The Raven

First time in here but will be back. The pies are good and the Raven Gold beer is excellent. Spent a couple of hours in here on a Saturday afternoon and all tables were occupied the whole time. Well worth a visit.

Hands down, our most authentic pub experience so far this trip. The beer selection is diverse and decadent. 10%ABV Russian Imperial Porter? Yes, please! But how can this be an authentic pub experience with cask ales like an RIP? Locals getting feisty with each other and then laughing over pints, REAL delicious food with great gravy, and barkeeps that throw out the best one-​liners. They have definitely made this their own unique place, and I wish it were in my neighborhood. Cheers.

My wife and I came here at Christmas time in 2011. We just missed the kitchen (closed 5 minutes before we arrived) and we have wanted to have their pies since. We returned on Monday hoping our desire would be sated, 4 years in the making. It was my mother-in-law’s birthday and our sleeping newborn’s first trip away from our home in Southampton. It was going to be our first time eating in a restaurant with our new baby.
Alas, it was not to be. Most likely because of discrimination against our daughter. We walked in really hungry and really excited and were promptly crapped on by the barkeep. He told us that the council had a regulation that children under the age of 16 couldn’t be inside a pub. I couldn’t believe it. We have seen lots of kids in pubs during the daytime. What stupid council makes a rule that children can’t be in a pub at 1:30 in the afternoon on a Monday?
Dejected and angry we walked across the street to Wild Café, where we were told that the actual rule was no kids AFTER 6PM. Either the barkeep was bold faced lying, or the lady at Wild Café doesn’t know what’s up. I’m inclined towards the former. Also, the Salamander pub, up the same street, allows children.
The Raven is known for it’s excellent food, if this is an instance of one place having different licensing than the other, then the proprietor of the Raven is an idiot. I’m inclined to believe the barkeep didn’t want our baby in the pub. Dumb business decision, as Monday is typically dead in pubs and it was in there. There were maybe four people across two Georgian houses with two floors. I’m sure they have nice pies, and I know they have lovely beers, but we won’t be back because of their discriminatory attitude and significant potential for deceit.
The Wild Café was lovely. I’ve written a review of them here.

This typical-​looking British pub is anything BUT typical. This pub prides itself on two things. First, with being untethered from the constricting management from drink distributors, which means they have an awesome selection of tasty and relatively affordable elixirs. Secondly, their PIES! I highly recommend the matador. 4 stars for great food, but I don’t think it’s necessarily deserving of more.

ok joint
very «local» some good but not great «real ale» selections. no loud music is a HUGE plus.
i’d go back.

Yes, the pies here are very good and the pub is attractive with a great selection of ales which I prefer over beer. It is hard to park, however, but when one finally sits down it is comfortable and warm like a good pub should be. The servers are very nice and cute and reccomended a peek upstairs which we did as suggested and found it rather nice and quieter than the first floor bar. I love Bath and if you are walking and tired this is a good spot to plop into.

Stopped in during my whirlwind tour of Bath. Pleasant with lots of character, and a good beer selection.
I had the pork and leek bangers and chips, which I can say were savoury and delicious. I’d go back for a hearty meal for sure.
Not sure I understand the hype about the pies though… we came here on a recommendation from a friend about the pies, but I didn’t end up getting one, because they’re actually all Pieminister pies. Not that those are bad, but… as a chain store, I’ve had a lot of Pieminister in London… and in Cardiff even… So certainly not an experience you can’t get elsewhere.
That’s not a knock though! Still a nice place I’d visit again.

If you find yourself in Bath, England; you simply must stop into The Raven for a delectable meat pie and ale.
Everything is homemade and served HOT! one of the best places I’ve been to on my European tour. I suggest the Raven Ale pie and mash with the raven ale gravy… simply amazing!

We stumbled across the little gem as we wandered around the dark close streets of Bath. We sat upstairs as the lower level was full. My spouse and I both ordered a meat pie and a couple of pints. She got mash with her pie and I got chips; we were both winners. Very cosy and friendly.

The Raven is an excellent small pub with good selection of fine ales and — most importantly — scrumptious pies at a good price!
It was a dark, damp Sunday evening in Bath. A girl in a café had recommended a pub that served food. When we arrived at said pub, a man approached us on the street and asked us if we where looking to eat good pub food. We said we where looking for pies and gravy and he highly recommended The Raven — for this, I thank him deeply… Thank you unnamed man.
The Raven serves a selection of fantastic crusty pies with a choice of rich gravies, with either mash or chips for only £8.80 each. We both had a steak pie, with mash, one with Guiness and onion gravy and the other with thyme and red wine gravy.
Both pies where exceptionally good; densely packed with meat and vegetables. The gravies where distinctly different but both excellent and the mash was perfect — lumpy and bumpy, with a real earthy taste — yet still smooth and light.
The Raven had a wide selection of real ales, largers and ciders. They carry local beverages as well.
In terms of the atmosphere, the Raven hit the nail on the head. Dark, warm and friendly — with lots of places to sit and chat. The staff where friendly and helpful too.
If I’m ever in Bath again — I’ll be sure to visit The Raven. Recommended.

Great beer choices in a cozy environment. Tasty meat pie and soup, has three of the house beers and enjoyed them all. Would return.

The Raven is one of my favourite Bath pubs– lovely traditional décor with wooden bar and benches etc. (complete with rude pictures), it’s very cosy but there’s still a fair amount of room– particularly upstairs where there’s another bar.
This is a real ale (and, to some extent, cider) pub with a good few options on tap including a selection of their own brew, which isn’t too bad. They host the occasional arts talk and take part in a few events, so it always seems a good part of the community.
I can’t comment on the pie, alas, as I only ever use the Raven as a watering hole. It smells good but looks expensive!

