The Beese knees

Thursday 3rd April 2008

Part of the culinary landscape since 1846, Beese’s Bar & Tea Gardens has become a Bristol institution. Owners Phil and Lindy Leahy talk to Mark Taylor about the responsibility that continuing this tradition entails.

When Phil and Lindy Leahy were handed the keys to Beese’s Bar & Tea Gardens in 2006, they soon realised that they had taken over a slice of Bristol history.

“We knew it was a Bristol institution, but I don’t think we quite appreciated how important it was to people,” says Phil.

“People in their 40s and 50s often say they’ve been coming here since they were kids and they talk about the place with a huge amount of affection. It has been incredibly rewarding.”

Opened by Mr and Mrs Beese in 1846 to provide refreshments to travellers using the Conham Ferry, Beese’s Tea Gardens is a Bristol institution.

Open from April to September, this riverside bar and tea gardens is accessible by road via Brislington or via the Conham Ferry, the oldest river ferry crossing on the river Avon.

The ferry is now operated by Phil and Lindy, who take customers from the Hanham side of the river for a nominal charge during opening hours.

“The lovely thing about Beese’s is that you feel like the custodians of the place,” says Lindy. “It’s important that we look after it for future generations.”

Part of Beese’s enduring appeal is its splendid riverside setting. Surrounded by woods and nature reserves, it is an oasis of countryside in the city.

“I fell in love with the place as soon as I saw it,” says Lindy.

“We sit within Eastwood Farm, which is a designated nature reserve, and we’re close to Nightingale Valley and St Anne’s Woods. Across the river you have Trooper’s Hill, so it’s surrounded by beautiful scenery.”

The area is rich with history. Persecuted Baptists once held secret meetings in the woods nearby, and you can still see the crumbling remains of old copper works established in the 18th century.

Although today’s meals are enjoyed in a building erected in the Sixties, it was Anne Beese who opened the tea gardens in 1846.

Anne was a Christian lady who, according to Phil and Lindy’s research, discouraged the drinking of alcohol.

There are no such restrictions these days. As the daughter of publicans, Lindy says she virtually “grew up in a pub”, and local real ale and cider is as much a part of Beese’s in 2008 as the cream teas.

Now entering their second full season at Beese’s, Phil and Lindy have transformed the place into something more than simply a quaint tea garden serving cups of Earl Grey.

Although scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam are a mainstay of the menu, the couple decided from the outset that Beese’s needed to offer customers a full range of hot and cold meals, too.

Lindy and her two chefs now serve a selection of burgers, steaks, jacket potatoes and salads alongside the cakes and sweet treats.

She tries to buy as much local produce as possible, with beef coming from Barrow Gurney, pork from Gloucester Old Spot pigs and cheeses all coming from the West Country (including Cornish Yarg, Somerset Brie and Exmoor Blue).

Sourcing locally is by no means the easiest option when running a busy place like Beese’s, but it’s something Lindy is passionate about.

“A local supply chain is harder work than going to one supplier or a cash and carry, but it’s so much more rewarding.

“Having said that, we have to tread a very fine line between price and quality, which I don’t want to compromise on. I think our prices could be a little higher, but I don’t want to lose people.”

On the drinks front, real ale is served straight from the barrel and although Bath Ales and Butcombe are the big sellers, occasional guest ales from other West Country breweries are also popular. Beese’s even runs its own beer festival in September.

Says Lindy: “The opportunity that Beese’s has given to us is the chance to offer people in south Bristol something different.

“We’re real ale drinkers and we like wine and good food, but we’ve lived in Bristol for 11 years and most of the chain pubs have tended to offer the same thing – microwaved food, chips and not very well kept real ale.

“We wanted to offer good food and good real ale. We don’t even serve chips.

“I think local pubs should be a microcosm of the local area and places where everybody feels welcome and have a nice time. I truly believe we’ve achieved that.

“It did mean we had to bar a few people early on, but what that meant was that a lot of decent people are now coming here. About 60 per cent of our customers come by the river or from the other side of the river from Hanham and Conham.”

Running Beese’s is something of a labour of love for Phil and Lindy. They both hold down full-time jobs as well as running the place.

Says Lindy: “Phil works for an IT company in Bath and I am the director of a housing association and it’s hard work juggling both careers.

“This summer I’m reducing my hours at the housing association to 27 over three days and then going back full-time in September.

“Thankfully, we’ve got a good team working here so we just juggle our careers as best we can, and sleep for a month at the end of the season.”

Beese’s has had several owners since the original family, although from the Sixties, it was run for 40 years by one couple.

“Derrick and Alma had it for 40 years and they had their own boat for river trips. They put the place on the map and we hope we are carrying on in that tradition,” says Lindy.

“We work very closely with the boat companies and we also continue to run the ferry across the river.

“We wanted to make Beese’s a down-to-earth eating and drinking experience, whether you want to bring your granny for a cream tea or get a few friends together for a pint and a burger.

“When you’re on the decking on a sunny summer’s day with a cheeseboard and a bottle of wine or a pint, you could be anywhere.

“We’ve had a lot of goodwill since we took over and this place clearly holds fond memories for a lot of people.

“We had a 92-year-old lady from Ireland here last year. She used to come to Beese’s as a child and she brought her two daughters, who were in their 70s.

“She had a whisky and a cigarette and a little cry because she knew she probably wouldn’t make it back over to see it again.

“Running such a Bristol institution feels like a huge responsibility, but whatever we do we want to add value to the place for future owners.

“We’ve put everything into this and even though it’s hard work, it’s worth it. But then, if it was easy, everybody would be doing it, wouldn’t they?”

Beese’s Bar & Tea Gardens, Wyndham Crescent, Brislington, Bristol. Tel: 0117 977 7412.

From April 8, it launches its summer opening hours: Tue-Thur 4pm-11pm, Fri/Sat noon-11pm and Sun 10am-7pm.