Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Pub of the Week: The Mall
Candle-lit and half-full on a dark weekday evening, The Mall feels like a calm port in a Christmas-shopping storm. With real music (not a jingle bell in sight) playing softly in the background, and a tasteful wreath covered with pine cones and dried orange peel virtually the only festive decoration behind the bar, it’s a classy joint that hasn’t given in to gaudy temptation, even at this time of year.
Behind the wooden bar and framed by ornate mirrored plasterwork is an impressive selection of spirits, including six types of gin, and enough wines (sold both by the glass and by the bottle) to warrant their own menu. There are five ciders on tap, a range of good-quality lagers and four hand-pulls offering the likes of Bath Ales’ Gem.
The small front bar room, with its half-dozen tables, leads through to reveal a sweeping, dramatic fairy-lit staircase and a much larger downstairs seating area: no doubt full of lunchers on Sundays, tucking into a roast with all the trimmings (your choice of beef, chicken, gammon or nut roast, from £12.25).
is needed now More than ever
A light afternoon menu of sandwiches (served from midday to 5pm on weekdays) gives way to a substantial evening menu of starters, sharing boards, salads, main courses and desserts. There are nods to pub grub with sausage and mash (£11.95) on the menu, but this is Clifton: the free-range sausages are from Cherry Orchard Farm in Norfolk and the spring onion mash comes served with a red wine jus.
On a cold winter night – a fact that we’re all reminded of each time one of the pair of double doors swings open to admit passage and then closes again, agonisingly slowly – the butternut squash soup with sourdough (£5.50) seems a good option. It arrives warm rather than hot, but is hearty and comforting with a pretty touch of creme fraiche and toasted pumpkin seeds. The two hefty wedges of sourdough are warm and delicious with lashings of soft salty butter.
As Cliftonites bustle to-and-fro in their coats and hats outside and tree lights twinkle in the windows of the house opposite, it’s a luxury to take a moment of calm in what can often be a hectic month. If you’re escaping a sensory overload, The Mall is a great place to unwind.
The Mall
66 The Mall
Bristol
BS8 4JG
0117 974 5318
www.themallpubbristol.co.uk
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