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    Highbury Vaults

    4.2 (33 reviews)
    ModeratePubs
    Closed 12:00 pm - 12:00 am (Next day)

    Highbury Vaults Photos

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    Taken from their website
    Will P.

    Apparently the basement toilets were once the cells where people on their way to the gallows were detained. I certainly wouldn't want to be locked up in the toilet, but wouldn't mind too much being locked in the Highbury Vaults for a few hours. Fairly traditional in style, this long thin pub has nice wodden floors and furnishing and a good range of real ales. Pretty dark in the day time, hiding away in one of the booths is a nice way to spend a spare afternoon. There's a pretty garden out the back too, so smokers will be fine here, and you don't have to worry that you're missing the sun on a fine day. The Highbury Vaults is a traditional pub done well.

    You've heard the term old-man pub? Well at heart this place is an old man's pub, but somehow they've made that seem cool. The reason it is so cool and ultimately popular is due in no small part to the traditional English boozer feel of the place. It has the traditional old beams and a great collection of traditional beers and ales. The food is also great and the staff are very friendly, particularly the manager, who alone makes a trip to Highbury Vaults worth the effort. You do get an odd mix of people in here. On the one hand you have the real ale drinkers. You know the sort. Middle aged to old, with scant regard for their personal appearance. Along side them you have what you might say is their polar opposite. Students. Young, mildly irritating, with a high regard for their personal appearance.

    At about 10 one of the bar staff came round selling freshly made sausage rolls for £1.50 each - it was perfect!
    Lucy R.

    The highbury vaults is a proper boozer, no frills, the toilets smell of piss and it's all a bit rough around the edges but it's wonderful, in a world of wine bars and gastro pubs and pubs with huge vases of freshly cut flowers you definitely need places like the highbury vaults, it is a really popular hang out and I can't believe I have only just discovered it after living in Bristol all of my life - the most intriguing thing is a little model train that runs up and down one side of the pub in a Perspex tube !! And the sausage rolls were amazing !!

    Qype User (Lank…)

    Much as I love the interior of this old, real ale pub, on my last (recent) visit we sat outside and were overcome by the fumes from adjacent smokers because there is absolutely no free flowing air in the so-called 'beer garden'. By the time I left not only did I stink, but I had my first asthma attack in about 6 months. So come on guys, sort it out and remove those ridiculous glass canopies, or at least make part of the beer garden 'non-smoking' so we can enjoy it the way it used to be when all the smokers were inside.

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    18 years ago

    This is a nice little real ale pub. The covered garden is the best thing about this pub its very pretty.

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    18 years ago

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    Classic pub feel, cosy atmosphere, nice outdoor seating. Like it's been there for 200 years...very fun!

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    17 years ago

    A Good place to start the evening. Nice mix of people. I've spent many a Friday/Saturday afternoon in the beer garden.

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    9 years ago

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    18 years ago

    First visit on a trip last Saturday, good beers, liked the bar billiards, that's rare these days. Patio was a real tonic. Yes.

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    18 years ago

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    Review Highlights - Highbury Vaults

    r. You can easily escape to the nicely sized and well planted garden with benches, great for the smoker

    Mentioned in 9 reviews

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    The Penny - The bar at The Penny

    The Penny

    4.1(11 reviews)
    0.4 mi
    ££

    There's loads (I'd say too many) bars the part of Whiteladies road where this pub is. The sort of…read moreplaces you drink standing up and have to shout to get yourself heard. It's a relief, then, to find the Penny Farthing which resolutely is not one of these bars. It's not massively attractive from the outside, the sign in particular looking tired. Things get a bit better on entry. The long bar sweeps through the room elegantly, bringing up the character of the place. Although it could easily be dark and dingy, given the shape the room, they've lit it up well and succeeded in making it feel cosy. A good place to sit out a cold evening. They've made an effort with the selection of beers on offer. Prices hover around three pounds for a pint, which is a bit steep but fair considering what they're offering and the surroundings. Probably in virtue of not being like the rest of the drinking establishments along the road, this place doesn't get too many students (make what you want of that comment - personally I like a place with a studenty feel, but others disagree strongly). The Penny Farthing is a likeable pub and a welcome contrast to its neighbours.

    This is a proper pub, one for watching the rugby and drinking a warm pint of Guinness in, ideal. It…read moredoes have a great little seating area outside, perfectly positioned on Whiteladies road, so you can sit and people watch, smoke, and laugh at anyone who isn't sat outside a pub doing those things. But don't expect any natural light inside. This is a traditional pub, with local regulars and lovely bar staff. They do a Sunday roast, but I really would advise against it, there are much better options nearby. But defiantly come here with a group of mates, sit around one of the high old oak tables, grab a pint (well one for each of you) and soak up the atmosphere. The Farthing is the only pub left in a sea of Tea Rooms and Falafel shops (or hippy nonsense as my unenlightened friends would say). Literally it's hilarious; it looks so out of place sat there by the road amongst the plethora of glass fronted, double glazed, chain restaurants and hair dressers. Let's just hope it stays there!

