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    The Old Duke

    4.0 (40 reviews)
    Open 12:00 pm - 1:00 am (Next day)

    The Old Duke Photos

    THE OLD DUKE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Live music
    Classy
    Loud
    Good for groups

    Recommended Reviews - The Old Duke

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    The bar
    Caz M.

    This is truly one of Bristol real gems. As well as a good selection of beers and ciders, there is a reason this place is packed to the rafters on the weekends, the live music, blues, jazz, soul and funk will have you dancing the night away. The bar staff are friendly, and always smiling, welcoming you in, old band posters decorate the ceiling, and the outdoor area is a real sun trap. Highly recommended.

    Old Duke Bristol

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    16 years ago

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    18 years ago

    A really good live music pub featuring Jazz and Blues acts. Its a comfortable old pub with friendly staff.

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    11 years ago

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    18 years ago

    Very good live music but it is a little bit stinky place

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    The Old Duke Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - The Old Duke

    For years Eddie Martin has rocked the Sunday nights with his fantastic blues band and I can't recommend it enough!

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    The Shakespeare Tavern

    The Shakespeare Tavern

    4.0(6 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    £

    The Shakespeare Tavern is a proper boozer just off the centre of Bristol and just at the back of…read morethe waterfront. It couldn't be much more different to the other pubs/bars that it's close to. You can tell from the outside exactly what it'll be like inside; a traditional English, old mans pub. It is actually a really refreshing pub to go and hide away from the horribleness of the waterfront on a Friday or Saturday night. I went on Saturday night for the first time in well over a year. I'd been drinking wine with a meal before hand, so deiced to stick to that; £8 a bottle! Boom! Drinks wise you'll find your bog standard draught lagers, ciders and ales and the usual top shelf suspects. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Apart from a few of the punters - eeeek! Don't make eye contact! If they have eyes, that is! With pub going out of business left right and centre, I can't see this one any time soon. It's serves it's purpose well!

    A perfect place for a pre gig drink if you are heading to the Thekla or the Louisiana. The…read moreShakespeare is set up some steps by the floating bridge so grab a window seat and it is a great place to watch the world go by. It's quite a small pub but for some baffling reason, despite it always seeming busy, I have never struggled to get a seat in here. As with most Bristol pubs they serve good local ciders but the best bit is the food. Pieminister, mash, peas and gravy is a must on a cold winter or autumnal day. And if that day is a Wednesday you get a free drink with said meal! Bargain. This is one of those pubs which makes you feel warm and lovely inside when the nights are cold, dark and long, less so in the summer but still well worth a pre-gig visit.

    Photos
    The Shakespeare Tavern
    The Shakespeare Tavern
    The Shakespeare Tavern

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    Highbury Vaults

    Highbury Vaults

    4.2(33 reviews)
    0.7 mi
    ££

    After a long, cold, wet day of walking the center of Bristol, I was in the hunt for a hearty, hot…read moremeal. I stopped in to the pub Highbury Vaults which boasted a surprising menu that included my favorite food, nachos. I ordered a drink and sat in the outdoor heated patio awaiting the order. The pub was exactly as you'd expect inside, stuffy and tight with a welcome mix of white haired older men mumbling and gripping to each other over a pint, Bristol Uni students laughing raucously, and gatherings of post grads deep in discussion with their advisers. True everyman pub fashion. The bowl of nachos was good! The slow braised beef was tender and flavorful, the salsa, sour cream, and cheese sauce all mixed well with the sturdy chips. And the portion was perfect for dinner. My only request would have been a separate bowl of chips so that an optimal ratio of toppings could have been achieved. Decent price, quick service, and charming atmosphere coming with good food to ensure if definitely come back and maybe try the pie next time.

    The default drinking hole for students from the university, the Vaults are rather grotty, rather…read moredark and loud, but rather fun. I've never quite understood why it's so dark inside; perhaps it's to accommodate the flinching hangovers of students hiding out here after lectures. It's quite cramped and uncomfortable inside, but has the most brilliant covered back garden which more than makes up for the dingy interior. With loads of comfortable seating, it's a really great place for drinking outside in the warmer months. Large groups of students do tend to assemble out here for smokes and loud chats of the "oh my God, I was so drunk last night" variety, so steer clear if you don't like that kind of thing. On offer at the bar are some very cheap sandwiches which are friendly to the student wallet. All in all, it's pandering to the student clientele, but that's not surprising, and doesn't seem to have put off the older locals who still come here for a cheap pint in what is essentially a traditional pub.

