The Lansdown

I went to a private function here this weekend — a Christmas party. We had a private room upstairs to ourselves complete with our own private bar.
As we were a group of a bout 40 they asked us to place our food orders in advance which I can understand speeds up service but you don’t always know what you will fancy eating on the night and then there is that eternal question — to have dessert or not. I chose not to but questioned my decision umteen times in the run up to the night. I held fast though and it was the right decision — my friend caved and changed her mind right at the last minute. It was too much;)
So the food was pretty good. I’d heard it would be and it lived up to expectation. My starter in particular which was chicken liver pâté was delicious. My only comment is more toast would have been good. I went for the traditional Christmas fare for mains and it was really good. The serving sizes were generous and filling. There was about five different choices for each course which was fine and most people seemed happy with there food.
Whilst I didnt’ order dessert I did try the mint chocolate mousse, served with a chocolate biscotti and it was fantastic.
After the meal our tables were cleared away super quick and the floor was set up for dancing. On top of this the venue itself is great. There is a big covered smoking area for those that smoke, and a good outdoor area which would be great in the summer. The service was great and the staff were friendly and helpful.
All in all this was an excellent venue for a private party.

I visited here with some friends as their roast dinners came highly recommended.
We were a bit late for our table as the parking is a bit of a night mare, we eventually found a space but I’d say give your self plenty of time. This wasn’t an issue when arrived though the staff were fine and said the table is ours for as long as we want it anyway.
Our table was outside in the heated marquee, I was about worried being early November we’d be cold but it was so snug In there, lovely!
We ordered our food at at bar, I usually go for beef but I decided to live on the wild side and go for lamb especially as they let us have a Yorkshire with it.
The food arrived quickly and the service was good, all the staff were really friendly and helpful getting us extra bits and pieces as we asked.
My meal was good but I wasn’t blown away by it, The veg was cooked well, tender but not to soft, the roasties were nice as well. When a lamb shank is cooked well I’d expect the meat to fall off the bone, this didn’t it was quiet difficult to get the meat off, and I gave up after a while. They did however serve with lots if gravy this is a big winner for me, and we paid extra for a side of cauliflower cheese, this was extra yummy!
The pub and marquee are lovely, lots of little areas to sit, they also have a games cupboard for you to chose a board game from.
All in all a great pub, I’d like to go back and give it another go, it was an enjoyable experience and I’d recommend a visit!

Very nice place, cosy area close to the bar. The beer garden is well organised with a shelter and heaters for cold days.
Staff is very friendly and welcoming.
Very nice choice of food and impressive burger board. I choose a «Brie and Beacon» with cranberry sauce burger. Clearly a very good one, taste was awesome. And the meat was tasty and cooked perfectly rare.
The choice of ales is also very nice. Definitely a place I recommend.

I’ve been on a mission to sample and find the best Sunday Lunch in Bristol for a while now. I’ve have asked friends, family and ‘obviously’ lots of Unilocalers for their recommendations, and the Landsdown has been mentioned a few times. So obviously that’s where I went yesterday. And it was good!
Firstly, it was a little tricky to find. I don’t venture into Clifton that often, so even with google maps in my hand, I didn’t do to well at back seat navigation. But we found it. Then we spent 15 mins trying to park.
Anyway!
It was my very first visit to The Lansdown and I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in. The pub itself has a really cosey, local pub feel to it. I’d really like to go for a few drinks one evening in the winter. It’s that kind of place! Every table inside was filled with groups of friends or couples having Sunday Lunch that were all roughly in their late 20s/​30s.
We were seated at the back garden under the large gazebo with huge patio heaters. The heaters pumped out some serious heat! There was no way you or your food was going cold with those beauties on. Again, all of the tables were full with either large groups of ²⁰⁄₃₀ year old or couples around the same age. Which was nice. There was a really nice atmosphere.
Between the 3 of us we ordered 2 lamb shanks and I had the roast beef. I asked for extra gravy when I ordered as I ALWAYS need more. No questions asked, the waitress just wrote it down and brought it out. The food arrived about 10 minutes after ordering and it looked great. As well as the meat, each plate had: red cabbage, mashed swede, roast potatoes, yorkshire pudding, carrots and cabbage and we all ordered the optional cauliflower cheese. So there was a decent amount of veg. All of it was great, but it wasn’t spectacular. The meat and the vegetables were all really well cooked, but there wasn’t anything particularly fancy going on. That said, the red cabbage was exceptionally good.
All in all in was a lovely couple of hours in a pub I’ve never been to beforel. The Sunday Lunch was good and the staff, particular the landlord, were absolutely brilliant. A solid 4 stars!

