A group of well-dressed women order pinot grigio from the neat range displayed behind the bar, good-naturedly jostling for prime bar space with guys in dusty work clothes.
(Full disclosure: The Knowle is owned by Zazu’s Kitchen Pubs, whose director Dougal Templeton is also a consultant publisher of Bristol24/7)
is needed now More than ever
A big mirror at the back is still decorated from the recent St Patrick’s Day celebrations, while above the fridges stocked with bottled ciders and beers a range of nuts and crunchy snacks sit in big glass jars waiting to be eaten.
Beyond the coffee machine, beneath a wall decorated with round vintage mirrors, tables are laid with shiny silver knives and forks, white napkins and fresh flowers. Several tables are occupied and people browse the dinner menu that includes steaks (from £13.95), papardelle with ricotta and a thick tomato sauce (£9.95) and baked camembert with crusty bread (£11.95).
Away from the bustle of the front bar, tucked behind the solid red brick building with its snaking pipes and many extensions is the large garden with far-reaching views across the houses and vertiginous hills that drop and then rise towards Bath. It’s quiet on a cool grey evening, with just a couple of people escaping the hubbub inside for a breath of fresh air and a quick phone call, but on a summer evening it’s a riot of laughter, the trees strung with fairy lights.
Back in the bar area with its smooth geometric tile floor, a waitress brings out two huge plates of burgers and chips, a steak knife rammed through the bursting heart of each bun. People at every table unabashedly follow her with their eyes as she delivers them to a delighted couple. A question wafts above the general chatter in the high ceilinged room: “Shall we order some food?”.
The Knowle, Leighton Road, Knowle, Bristol, BS4 2LL
0117 971 6351
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
