Pubs and Bars / Pub of the Week
Pub of the week: The Orchard Inn
A good local can be a blessing or a curse, depending on your disposition.
Either way, it is an apt description for a pub with a cider menu as extensive as the one proudly on display behind the bar in The Orchard Inn.
is needed now More than ever
This traditional boozer might as well be half a world away from some of its trendy harbourside neighbours. It’s shabby without a hint of chic, with food offerings of the hearty, meaty and carb-loaded variety.
This former CAMRA national cider pub of the year was once known as the White Horse, and was a proper dockers pub in days gone by, built to serve the armies of workers in what was once Bristol’s industry hub.
Always sporting a hat, regular Jack can often be found having a smoke outside. Jack, who lives on a boat a stone’s throw away from the pub, is the man who describes the Orchard as a “dangerously good local”.
He’s right about the danger, as a foray into the many ciders on offer is not for the faint-hearted. Among the apple-based bevvies lie liquids of dangerous potency, often alarmingly orange in colour.
Although it has carved a strong reputation as a traditional cider pub, The Orchard is far from a one-trick pony and also has a selection of draft ales, as well as a bar laden with crusty rolls, pies and packets of various salty snacks and popular live music nights.
Cheerful and cosy with all the trappings of a traditional pub – from the ‘locals tankards’ hanging above the bar, to the wood burner and walls adorned with prints from days of old.
Inside, conversation moves seamlessly from politics to Brexit, to the traffic on Wells Road as a group of regulars lay their cards on the table – metaphorically speaking.
To one side, a man wearing shorts and sporting an impressively long, pointed beard, reads his book, sips his pint and studiously ignores the hive of conversation around him.
Another regular, drinking his beer from a distinctive pewter tankard, said he likes to mix things up and brings in his special Christmas glass for the festive period and a German steiner for Oktoberfest. “Come in more than once a week and you could have one too.”
The Orchard Inn, Hanover Place, BS1 6XT
Read more: Pub of the week – The Barley Mow
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