The Penny Farthing

Great pieminister pies. They have an evening dinner special that offered a pie and a pint for a great price. Great pub feel. Hand drawn casks. Football on the TV.

Welcoming & unpretentious drinker in a T. & J. Bernard vein. A couple of real ales on tap plus the regular lagers etc. that you’d expect at what passes for keen pricing these days. A good venue for a day-​long session.

There certainly are no shortage of pubs and bars on Whiteladies Road but there certainly aren’t as many pubby pubs as I for one would like to see. Why have overpriced drinks in a head-​ache inducing bright bar cum meat market when you could have a good olé hearty pint of ale in a dark, wooden haven? There are of course some exceptions and the Penny Farthing is one of them. It looks dark from the outside and it is dark from the inside. It can be a bit ‘local pub for local people’ when you walk in but it really isn’t. During the days it can be quite quiet, apart from the obligatory old man slumped over his John Smiths at the bar. Then later on in the evening the students and locals start packing in with the odd weary shopper laden down with bags. A perfectly pleasant place to kick back with a few pals and a drink or ten.

There’s something very funny written on the menu in The Penny Farthing: «Please order and pay at the bar and leave.» I couldn’t work out if it was a case of the rest of the sentence — the bit that would have stopped it sounding so comically rude! — having been chopped off by mistake, or if they really had intended it as an instruction to get in, pay, and get out!
Once I’d got over that, I enjoyed having a lunchtime drink here; BBC News 24 was playing on the big telly, which was nice. I’m sure it’s mainly used for showing the footy. It’s a very classic, no-​frills pub full of men reading the Sun, drinking pints and watching the match. There’s plenty of room, lots of seating, and friendly bar staff. If it’s that sort of blokey pub atmosphere you’re after, you can’t go wrong with the Farthing.

This is a proper pub, one for watching the rugby and drinking a warm pint of Guinness in, ideal. It does have a great little seating area outside, perfectly positioned on Whiteladies road, so you can sit and people watch, smoke, and laugh at anyone who isn’t sat outside a pub doing those things.
But don’t expect any natural light inside. This is a traditional pub, with local regulars and lovely bar staff. They do a Sunday roast, but I really would advise against it, there are much better options nearby. But defiantly come here with a group of mates, sit around one of the high old oak tables, grab a pint (well one for each of you) and soak up the atmosphere.
The Farthing is the only pub left in a sea of Tea Rooms and Falafel shops (or hippy nonsense as my unenlightened friends would say). Literally it’s hilarious; it looks so out of place sat there by the road amongst the plethora of glass fronted, double glazed, chain restaurants and hair dressers. Let’s just hope it stays there!

I was introduced to this place on very happy terms; after just signing for my new flat at Bristol Residential Lettings across the road, they get a lot of happy new tenants by the sounds of it.
I liked that this pub wasn’t another attempt to be trendy, like many of the other businesses around the Whiteladies Road area, but instead maintained a good local like atmosphere.
The price of the beer was pretty standard for this area, and we even had some cheerful banter with the staff. This is a nice smiley pub.

At the bottom of Whiteladies Road and on the corner of Cotham Hill, the Penny Farthing is quite a traditional pub, with an old oaky exterior, giving the sense of an olden pub. This isn’t quite the case though, as it was refurbished a couple of years ago to give it a more modern feeling. It’s owned by Wadworth, so have a range of their ales on tap, as well as Butcombe, Gem, and a few standard lagers. Its crowd is primarily local residents and office workers — even though it’s in a prime position for it, it’s never particularly over run by students. Friendly staff give the place a nice atmosphere, and there’s a few curious things adorning the walls, especially on the downstairs level, so have a search around for some strange items.

There’s loads (I’d say too many) bars the part of Whiteladies road where this pub is. The sort of places you drink standing up and have to shout to get yourself heard. It’s a relief, then, to find the Penny Farthing which resolutely is not one of these bars.
It’s not massively attractive from the outside, the sign in particular looking tired. Things get a bit better on entry. The long bar sweeps through the room elegantly, bringing up the character of the place. Although it could easily be dark and dingy, given the shape the room, they’ve lit it up well and succeeded in making it feel cosy. A good place to sit out a cold evening.
They’ve made an effort with the selection of beers on offer. Prices hover around three pounds for a pint, which is a bit steep but fair considering what they’re offering and the surroundings. Probably in virtue of not being like the rest of the drinking establishments along the road, this place doesn’t get too many students (make what you want of that comment — personally I like a place with a studenty feel, but others disagree strongly). The Penny Farthing is a likeable pub and a welcome contrast to its neighbours.

I like this pub. It has an old-​man feel to it, but the punters are a mix of ages and the beer selection is good.
They have plenty of seats and a reasonable tv for watching sports.
The staff are quite friendly too.

My first visit to the Penny farthing i had such friendly service that i had to go back again. Good beer and nice surroundings to enjoy them. The outdoor seating area enables you to people watch, whilst if you want a more relaxing atmosphere go inside to a very homely and comfortable seating area. The Penny Farthing is a great local pub with a friendly atmosphere, friendly staff and reasonably priced drinks.