The traditional pub is relaxed and friendly in the lovely location of Clifton. We were seated outside in the heated marquee and I was a bit concerned we’d be chilly but it was really cosy and toasty in there. We were late for our booking and the staff were really nice and said the table’s yours for as long as you want it, so don’t worry.
I had a tough decision to make between the beef and the lamb and the decider was whether they’d let me have a Yorkshire pudding — and they did! It also came with swede mash, red cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, roast potatoes and mint and cranberry jelly. You can pay for cauliflower cheese too so of course I went for that! The gravy is different depending on which meat you have, and that’s a big tick for me — in the words of a Bristolian, proper job!
The owners were in there getting stuck in with the work and the landlord was a real character. He said «the world needs more chaos» and he stood behind the bar (but the Sunday dining experience was far from chaotic and one of the most relaxed I’ve endured).
We could see there was a projector and screen and I’d like to go back to watch a film out there.
I think I suffered from a huge case of someone-​bigged-​this-​up-​too-​much when visiting for an infamous Sunday roast yesterday. Everything was really lovely but I left feeling a bit disappointed and I can’t put my finger on why.

A nice pub and true to Bristol form, one with multiple real ales on tap. We had dinner there and I was pleased with my chicken, bacon, brie and sweet chilli salad, though I have met more healthy salads. The daughter had some sort of bangers and mash, also nice. We sat indoors but I bet their garden is nice on sunnier days. If you are in the area, not a bad choice at all for eating and drinking. Friendly staff, too.

Such a disappointment; I had heard rave reviews about this place and the fantastic Sunday lunch so when I had the opportunity to go with a group of friends I jumped at the chance.
To be fair, we booked our table for 1.30pm and advised when we arrived there was a large party coming in just after us and they had, had a very busy service but I didn’t quite expect that to have the effect it did.
We ordered shortly after arriving, three of us ordered the roast, two a vegetable salad with goat’s cheese and two just ordered starters to have as mains as they didn’t quite have the appetite.
On ordering we were advised there would be a 40 minute wait for food because they were so busy so we asked for some olives and speciality bread to keep us going in the interim.
Forty minutes later, we hadn’t seen any sign of the olives and breads so we asked how long it would be. Ten minutes later the olives and bread showed up with one of the starters that had been ordered so we presumed all was coming at once.
No such luck. another ten minutes passed and the second starter turns up. The speciality bread was just brown bread cut into chunks.
By now both of the starters had been finished with the rest of us famished! Finally an hour and twenty minutes after we had placed our order, our main courses arrived. The roasts were as suggested, very good but the goat’s cheese and chargrilled veg salad was not a case of money well spent, there was nothing particularly wrong (not that anything really could go wrong with this dish!) but there hadn’t been any attempt to make it distinctive or justify ordering it when you could have made a better attempt at home.
All in all I would have preferred to have stayed at home and cooked a much more cost-​effective, timely and well-​presented lunch instead!

This is a lovely looking pub, with a good ambience to it also.
My pint of ‘session’ was not great, but I think this was more because the flavour was not to my particular taste, than it being in bad condition. London prices in Bristol alert though!
Feeling peckish I went for their Veggie fajita, which was alright… but what makes a fajita a fajita? I would have called what I got a ‘wrap’.

