Alma Tavern

«Disappointing Sunday Lunch»
Went last Sunday for lunch — pre-​booked and there were 11 adults one toddler and a baby. Rather disorganised when ordering had to reiterate quite a few times what we wanted. Only 2 of the group wanted starters and they said they were good. The rest of us opted for mixed olives — and bread with balsamic and oil — well talk about stingy on the bread !! we had the equivalent of one small slice cut into 4 !! very mean portion. The main courses came eventually we all had beef except for one who opted for chicken. The meat was barely warm and the rest of the food on the plates was cold. It was swimming in gravy — why not serve this separately ?? the meat was lovely and rare and if it hadn’t been cold it would have been a good meal. The service was very disorganised and incredibly slow — no excuse the place was nearly empty. Our plates weren’t cleared and we weren’t offered any extra drinks and we actually had to ask for the dessert menu — a member of staff was calmly reading the papers at this point. The deserts took ages to come — how long can it take to serve ice cream, cheese and biscuits and sticky toffee pud — well nearly 30 minutes that’s how long — and they forgot to bring the toddlers ice cream — we had to ask about 3 times. We weren’t offered coffees — not that we would have wanted any — by this time we had been there for nearly 3 hours !! perhaps that was why the bill was so high at £260.00 — they were charging us rent !!

Located on Alma Vale rd Clifton. The Alma Tavern is a gastropub with a Theatre located above. Its a very welcoming pub with a pleasant décor.
They have decent drinks selection and the choice of wine was excellent.
Food wise. I had the Scallops to start which were excellent served with a sweet onion chutney and cavier «oh la la». The combined tastes were lovely. The roast beef was well cooked and served with an overcooked dry yorkshire and cold vegetables.
Basically everything following the starter was just not good enough ! And I belive that this was down to the shoddy service we recieved ! It was like they couldnt cope with our order. We were a group of 8 plus 2 kids. The rest of the restaurant was empty. Which I suppose says it all really. I opted for the cheese board to finish which was good! But I suppose its quite hard to f*ck up chucking some cheese on a board. And even that took about a half hour to bring out.
And one last thing I dont mind paying a compulsary service charge when ive received good service. But when ive received substandard service it gets on my tits a little ! I shall not be returning here in a hurry !

Despite being in the heart of Clifton ra-​ville this is actually a really decent pub. And on a sunny day there’s no better place to be than its lovely court-​yard garden, which is a real suntrap. The theatre upstairs is also great, despite being incredibly small and deserves all our support so that it can continue to run in the future. It champions new acts and writers and does a lot of work with the Old Vic theatre school. Theatre-​goers are also allowed to bring up their pints and clutch them during the show.
Foodwise the Alma does a good line in posh pub grub– think terrines, game pies and confits of duck leg as well as burgers etc. And they always have a good selection of guest ales on tap.

I visited the Alma Tavern when my housemate was performing a live reading in its theatre above the pub. We waited for 30 minutes beforehand in the bar itself and it was a pleasant experience! The pub is large, yet remains cosy. There is an island style bar which is staffed adequately. We visited on a Thursday evening and the pub was really busy (in a good way). There was a mixture of drinkers, from students to regulars but the general atmosphere was really good.
I wasn’t (however) impressed that such cosy local pub didn’t serve mulled wine or winter Pims a week before Christmas!

A welcome change to the Student infested pubs adorning Clifton, The Alma Tavern is a bit of an escape. With a theatre upstairs, sport to watch on the telly downstairs and a small terraced area out back. I guess it is the idea of a theatre upstairs that really sets this place apart from anywhere else, but it does make the pub unique. A favourite for nearby school teachers and locals alike, I think the place does have character. Its wooden (without being modern and too polished) interior make what essentially isn’t actually that small a pub seem more intimate. It’s a good place to go for a real catch up with a mate, with few distractions!

The Alma Tavern is popular with the locals and on most evenings you will find a good mix of people and the odd student propping up the bar. What separate this place from your average run of the mill pub however, is the theatre upstairs.
Something of a rarity in this respect, The Alma Tavern hosts regular visitors, such as The Stepping Out Theatre Company, who run a series of shows with a mental health theme (so I’m told). The good thing about this theatre being above the pub is you can take your drinks with you. The theatre itself is very small, but that gives it a unique, intimate quality.
The food downstairs in the pub is pretty good too, so you can really make an evening of it in here. Highly recommended and I’m glad it has changed hands back to being an independently run establishment

The Alma Tavern is a large, slightly non-​descript pub which sits, funnily enough, on Alma Vale Road in Clifton. The front bar is possibly the best spot, as you can watch the footie on Sky Sports in a smaller area with a little more atmosphere. The back room is a little too big and lacking in character, though they do have a big screen.
There’s plenty of pub grub options, a garden and even a theatre upstairs (which I’m slightly surprised to realise I’ve never been to), but despite all this, there’s not much here to really fire the imagination.