The Victoria

Thursday 6th November 2008

This is a Crackerjack review of The Victoria. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.

There are few landlords I trust more when it comes to running pubs than Paul and Dee Tanner. I first came across this charming couple when they ran The Wellington in Horfield, and then the Hare On The Hill in Kingsdown.

Both of those were Bath Ales pubs and it came as quite a surprise to hear that they had recently jumped ship from Bath Ales to run The Victoria in Clifton, which is one of Glen Dawkins’ excellent pubs.
Dawkins also owns The Green Man in Kingsdown, The Portcullis in Clifton Village, The Miners Arms in St Werburgh’s and The Hillgrove in Kingsdown – all great pubs which have retained their character and gone big on real ale, mostly from small local microbreweries. They are exactly what pubs should be.

The combination of Dawkins and the Tanners is a marriage made in heaven for real ale fans, and when I walked into The Victoria last week, there were five real ales on offer: Cotleigh Buzzard, Goffs Jouster, Matthews Brassknocker, Mauldons Mid Autumn Gold and Dawkins Green Barrel.

The Dawkins Taverns pubs offer customers a “try before you buy” system, and after sampling the Green Barrel, which was a bit thin for my liking, I went for the darker, more characterful Buzzard, a glorious Somerset brew which had a rich, nutty flavour.

A 19th-century, grade II* listed pub next to the Clifton Lido, The Victoria is very much a locals’ boozer, although it’s only five minutes from Whiteladies Road, so perfect if you are looking for a quiet pint en route to Clifton Village.

The walls are adorned with the trademark posters of beers that don’t exist – DD Double Dawkins, Dawkinbrau, John Dawkins and so on – and there are piles of newspapers and boxes of games to play, including Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit.

As well as a large range of real ales and a good wine list, there is also real cider on tap – on this occasion it was farmhouse cider from Ross-on-Wye, served straight from a barrel with a handwritten label – always a good sign.

With a real fire in the front bar (complete with old-fashioned chestnut pan), this is a real winter warmer of a pub, and with the Tanners now at the helm, I’m sure it will just get better.

Mark Taylor

The Victoria - 2 Southleigh Road, Clifton.
Tel: 0117 974 5675

This is a Crackerjack review of The Victoria. Do you agree? Rate and review this venue.