please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Certainly worth a visit
|
Third and last in a trio of pubs before and after the mighty U’s visit to Ashton Gate where we managed to salvage a draw from a winning position. The Barley Mow for me was the best of the bunch. Set behind Temple Meads in an odd area of regeneration, social housing and undeveloped land this is a real gem of a pub. Friendly welcome from the knowledgeable staff and a good selection of ales, none of which I’d come across before, so I had the Dirty Stop Out stout which was excellent and finished with a half of the Jeremiah? IPA before heading back to the station. Very pleasant interior which seemed recently refurbished, food menu looked very good and there was a couple of chaps in their 30’s playing crib at the table next to me, just the sort of local I wished I had in the beer desert that is Hemel Hempstead. Lucky old Bristol! 8.5/10
|
Old pub refurbed in a part pub part bistro style amid some new social housing not far from the station. Decent selection of ales which went down well.
|
My second visit since 2009. Nothing has changed - good basic pub with filling food (£8.00) and a good range of BBF beers - '7' and Bitter Californian were very good.
|
Great little pub close to the train station (exit through the car park and take the left hand foot bridge over the canal). Good beer from Bristol Beer Factory and very nice food at reasonable prices.
|
Nice well-kept little pub, not too easy to find if your map is not up to date (although an older building, the area has many recently erected and large hotels and other residential and business buildings). Owned by the Bristol Beer Factory it was of course serving a good choice of their ales (our choices were on fine form) and we were immediately offered a loyalty card which as non-locals we declined. Nice to be offered, though. A good choice of leaflets, booklets, timetables etc. were available and there was a good collection of local mainly pub photographs on the walls. Probably the best of a good bunch of Bristol pubs we visited on the day.
|
Went for Sunday lunch, sat in courtyard in the sun, Acer was excellent. Music was blearing out at full volume with only the barman in the pub. Even sitting outside was difficult to chat so asked politely to turn volume down which he did but then immediately put the big screen telly on for a car race (grand prix?) again at full volume. So left and we had a nice Sunday lunch and a quite a few pints in the Punch Bowl instead. Shame, love this pub normally.
|
Hello beatles38. Are you sure you weren't counting your change?
Acer is �2.80 in the mow
�2.45 if using a loyalty card!
|
nice , community pub . Bristol Beer Factory with a guest from Arbor. Quality of beer was good, and my lunch went down a treat.
Beer slightly pricey at �3.20 for my pint of Acer
|
Visited on Sunday afternoon 13th Feb with a special friend and had a pint or three of Sunrise, a lovely light coloured beer with a nice tang. The pub had a nice atmosphere and the bar staff were friendly and polite but a far too loud television booming out commentary on a rugby match spoiled things - can't understand why any tv sound is necessary, most programmes have subtitles - that's one of the reasons Witherspoons are so popular. If we go there again I'll take some ear plugs!
|
Re: Dandillus
Appologies for the poor beer quality on your last visit to the Barley Mow, I'm was extremely disapointed when reading your review. At the Barley Mow we take a lot of pride in the up keep of our cellar and the condition of our ales. Obviously you did not experience this on your visit and I may never of known without your frank and honest review. I will be making a concerted effort to check that all staff fully understand the importance of how our ales/all drinks should be served.
all our BBF ales and Purbeck guest are currently in top condition
cheers
andy
|
If the beer quality is anything to go by, then you'd have to say that sadly the BM has gone downhill. Served very ordinary beer, and although the barman agreed to change it , albeit with raised eyebrows and a surely some mistake look about his person, the second one requested was just as bad with the initial beer complained about carrying on being served regardless of the fact that it was way past it's sell by date. Also the latter - replacement beer - which was a long way from how it should be , was from their own Bristol Beer Factory range . Hmm, if you cannot serve your own beer in decent nick, then WHAT IS THE POINT? . Oh dear oh dear, not deserving a GBG entry on this form. Very , very disappointing.
|
Not somewhere you'd chance upon if you're not local, but well worth seeking out. A proper community pub, but also quite close to Temple Meads station so could be a good place to start or end a crawl. V good beer too.
|
We were staying at the new Ibis and this place turned out to be a little gem pretty close by, if you want to avoid the 'Spoons. Fairly basic but cosy and had some interesting and well kept Bristol Beers (I think this is one of their tied houses) amongst friendly staff and punters.
|
Popped in on thursday early evening as the knights templar was like an over-run curry house and i decided it would be quicker to get served walking across that wobbly metal bridge (i hasten to add its the bridge thar was wobbly and not myself) than it would be waiting with the after-work office numpties at spoons.
