Pubs and Bars / A-Z Bristol pub crawl
A-Z Bristol Pub Crawl: The Bottle & Jug, Gloucester Road
The council have decreed that no outside drinking is allowed at the Bottle & Jug on Gloucester Road after 9pm, which was a shame on a recent Friday night in the middle of a heatwave.
The concertina windows can be opened wide, however, so the prime spots inside remained virtually al fresco on this balmy early September evening.
Located in a former art shop between Jack the Falafel and the post office, the Bottle & Jug is almost opposite the Gloucester Road Ale House, which currently has a ‘for sale’ sign outside indicating the precarious nature of the hospitality industry.
is needed now More than ever
Thatchers Gold and Haze are among the options on tap at the Bottle & Jug – photo: Martin Booth
Is the Bottle & Jug a micropub?
In the spirit of a micropub, this new opening does lack most bells and whistles of a typical pub, but it does have a WiFi password, is card only and plays music – with Vanessa Carlton’s A Thousand Miles and the Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) among the songs on a tinny speaker system on Friday.
You might walk 500 or even 1000 miles for the bacon fries and pork scratchings behind the bar, but you probably wouldn’t for the current drinks selection made up of Heineken, Amstel, Thatchers Gold and Haze, and Stowford Press as the options on tap.
An ale from Bristol Beer Factory is hopefully coming soon, with the beer due to be served straight from a barrel on the bar.
Bottles in the fridge include Newcastle Brown Ale, Guinness and Butcombe Original; with cans including Natch and Thatchers Cloudy Lemon; as well as a dozen different wines and spirits.
“Double rum, no ice, no lemon,” was the order of one woman at the bar, as her companion studied the art on the wall by Elliot Lord.
A bottle of Old Speckled Hen polished off soon after 9pm, Tearin’ Up My Heart by NSYNC was the soundtrack to one drinker’s walk back out through the concertina doors onto Gloucester Road as the remaining outside drinkers were politely ushered back inside.
The Bottle & Jug, 44 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8AR
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
- New gastropub opens its doors just off Gloucester Road
- Jack the Falafel: ‘Possibly the best jackfruit curry in Bristol’ – restaurant review
- Following all 44 miles of Bristol’s boundary on foot
Listen to the latest Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
