The Bag o' Nails, Bristol

Quinno _ left this review about The Bag o' Nails

Trundles along in its own quirky way. Luke the landlord, the roaming cats (plus their whiff) and the vinyl turntable remain in situ. My Moor Buckwheat Mild was par - NBSS 3. Apparently no draught lager is sold, which will please the old guard. GBG listed.

December 2014
Have popped in a couple of times since the last review and thankfully the slovenly youth has not been spotted behind the bar, so a big improvement - hopefully she was marched off the premises. The range of ales remains though whilst the quality is usually decent, it isn’t - in my humble opinion - as consistently top notch as the Three Tuns or Grain Barge. The plethora of kittens that have appeared may not be to everyone’s taste, easy to squash one as you navigate the tiny interior and on my last visit one was deposited on a nearby table in a box. Still, remains a worthwhile visit if not quite premier league. Rated 7

May 2013
A revisit to the BoN after its period of closure and subsequent re-opening under the auspices of a ‘well-known’ (by reputation, I’ve never met him) local landlord. Fairly quiet on our Sunday late afternoon visit, for the most part it was the three of us plus a chap sat at the bar who appeared to be a companion of the barmaid. There’s been some cosmetic smartening-up of the interior but the layout and feel is the same as it was before - a small, intimate little room with basic furnishings, wooden flooring and a range of ales at the bar. Something I hadn’t noticed previously was a porthole in the floor which was backlit like a disco. There was also a pub cat that stayed resolutely asleep in his window bed for the duration, despite me deciding to take advantage of the free record player and plonk some Kraftwerk on. Five ales on over six pumps with some interesting choices. The quality however was pretty hit and miss; an ‘Australian Pale Ale’ (unknown brewer) was fine, the Tyne Bank Jamaican Mild was OK if a little below par, but my companion’s Glastonbury Love Monkey was cloudy and clearly past its best (I said they should take it back but they wouldn’t…). The young barmaid was professionally apathetic and seemed utterly disinterested in our presence from start to finish, too busy talking to the chap at the bar and only acknowledging our presence when it was time to hand over money. We tried the advertised (and well-hyped) pork pies which were fair but maybe not quite as jaw-dropping as the (perhaps ironic?) write-up suggested. Again, the barmaid took her good time to rise from her stool, take the order and serve up. In a small little local’s pub that creates an extra intensity to an uncomfortable atmosphere and we felt like invading outsiders. I wonder if the chap at the bar clocked this, as he made an effort to pass the time of day with us after the pie-ordering episode. I really wanted to like it in here but there were too many negatives. I hope I caught it on a bad day but the subsequent good beer quality and friendly welcome in the Hope & Anchor put this one into stark perspective for me. Rated 5

May 2009
A teeny-tiny little place with a slightly foreboding look (it doesn't immediately scream "come in!") which nevertheless manages to pack in several excellent ales (microbreweries a speciality), including a mild on my visit. The interior is very small and basic, no-frills except for some pictures on the walls and some oddments in corners - the focus in here is having a drink and some banter. Hot pies and pasties are available at the bar. Well worth the short walk from the city centre. Rated 8

On 5^th May 2024 - rating: 7
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