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

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

    Highbury Vaults
    Highbury Vaults - Bowl of nachos showing meat, salsa, sour cream, and chips.

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    Bowl of nachos showing meat, salsa, sour cream, and chips.

    The Hatchet Inn

    The Hatchet Inn

    3.5(33 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    ££

    THEY NEED TO UPDATE THEIR WEBSITE!! No food served as of APRIL 2019. I am giving them 2 stars…read morebecause having the wrong information on their website made our group of 4 massively HANGRY (you know, when you are Hungry + Angry?). I had stopped by the Hatchet Inn as part of our Blackbeard To Banksy -Ultimate Bristol Walking Tour, and beguiled by our Guide's story of it being the oldest pub in Bristol as well as the legend of Blackbeard and its original door being made of human skin, after a day of walking around Bristol, even tho' this pub was a good 15 mins away from our location, we walked back to it to get dinner..only to discover that they no longer served food! We'd gone to their website and it still listed a menu, and when I told the Bartendars that, they responded, yeah, that the website needed to be updated!!! Not a happy camper.... Yelp 159/ 2019

    The 'atchet (or Hat Sh*t as it is also known, as of this weekend) is the only 'proper' music pub…read moreleft in Btown, since the Chavs came and bought all the decent pubs and turned them into Chinese Karaoke bars and R 'n' b style lounges. The horror. Basically this pub used to be the perfect before and after spot for anyone watching a gig at the Carling Academy (sorry, O2 Arena or Music Bowl...whatever the hell it is now), but really The Hatchet is so much more. I even saw Badly Drawn Boy do an acoustic set here after a show. Beautiful. Don't expect anyone to smile at you here; it's not that type of crowd. Just keep your head down, tell yourself you're cool enough to be in there, enjoy the music, get your pint of Guinness and sit at a table in the corner somewhere - oh and try not to make eye contact with the skinhead with the skeleton tattoo, you'll know who I mean. At least that's what I do. Seriously great pub though. Check out the DJ every weekend, if you really want to hear great music. Expect at least three Rage tunes a night, The Deftones, The Cure, The Cult...actually I'm going to stop listing bands. They just play the best music in town. Got it? Good.

    Photos
    The Hatchet Inn - Taken from their website

    Taken from their website

    The Hatchet Inn
    The Hatchet Inn

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    The Woods - View from mezzanine

    The Woods

    3.3(26 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    ££

    The Woods can be found just off of Park Street and is the sister bar to Elbow Street just slightly…read moredown the way. If the Elbow Room was going through puberty, drunk and passed out on the floor, The Woods has grown up, got a job and developed a taste for whisky and fine wines. This late night drinking venue is a victim of its own success and is often packed to the rafters will drunken revellers and city boys. It is a little on the pricey side, but I always find it worth the money considering what the other, unholy options are. Head upstairs if you're looking for a more relaxing atmosphere with your beer.

    Set slightly away from Park Street, you'll spot this bar by its distinctive yellow front. This is…read moresomething of a specialist bar with a focus on whisky. This means behind the bar you'll find rows and rows of (pricey) whisky on display to tempt you. The focus on whisky is taken pretty seriously; they don't even serve beer by the pint, you have to buy it by the jug. Apart from the prices there isn't much too complain about here. It opens late, and this is a great place for late night drinking session. The big comfy sofas upstairs should help with this too. It's very popular, which is a blessing and curse as always. I recommend going on a week night, as you've got half a chance of getting one of those sofas then but it certainly won't be quiet. Also, it's worth knowing there's sometimes a queue to get it at the weekend.

    Photos
    The Woods - Downstairs seating

    Downstairs seating

    The Woods - Mezzanine

    Mezzanine

    The Woods - Full bar

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    Full bar

    The Old Duke - pubs - Updated May 2026

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