The Hatchet Inn - Bristol, City of

I went away for the weekend with friends and stumbled upon this charming pub during a walking tour. Luckily, they were showing the World Cup final the next day, so we made a reservation. We were pleasantly surprised by the warm and friendly greeting we received, and the carvery was absolutely delicious.

The food and beer were decent. Our experience was enhanced by playing pool. I was expecting a different atmosphere in such a historic pub, but there was a heavy metal band practicing upstairs. Maybe I'm just becoming grumpy.

Impressed by the charming old facade and interior of this historic pub, we decided to stop in for a drink after watching the Lion King nearby. The drinks (Inch's cider and ale) were reasonably priced and the service was prompt, typical for Bristol. However, our experience was marred by the rowdiness of a group of overly intoxicated hen party and loud men in the bar. We managed to find a somewhat quiet table by the window near two students, but I wouldn't have felt comfortable eating here as originally planned. As we were leaving, a bouncer at the door confirmed our notion that this pub is not ideal for those seeking a peaceful post-show drink, despite its close proximity to The Hippodrome.

Yesterday 11th June 2023 myself, daughter, son in law and two grandchildren travelled to Bristol from Bridgwater to see The Lion King at the Bristol Hippodrome. We decided to arrive early so that we could all have lunch before going to see the show. We googled places to eat close to the theatre and The Hatchet came up as the oldest in Bristol and did food. Couldn't be happier with the choice. Not only was it a quirky looking pub from the outside, inside was well designed and comfortable. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the food was delicious. My youngest grandson (10 years old) loves beef so he had the roast beef carvery. He's pretty fussy and very vocal if he thinks the meat is tough or tasteless but he was very pleased with his dinner. He said it was the best place he'd had beef and that it was delicious. I can agree as I had the carvery with roast lamb and a small piece of beef and can honestly say it was one of the best carvery's I have had in a while. My daughter and son in law agreed. Plates were piled high and we were thoroughly full. All plates cleared. The chef was very accommodating and plated up exactly what you asked for. The gravy was soooo good. My other grandson (12 years old) ordered the cheese burger. This looked amazing and was huge. The chips were double cooked and lovely. Nice side salad and loads of cheese (proper cheese). All in all we will return for food here. Pleasant surroundings, good food, great selection of drinks and very friendly staff. Just a note............... The pub is over 18's only most of the week, but on Sundays they have families in. This basically means there is no childrens menu and so meals are all the same size and same price. Good value for money though for a city. £11.99 for carvery and the cheeseburger was £10.99.

Food was ok, but nothing special, standard pub grub. Very noisy, but understandable as prior to a gig at the nearby o2 academy.