The Claremont, Bath

You want something really good to eat without the pressure of a big menu to navigate. You want to stay in Bath but you’re not in the mood for city centre thrum. You want a neighbourhood vibe that doesn’t make you feel like you’re an outsider, a traditional pub environment that doesn’t feel fusty and a great beer garden to chill out in if the sun comes out to play. In short, you want The Claremont: the history-laden hostelry at the epicentre of characterful, higgledy-piggledy Camden, high up on Bath’s northern slopes. 

It’s clear that many of the residents of the charming byways leading from, off and to Claremont Terrace treat their local as a second home. It’s a Thursday evening and the pub is gently buzzing with a mixture of date night couples, pint-clinking regulars and a group of friends reunited with teenagers in tow all supporting the neighbourhood vibe that I’d hoped for. A pianist tinkling away on the upright Joanna in the corner adds to the mellow merriment, and chalkboards dotted hither and thither promote forthcoming events (regular quiz and live music nights; community sing-a-longs; big screen sporting action).

What with The Claremont being this much of a properly good boozer, you really don’t need to be hungry to find an excuse to drop by. If, however, your drink proves to be too wet without a ‘little something’ for soakage, grazing options along the lines of hummus and pitta bread, chicken wings, veggie nuggets and skin-on chips are on hand to pick at while you sup. But the real stars of the Claremont food menu show make their presence felt before you’ve even hit the bar: is that proper pizza you can smell? Yes indeed! And the massive, fully-laden beauties here (also, by the way, available in takeaway format) prove that pub pizzas don’t have to be prosaic.

All hail the Somerset Meat: salami, pepperone, mozzarella and cheddar combining to create the ultimate carnivore/cheese dream with a flourish of rocket adding a fresh texture uplift (and, perhaps, a nebulous sense of righteousness regarding your five-a-day quota). Want to turn the heat up? Head straight for the aptly-named Firecracker, replete with Roquito drop peppers with a fiery personality that belies their dinky dimensions, soft, smoky ‘nduja and liberal drizzles of sweet/savoury hot honey bringing heated complexity to the mozzarella/smoked cheddar party.

The sourcing of all those ingredients, meanwhile, represents an exceedingly well-considered tour of produce from some of Bath’s best doorstep artisans: Westcombe cheese, Somerset Charcuterie and Fior di Latte Mozzarella from Brue Valley, a Glastonbury-based dairy I’ve never come across before but would go out of my way to make a date with again… a sentiment which brings us back full circle to the start of this review.

If you’re in the mood for eating properly good pizza in a proper neighbourhood pub far (but not too far) away from the city centre’s madding crowds, you’re in the mood for The Claremont.