Jolly Roger, Easton, Bristol

A somewhat run down looking pub that seems to have frequent spells of closure (enforced by the police on some occasions), it’s not the sort of place you’re going to take a young lady for a date and initial impressions were somewhat off putting with a crowd of smokers pretty much blocking the doorway to get in. That said though, it seemed friendly enough and the landlord in particular was quite a jovial chap. It doesn’t have much in the way of any character, with some sort of laminate boards on the floor, dark brown painted wood panelling on the lower part of the walls and more dark brown boards on the ceiling at the rear, although at the front it was a little more traditional with a few beams on the ceiling and almost had the feel of a country inn. A DJ booth was in the rear corner, and the floor here was devoid of any furniture so presumably it is used as a dance floor on occasions. A TV screen was showing the athletics, although the volume was off so this was not too intrusive. The overall volume in the pub was quite high though, as most of the punters seemed to be talking extremely loudly, almost shouting, to one another. The pub furniture seemed an odd mix with all manner of different chairs for example, including a number that would have looked more at home in an office with their casters and adjustable seating positions. The pub seems to have something of Jamaican influence with a map of Jamaica was on the wall as well as an old advert for Jamaican rum, and this no doubt suited both the landlord and the vast majority of the clientele. Unfortunately there were no real ales on tap, just John Smith’s Extra Smooth crap, which no doubt lived up to it’s name. Ciders meanwhile were Thatcher’s Gold and Blackthorn.

The Jolly Roger is situated in the middle of the Easton are of Bristol. This pub looked the business with a gang of people stood outside the entrance,so i was well looking forward to going inside to see what this pub was like. Once inside there is a single oblong shaped room which runs to the rear,the bar is on the left side,the room is bare boarded,there is bench seating and chairs opposite the bar and three large tables and chairs to the rear. There were no real ales on the bar,i had a drink of John Smiths Smooth Crap and was offered a big swag of it before it was topped up by the barman who looked pretty stressed out,this was as usual a crap drink. There was nice map of Jamaica on the wall and some Jamaican flags. The pub was empty inside despite the crowd outside. I really like doing pubs like this and was well pleased after doing this pub. Not a pub for most normal drinkers to do. Pub visited 8/4/2017