properpub – The Prandial Playground, Bath and Beyond…

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 andContinue reading “The Claremont, Bath”

William’s Table Pub and Kitchen, Bath

“Wow, this is exactly how I want our new kitchen diner to look!” Okay, so that’s not a typical start to a restaurant review. But perhaps it should be; after all, loving the environment you’re in before you even settle down to eat is surely a Very Good Thing, while going out-out for your dinnerContinue reading “William’s Table Pub and Kitchen, Bath”

The Marlborough Tavern, Bath

Occupying prime leafy neighbourhood position just past the Royal Crescent on the edge of Royal Victoria Park, the Marlborough Tavern effortlessly brings proper pub and upmarket contemporary bistro together in perfect harmony, an appealing blend of friendly familiarity and a fresh, smart outlook in both decor and menus giving both locals and visitors alike goodContinue reading “The Marlborough Tavern, Bath”

The Inn at Freshford

Honey-coloured stone cottages, leafy courtyards, lamp-lit windows glowing in the dusk. Tranquil fields, wide-open skies, a gentle river flowing beneath an ancient bridge. Is Freshford — around 6m/10km south-east of Bath — the ultimate picture-perfect English village? That’ll be a yes, then. And, at the epicentre of village life, the historic Inn at Freshford. AsContinue reading “The Inn at Freshford”

The Marlborough Tavern, Bath

The Ring O’Bells, Widcombe, Bath

It’s 7.30pm on a drizzly Friday night in January. The restaurants, bars and pubs in Bath city centre are so quiet that even a tumbleweed invasion would liven things up; the lights are on, but everybody’s at home. Widcombe Parade, however – a 5-minute trot south-east of the bright lights, behind (and just over theContinue reading “The Ring O’Bells, Widcombe, Bath”

Goldstone Food at The Curfew, Bath

It’s 7.30pm on a gloomy Thursday evening and the long-established pub on the London Road/Bathwick Street junction is buzzing in the way that proper pubs used to buzz before the high street casual dining emporiums started filling sprawling, vacant spaces with fake stag head wall mounts, mass-produced velvet wing chairs, phoney vintage beer ads andContinue reading “Goldstone Food at The Curfew, Bath”

The Old Crown Inn, Kelston

One of the joys of living in Bath is the almost instant access we have to a whole host of glorious pastoral enclaves that surround the glorious little mini-metropolis at the centre of proceedings. The tiny little village of Kelston 4 miles/6-ish km north-west of the city is a case in point. Ancient origins (anContinue reading “The Old Crown Inn, Kelston”

The Hop Pole Inn, Limpley Stoke

More oooh! than the backdrop for a Richard Curtis romcom, more aaaah! than an illustration for a Beatrix Potter storybook: that’s the vibe that seduces you as you make your leafy-lined way from Bath city centre to the pastoral paradise that is Limpley Stoke, the historic little village nestling on the outskirts of the equallyContinue reading “The Hop Pole Inn, Limpley Stoke”

Review: The Redan Inn, Chilcompton

The Redan Inn (Chilcompton, just 10 miles/16 km south of Bath) has sat on the Fry’s Well/Wells Road junction for… ooh, centuries. Like many of the hostelries around these yer parts, it was once a coaching inn. But in recent history, owners have moved on faster than the stagecoach that shunted mail twixt Bath andContinue reading “Review: The Redan Inn, Chilcompton”