    Photos
    The Penny
    The Penny - Penny Farthing Bristol

    Penny Farthing Bristol

    The Penny

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    The Cowshed - First floor

    The Cowshed

    3.9(29 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    £££

    As a vegetarian, whenever anybody suggests a meal in a steak joint a rush of panic floods over me…read more What will I eat? What if I'm left with a salad!? (I may be a veggie but it doesn't mean I love lettuce leaves!) So when my friends planned Sunday lunch in The Cowshed I sighed a heavy sigh. But I had nothing to fear - with two vegetarian options on the lunch time menu, at least I had something to choose from (Albeit a standard veggie burger or a goats cheese tart - two 'classics') and since this was a restaurant for meat eaters I could hardly complain! My burger was delicious, served with tasty chunky chips and washed down with hearty cider. My friend's roast dinners looked fabulous too. The service was very welcoming and the atmosphere was just what you want on a Sunday - full of fun and laughter.

    I don't know about you but I'm always a little amused when a carnivorous restaurant advertises…read moreusing a smiling pig or cow. While The Cowshed's poster mammal isn't smiling it still tickles me so I agreed to dinner here with my steak loving other half. The focus here is all about good old-fashioned British dishes, particularly steak and it's many guises. My partner ordered a steak cooked on a hot stone tablet right in front of him - similar to the way you can get hot plates in Indian restaurants, except this actually allowed him to partially cook the steak himself. As an occasional vegetarian there wasn't a great amount of choice for me to pick a main course but the starters and desserts were divine! It is quite pricey but I would come back for the chocolate mouse alone and my partner can whole-heartedly vote for the sirloin steak!

    Photos
    The Cowshed - Ground Floor

    Ground Floor

    The Cowshed - Ground floor

    Ground floor

    The Cowshed - Food

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    Food

    Alma Tavern - From their website

    Alma Tavern

    3.0(9 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    ££

    The Alma Tavern is a large, slightly non-descript pub which sits, funnily enough, on Alma Vale Road…read morein Clifton. The front bar is possibly the best spot, as you can watch the footie on Sky Sports in a smaller area with a little more atmosphere. The back room is a little too big and lacking in character, though they do have a big screen. There's plenty of pub grub options, a garden and even a theatre upstairs (which I'm slightly surprised to realise I've never been to), but despite all this, there's not much here to really fire the imagination.

    Located on Alma Vale rd Clifton. The Alma Tavern is a gastropub with a Theatre located above. Its a…read morevery welcoming pub with a pleasant decor. They have decent drinks selection and the choice of wine was excellent. Food wise. I had the Scallops to start which were excellent served with a sweet onion chutney and cavier "oh la la". The combined tastes were lovely. The roast beef was well cooked and served with an overcooked dry yorkshire and cold vegetables. Basically everything following the starter was just not good enough ! And I belive that this was down to the shoddy service we recieved ! It was like they couldnt cope with our order. We were a group of 8 plus 2 kids. The rest of the restaurant was empty. Which I suppose says it all really. I opted for the cheese board to finish which was good! But I suppose its quite hard to f*ck up chucking some cheese on a board. And even that took about a half hour to bring out. And one last thing I dont mind paying a compulsary service charge when ive received good service. But when ive received substandard service it gets on my tits a little ! I shall not be returning here in a hurry !

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    Alma Tavern

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    Coach & Horses - Sunday social with the family at the coach and horses

    Coach & Horses

    3.7(10 reviews)
    0.8 mi
    ££

    We squeezed in here just before they rang time after a Christmas meal. They were welcoming, even at…read morethat late hour, and despite serving a rather warm glass of orange juice (how does OJ even get warm in December?) It's small inside and the locals are very local - in that they look as though they would fight for their pub if they needed to (wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing I suppose). It is unremarkable and so like every other pub, but atleast it isn't a soulless trendy wine bar (as so many place on nearby Whiteladies road seem to be). The front garden is packed with tables and all very well if you're a smoker or it's summer (or both). The beer and larger, including locally brewed Cheddar Gorge Best - a fave with my ale drinking buddies.

    The trendy bars of Whiteladies can be a bit underwhelming at times (not least because they're not…read moreall that trendy) and the Coach and Horses is a welcome contrast to them. It doesn't try to be anything in particular and because of that is more or less your average traditional pub. Don't let the grand building in which it's housed in lead you to think this place is particularly posh - whilst is in Clifton everything here is plenty down to earth. There's sports shown sometimes but it's certainly not a sports put, too sedate and localish for that. The staff are friendly enough without being too obsequious. The lack of any strong character means you get a nice mix of students and locals that rub along together well. Range and price are all right, with the usual pub grub on offer. Well placed for a post stroll round the downs pint.

    Photos
    Coach & Horses
    Coach & Horses
    Coach & Horses

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    Highbury Vaults - pubs - Updated May 2026

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