The Shakespeare, is a bit of an institution in redland but pretty much unknown to the outside world. A few years ago this was the best pub for one square km, not so any more with places like the cambridge arms, the kensington arms and some fairly decent pubs on whiteladies in the near vicinity.
The first and only good thing here worth mentioning is the beverages, they have made a real commitment to stocking real ale and have a widely changing variety, they had a dark mild recently which was the pick of the bunch.
They are making a real effort to provide entertainment. They do a quiz on a Monday which is pretty good, and I understand that things like poker nights (if you excuse the pun) will be on the cards (I thank you) are coming soon.
There is a pool table, quiz machine. The food here has never been great, I once ordered a ham and mustard sandwich which had the most intricate lattice pattern of mustard over it.
Unfortunately it was English mustard (about half a jars worth) and I nearly died. It's got slightly better but is very much pub grub, eg burgers, curry, sarnies etc.
The interior is olde English and it's a reasonable size. It has a concrete beer garden outback which gets little sun as there are large walls each side.
As for clientele it's locals which by locals i mean students when students are around or the over 40's. It's generally quite busy in the evening though.
UPDATE
A nice enough pub once but now under new management as of sept 09, the service and food are pitiful they have film nights once a week but i can't imagine wanting to watch a film here. So much wasted potential. read more