Pubs and Bars / A-Z Bristol pub crawl
A-Z Bristol pub crawl: The Ill Repute, Old Market
When you step inside the Ill Repute, you step into a world of music mania, Americana memorabilia, and mouthwatering Mexican food.
Describing itself as “one of the best, non massage related reasons to visit Bristol Old Market”, the Ill Repute lives up to its reputation.
The pub combines the artefacts of a museum with the energy of the Bristol music scene, hosting live acts throughout the week in the front room fit with retro motorbikes and lines of vinyls, and an underground movie and function room described as the “Subterranean Social Club”.
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The Ill Repute sits opposite the Old Market Assembly in Old Market, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it looked like a museum or an antiques shop as you walked past. An infamous Elvis Presley-themed bathrooms brings visitors from far and wide.
Retro memorabilia brings a museum-like feel to this Old Market institution
Their beers are abundant, and those on taps are intricately drawn by an evidently artistically prodigious barman.
The couple opted for a Bad Reputation house lager and a Wiper and True Helles Lager, out of a varied selection which included beers nodding to the sixties era, such as the Ringo session IPA.
Unfortunately, for two hungry punters looking for an after-work pints, a Mexican feast was not to be the case.
They could only glimpse the closed kitchen from afar as the salivated at the prospect of loaded nachos and pico de gallo-slathered tacos.
The food menu is reasonably priced with creative vegan options, and the couple wished they had only arrived an hour later.
The warmth from the sun – at least partially – filled their hungry stomachs, as they sat outside the pb, watching the world go by on the bustling high street.
Bands were setting up for a gig that night, and the owner, Greg, sat at the tables preparing his stock for the evening.
As ever, the Ill Repute was gearing itself up for the night ahead, fulfilling its reputation once more as truly one of the best reasons to visit Old Market.
The Ill Repute, 16 West Street, Bristol BS2 0DF
www.illrepute.co.uk
All photos: Mia Vines Booth
Read next:
- A-Z Bristol pub crawl: Hey Dude, King Street
- A-Z Bristol pub crawl: The George, Knowle
- This area of Bristol once had half a dozen pubs – now it has none
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