Anyway to the point at last I can say it was a very satisfying half hour with a yummy pint of their current guest "Wessex Golden Apostle" and followed up by an equally well kept pint of BBF Stout, Will be back in the not 2 distant future i imagine, 7/10
|
In the back of beyond I would think, only the GBG told me it existed. Nice little back street boozer with a warming fire, just BBF Red & Milk stout on but both were excellent. Friendly regulars.
|
Real fire keeping me nice and warm, real ales usually 4 on, couple from BBF. Slightly minimalist modern design inside a back street boozer. Staff knowledgable and enthusiatic. An 'alternative' feel to the pub.
|
Visited last Saturday lunchtime. Well worth getting soaked on short walk from Temple Meads station. Tucked in a back street behind the Ibis hotel this pub is well worth seeking out. Basic decor,no frills pub,friendly staff and excellent brews from Bristol Beer Factory plus one guest ale.
|
I like this place - Bristol Beer Factory No 7, Red, Sunrise and Stout were available yesterday. The 2 I tried were in fine form. Running a "buy 7 get one free" promotion reduces the price but does tempt one to more than was intended! Reasonably steady trade for a lunchtime, mostly people who were obviously regulars. Although not sampled, the menu looked OK. Very convenient for the station once you know how to find it.
|
Not many punters in on my recent visit,as mentioned in despatches there is now a guest ale,Isle of Purbeck,on this occasion. And good it was.
The place filled up before long though,and enough to keep the pleasant lad and girl behind the bar reasonably busy . It seems the cast of "Casualty" were having a meet up,though the only one I recognised used to be Toyah in Coronation Street.
Of note though is that at present it doesn't open Mondays and takes a break in the afternoon. (I was going to visit with some fellow BITERs). Looking at how trade is going hopefully this will only be temporary.
Like a mould,its growing on me. Yes not bad and seemingly going the right way.
|
Indeed so... The takeover by the Bristol Beer Factory as their first "proper" pub (the Tobacco Factory and the Grain Barge don't quite count) has been a roaring success as far as I can see: 4 perfectly-kept offerings ranging from the Bristol Stout through No 7 and Red to the Sunrise. All sampled and all excellent. Extremely friendly reception from the barman (despite the fact he only looks about 13!), which guaranteed a very convivial experience. Food also appeared to be in good shape, although none was tried on the last visit.
Got in very early doors but after 20 minutes or so the punters started filtering in; we were assured that trade had been reasonably brisk and so hopefully the Barley Mow will now be rendered safe from the fate of many pubs in the area (closure). It clearly aims to position itself as a quality community local, and it seems that various folk from the nearby and curiously-named Dings area are picking up on this and gradually "taking ownership". I hope this goes from strength to strength, as anything less would really be an injustice.
A superb blueprint of how a local boozer should be: down-to-earth while maintaining a high benchmark of quality.
|
A good pub just got better - now serving a guest ale and both this and the service was excellent.
|
A new pub for me as we were doing a 2010 Good Beer Guide crawl, and we really enjoyed the Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout. Good to see a couple of guests and had the Leeds Yorker too.
|
Been in a few times lately. As usual the Red and No7 were as so interesting they could have been laced with prozac,but the new Stout,as mentioned by the good Mr Dillus,was absolutely delicious each time. On the debit side though the staff were slightly curt,and the appearance of a hotel reception type bell on the counter does not bode well for customer service,or security for that matter.
|
For my money, one of the best boozers in Bristol, what pubs should and used to be about - quality beer in basic, comfortable surroundings. Really attractive ambience about the place, always a friendly welcome, and I have to say I totally disagree with AEM about his perhaps deliberately controversial statement about Bristol Beer Factory beers. On recent visits four BBF beers available, now including Bristol Stout which was very drinkable indeed. The only way to improve the place would be to install a couple more hand pumps and put on a couple of guest ales.
|
Visited here a couple of weeks ago and had a pint of Bristol Beer Factory Milk Stout. Have only ever had it in a bottle. Pleasant pub and a good alternative to the Cornubia. Will try and visit when I'm next in Bristol in May.
|
As others have said, a very nice pub, certainly the best in the immediate vicinity.
Quite quiet when we visisted on a Monday night, but they run quiz nights and others events on different days of the week so hopefully that draws people in.
They had a real fire and the menu looked good, although we were not eating.
|
Went in for the first time this afternoon. Very impressed. Friendly, tidy pub with well kept BBF beer and good food (by the look of it). Best pub in the area by a long way. Mr partner liked it too - appreciated the Stowford Press. I agree that it would be nice to have a guest beer on tho.
|
Tastefully redecorated and refurbished, good atmosphere and the ale was excellent. All in all, a good job but how about Bristol Beer Factory outlets having a policy on a guest beer or two?
|
Have had 2 visits,on the first the pub was totally empty,the barman finally emerged from having his cancerstick during which time I could have loaded a van with the stock and the furniture. On the second it was a camra social and the place was good. BBF ales were good both times,but aren't their beers SO boring??? (Except for the elusive Milk Stout!!) With Bath Ales in the area is there room for another boring beer brewery?
|
Transformed. Now owned by Bristol Beer Factory with a nicely airy, understated refit. Good beer, a hidden gem waiting to be discovered.
|
Recollections are a little hazy, but I remember 'rough' cider in a pint glass with windows and a handle. Not often you get those any more. Pub seemed a little rough-and-ready, but not unpleasant. Worth a trip if you're not afraid of strong cider.
|
Only been there once but the barmaid warned me it was not an establishment for nice people and advised me to go elsewhere!
|