In Bath, there are plenty of places that rank highly on Unilocal,though it’s tough to choose when there’s not a huge quantity of reviews in any one place. On my recent adventure though, I popped in with my friend and we settled in an upstairs window seat for a lunch that stands distinctly in my mind among the towns I’ve visited and the foods I’ve eaten.
I had the Ploughman’s lunch with a pint of the Raven’s Gold, and found myself delighted by the pickles, cheeses and bread. It was hearty, flavorful and rich, yet light and not overfilling… it’s hard to find a great cold lunch like that! I enjoyed the salad, and felt quite good about myself for trying something new and really loving it.
The staff was friendly, and our food came fast. They have lots of beers to choose from and have both the dining area upstairs and the pub downstairs. All around, it offers everything to be desired in a great pub, including a nice location in the heart of the town. Definitely my recommendation if you need a good pub lunch in the area (their various pies looked great too, from the looks of my friend’s and the table next to us!).

Great pies. Small in size, but heavy and filling. I have never eaten one with gravy before but I tried it out here. I was not disappointed. Beers were great. Smooth and as expected, high in alcohol content. Nice décor and staff was very friendly. I would say 80% of the poeple eating a late lunch there were foreigners based on their accents. However, I imagine it depends on when you drop in. I didn’t come away feeling like I was in England.

Incredible.
I was in Bath for two days and my friend told me about two places in the city, Bath Spa and The Raven. Needless to say I wasn’t disappointed in his suggestion.
Once you walk in you feel instantly at home. The man behind the bar says hello and asks you what you’re having. They have Bath Ales on tap and they are delicious. I tried the Raven and the Raven Ale and would recommend both. I ended up ordering some food and got the Raven Ale Pie with mash and Guinness gravy. I had to roll myself out of the pub when I was done but it was well worth it. Towards the end I felt like I was in a episode of Cheers with the regulars engaging in a lively debate about god knows what, I wish Norm was there.
If you’re in Bath and want the local feel, this is the place for you.

Great little pub with tons of craft beers and delicious pie minister pies from Bristol (you can usually get them at Waitrose but these guys seem to have so many more flavours!) Only thing is that on a Saturday it gets very crowded and near impossible to find a seat — and some are very squished. Otherwise for everything else it can’t be beat!

The Raven was recommended to us as THE place to get a pie in Bath. So, up for a few pints and a meal on the cheap (because pies are meant to be cheap, right?), we were absolutely looking forward to our visit.
We walked into a tiny pub filled to the brim with regulars. When we asked about food we were told that there was a larger space upstairs where we might be more comfortable eating. Excellent. Pints in hand, we headed upstairs.
One of us tried The Raven’s own brew, which was… fine, but I discovered that I’m not terribly keen on English real ale. The old addage of «warm and flat» comes to mind.
The pies that The Raven is apparently famous for aren’t made there, but rather by an external company and bought in — at least that’s the impression we got from the menu. Pies are served with chips or mash, and gravy of your choice. I wish the gravy was an add-​on rather than built into what you’re paying for as the pie I ordered (sweet potato, spinach and goats cheese) was far from improved by the gravy. Beyond this, I’ve had a sweet potato, spinach, goats cheese pie before and it was amazing. This pie was lacking in everything… seasoning, filling, everything. It’s like you’re meant to be fooled by the copious amounts of thick salty goo that is meant to pass for gravy, and machine-​made mashed potatoes.
All of this paired with the hefty price tag or something like £9 a pie… we were unimpressed. We were seriously unimpressed. We filled our bellies, paid our due, and went in search of a pub where we could find nicer beer and nicer surroundings to try to help us forget the stodgy mediocre meal that sat in our bellies.

I visited this gem twice while in Bath. It is tucked in a side street of the city centre — easily accessible to all Bath sights. While there is additional seating upstairs, I only stayed in the main ground floor on my 2 visits. It’s such a charming room, and I loved the bar area. It has such a distinct character — whoever designed it really cares about the pub.
On the beer board, they list the international beers they carry along with alcohol level (or is content?). That’s very useful information.
On my first visit, I ordered one of the Raven cask ales –they are their own independent brewer and you get to taste to different, local ales — at the recommendation of the bartender (is that how you call them? I am having a massive ESL moment!) and the chicken pie. I wanted to eat and experience traditional British food. And it was not a good choice. Not because the food was not tasty, but because the weather was uncooperative for such a warm meal! Oh well. The bartender was very friendly.
On my second visit, I stopped by for a ploughman’s lunch. I told the bartender I had never had it and I was very curious. He was even friendlier than the previous day’s bartender. Once my order came, he kept checking in on me to make sure I was enjoying it. I liked that level of service — it was a very genuine sense of being interested in you. I ordered another cask ale — I am not a beer drinker, so any drink I ordered, I immediately forgot! But it tasted nice — I liked it! If one thing I can say I learned about beer in Britain, is that I like cask ale.
The Ploughman’s lunch was ridiculously delicious and filling! Love it and miss it dearly!

The Raven was a great find for us just by walking around town in the early evening. Their hot pies were fabulous! You get the choice of mashed potatoes or fries. The choices of the gravy are red wine or Guinness — I prefer the red wine which wasn’t as thick and went well with the mash. If you’re pressed for time, I wouldn’t recommend the hot pies. It took quite a white but worth every bite.

A begloved Mark Lamarr quiffed assassin was obsessively cleaning the pumps when I entered the Raven.
I needed to order 2 drinks to calm my nerves. Raven + Raven gold were both very good beers. Nice little pub really, shame I couldn’t dwell a while.