We went for Sunday lunch as I had read good things about it. There is very limited seating in the bar, but a larger number of seats in an outdoor heated gazebo area which is also the smoking area. The website doesn’t meantion that you can reserve tables, but clearly you can as many if not most were reserved when we turned up around 12:20. We both ordered roast beef at £9.50, the resulting plate comprised 4 thin slices of beef, none of which was pink or rare and somehow looked as if it had been pre-​carved and set aside on heat. Roast pots, yorkshire, red cabbage, carrot & swede mash, carrots and a little horseradish sauce accompanied. We agreed that the portion was a little on the small side, but the overall flavour was good and complemented by decent gravy. Overall nice, but expensive for the amount and quality and left me wondering if we should have tried elsewhere.

Great place to sit outside when the weather is nice and have a few drinks.
Apparently the roasts are good, but the food I had was pretty awful (scampi and chips). The chips were covered in salt, the peas were burnt/​dried-​out/​gone-​off. Not sure how they managed to make peas inedible but they were. V disappointed in the food.

I completely agree with Chris B., The Lansdown is about the most classic, good, honest, comfy pub around, and the Sunday roast is a triumph. The atmosphere here is really great, quite student-​dominated, sure, because it’s really near the Student Union and also some of the Clifton halls of residence, but not obnoxiously so. I’ve been here both just to relax on a quiet day with a nice drink and some friends, and also on more vibrant nights out after seeing a play at the Union.
The outdoor area is just brilliant, and really buzzing; the perfect place to bring a group of friends and escape the more raucous goings-​on down on the Triangle and beyond.

The Lansdown is a charming traditional pub in pretty Clifton Village. It exudes authenticity and in an area filled with yuppie start-​ups is unrivalled for character.
Good roasts, good cocktails (well, there had to be a concession to its location) and great atmosphere form the backbone of the Lansdown. That’s not to say there aren’t other attractions however — there’s also a decent outdoor seating area for the warmer months as well as regular concerts from local acts.
A great place to stop for a pint during a stroll round Clifton Village… if there’s a spare space that is.

This is a great pub which is sadly always mobbed. Inside it’s quite small and quaint but they have a great beer garden dotted with outdoor heaters and covered with a canopy to keep off the rain. i have been here so hungover I can hardly see and downed delicious Bloody Mary after Bloody Mary. But I’ve also enjoyed a few late night rants in the garden while supping lots of lager. The Lansdown can be a great daytime pub too with a more relaxed feel and their Sunday roasts are stupendous. It’s in a great spotting for wandering into Clifton too and has far more character than most pubs round here.

If I was showing some American tourists round Bristol, i would certainly consider getting them into The Lansdown to get a look around a real pub. And that is saying something as there are some very good pubs in our fair city.
There is something honest about The Lansdown. It does just what it say son the tin– it does not try to be a restaurant it does not try to be a bar. That being said it serves a delicious roast, if that takes your fancy, and a few cocktails if you ask nicely.
Make sure that you get there early if your planning on spending a whole night there– as it gets crowded.

This is my local and the best pub in Bristol. Fact. The Landlord makes the best Bloody Mary you will have ever tasted. They do my favourite Sunday roast in town (and there are plenty of great ones around) with sweet red cabbage, loads of juicy beef with horseradish and better roast potatoes than my Granny’s (sorry Gran). And if you get there early enough they have every single Sunday paper for you to choose from (dam I have given away my secret). So you can sit reading the Sunday papers, drinking bitter (shandy) and eating an amazing roast dinner, followed up by their homemade desserts. I recommend the beef roast, but I’ve heard good things about the chicken.
It is a popular pub for good reason, because that’s just what it is, a very decent, honest pub with good food and drink and the best atmosphere around. They haven’t had to become a Gastropub just to do great food; they just got a brilliant chef. You will always find a table outside; just make sure you huddle up under the heat lamps in the colder months. The garden is beautifully lit and you can smoke in it.
But most people don’t realise they have a huge area upstairs, where you can sit, eat, drink, sing & dance, which is usually a little bit warmer, unless this section is being used by local performers who put on shows here, which are open to the public.
This is a pub unlike any other and an important part of Bristol’s history, I would recommend it to anyone who wants to experience what a real pub should be like.

This popular bar is a safe bet if you’re looking for a good pub to go to in Clifton. It is quite small however, so although you get a warm and intimate atmosphere, you might be hard pushed to find a table past 8 o’clock most nights and then you will be reduced to finding a seat on the heated patio area. Not quite the same as far as I’m concerned.
The food is your basic pub grub variety and I have found it a little hit and miss at times. The burger I ordered there recently came in a bun twice the size of the burger itself so I had to spend the first 2 or 3 minutes nibbling the excess bread from around the edges, then the burger itself was a little over done, but I’ve had a nice chilli concarne there before.

Warm and welcoming, this Clifton pub invites you with laughter and soft lighting spilling out of it. We managed to bag a sofa when I last went there, and slumping in one of these with drink in hand is an easy way to spend an evening. You’ll find yourself enjoying the ambience and letting other people buy the rounds until closing time.
It’s got a back garden, which is nice enough to draw people out, even on a cold evening. Somewhere to take your friends if you’re a smoker, then. Also, the garden can be haven from the main bar, which can get a bit noisy — it’s got a wood floor so if there’s anyone in heels you’ll be listening to them walk all night.
A honey trap of a pub, The Lansdown draws you in and keeps you happy.

This Cliftonite favourite’s smallish interior opens out into a truly impressive garden which is definitely one of the best in the city. And if you’re not a fan of colds, flu and other temperature-​related illnesses, worry not as it’s heated and partly covered. Oh, and did I mention that it also comes with a big screen telly?!
Unfortunately Sky is no longer on the menu, though the chance it affords to enjoy all the action in an outdoor environment makes it a popular choice to view any terrestrial tussles. Rugby matches — due to the landlord’s peculiar preference for the oval ball — get particularly busy, so try and arrive early for any international engagements.
The food’s good too, with big, big burgers and falafels being served up with chunky chips and salad. What more could you want?

The Lansdown is a well hidden pub (like many others in Clifton) despite the fact painted in large letters down the side of the building it says Lansdown.
It’s certainly a pub worth tracking down though. The first thing that will strike you when you enter is the décor. It has a Edwardian style that is very warm, comfortable and welcoming any time of the year. The selection of drinks is superb with lots of wines, spirits and most notably five real ales on tap.
Being a fan of real ale what is especially welcome at the Lansdown is that the beers aren’t your standard Bombardiers and Bass, but a good mixture of local brewery fare, Mild West from the excellent Arbor Ales being the pick of the bunch on my last visit.
The standout featue of the Lansdown is it’s large heated and covered beer garden (surely cigarette garden would be a more appropriate title?). There are a dozen tables and even a sound system out there for quizzes, gigs and other entertainment.
I haven’t really experienced the food form the Lansdown, but I understand from reliable sources that the portions are a good size and is to a very high standard.
Finally they do a quiz every Wednesday which is one of the most fun I’ve been to in Bristol. It has a touch of ‘Have I got news for you’ to it, and the quiz master is very entertaining.
To conclude the Lansdown is a nice pub in every department which there really aren’t enough of. I would normally give a pub like this five stars but it is slightly on the expensive side (not surprising given the location) and it can take a while to get served.
Four and a half stars

The food is really great here, especially the vegetarian dishes. It also has some amateur comedy nights, music events and slam poetry contests from time to time, which are worth checking out if you live in the area. These are usually held upstairs, which is a nicely intimate place for a gig.
Personally I wouldn’t recommend holding your own gig here though since we used to do that for a while, and the management were quite rude and although the people we got in bought so many drinks that they ran out of glasses, they could only focus on that, rather than us bringing them loads of customers. That’s put me off the Landsdown a bit, but if you don’t have those memories of the place you’ll surely like it more than I do now!