The Somerset House

I’m shocked this has only got 3 stars! What a lovely place for dinner! It was absolutely packed on Saturday so don’t expect peace and quiet dining but we wanted it to be lively so it was perfect. It’s a cosy feeling Clifton bar and restaurant but without the ‘stuffy’ feeling you can get in some places.
I had the pork belly with mash potato and kale and it was delicious. I thoroughly enjoyed every mouthful; problem was, there wasn’t many mouthfuls! We had some lovely wine too and the boys had steak that looked good and came from Buxton Butchers in Winterbourne that’s highly regarded (and provides meat for restaurants like the Ox). My boyf had quite a lot of fat on his but it was fillet so it’s to be expected a bit.
We ordered two deserts to share between five of us and had the chocolate tart with pistachio ice cream and the apple donuts and toffee sauce! They are both making me dribble just thinking about them! They. Were. Amazing!
The bar was small and there wasn’t many tables so I think it’s essential to book but there was a nice looking gin and champagne bar upstairs that I’d like to go back and sample.
The price was right too (no Brucey pun intended).

4.5 stars, where are you when I need you!
We had 3 friends down from London for the weekend and wanted to take them somewhere nice in Clifton. I’d heard someone mention Somerset House at a Unilocal event (can’t remember who, sorry), so thought we’d give it a shot. I’m really glad we did! I’ll definitely be going again.
Downstairs is smaller than I’d imagined. I was expecting a large dining area, but there were only around 4 or 5 tables. I imagine that during the week when the bar isn’t as busy, the tables in that area will be used for dining as well. But the inside is lovely. It has a really nice warm feel with nice exposed brick work and rustic wooden tables. The bar area was buzzing with people and the atmosphere was great. I really like the mix of a nice pub like restaurant feel with a good Saturday night pub feel just across the other side of the room.
Upstairs they also have a Champagne & Gin dining room. I didn’t get to check it out, but it looked really nice from outside the door. As a lover of Gin, I really want to go back and check it out.
We didn’t bother with starters and went straight for mains. The 3 lads had the Fillet Steak with king prawns and fries and the 2 girls had the ‘Braised pork belly, mashed potato, green beans, toasted pine nuts madeira jus’.
The steaks were really good and the 3 prawns, which came on a skewer, we huge. While the food that was on the plate was really good, there wasn’t much of it. It really needed some green veg — even a few roasted tomatoes would have helped make the plate look more appealing. Unfortunately we weren’t asked if we wanted any side dishes when we ordered, so we just went without.
I tried a little bit of the Pork and it was delicious, and the reports back were good.
We then shared the ‘Apple Doughnuts with Mulled Cider & Toffee Sauce’ and another chocolate dessert and they were amazing. The doughnuts were incredible. I could have eaten them forever!
Between us we also had 2 bottles of wine and another drink each and the bill came to less than £30, which was great!

This pub has a traditional look and feel, which makes it a favourite among the older gentlemen in the area. Great for a quiet pint, it’s small and comfortable, and about as humble as an old British pub can be. Most students would probably breeze past it without even noticing it’s there, which can only be a plus if you like your pubs local and not too packed.
That said, this pub does actually boast a live music tradition, with music every Friday night and an open-​mic night every Tuesday. It’s also quite imaginative where the food is concerned: besides the classics like the Sunday roast and the daily steak and kidney pie, it has an extensive breakfasts menu to rival any good greasy spoon. Also on offer is a surprisingly classy range of snacks and starters such as the chicken and bacon salad and the (ooh, posh!) wild mushroom pâté.
So, it’s a bit of a dark horse, The Somerset House, perhaps not quite as traditional as it would have us believe at first glance…

This pub doesn’t suffer the usual Clifton vices of being obscenely posh or over-​decorated (head to the Hop House to see what I mean). It was refurbished a couple of years ago and they thankfully managed to keep things sparse and tasteful. There’s a nice wood floor and the place is generally uncluttered. A drink here doesn’t feel like you should be assessing how much the interior design cost).
It’s always been something of a locals pub, despite its high street location. However, the refurb seems to mean they’ve been pulling in a slightly more varied crowd. Never really packs out apart from Friday and Saturday nights, though.
The food’s decent for a pub and a little more adventurous than usual — you can have a smoked haddock risotto as well as a burger and chips). It’s not that cheap if you ask me and in an ideal world I’d like to be able to get some chips from the chippy across the road and have my beer with them. Oh well, you can still get a good meal for less than a tenner and there’s a decent range of beers to go with it. Somerset House is unpretentious, a good choice if you’re looking for somewhere nice in Clifton.

This is an extremely forgettable pub which sits on Princess Victoria Street over in Clifton Village. A one-​room affair, it always seems very poorly lit (too bright!) and has no nooks and crannies or the like to hide yourself away in, all of which results in a near terminal lack of atmosphere.
With a name like this you may expect some interesting ciders, though the last time I went in there Blackthorne was on tap (!) and they have more of a leaning toward ales. A bit of an old man’s establishment there’s no real reason to come here considering the competition nearby (unless you happen to be an old man, I suppose).

Somerset House is a small pub on Princess Victoria Street in Clifton Village. This place has never really won me over, it’s always had quite a bland atmosphere when I’ve been in, and just feels a bit cold. Perhaps I’ve never chosen the right time, but even at night it’s always been fairly empty with only a handful of locals who must be keeping them afloat. The food might be its redeeming feature though, with a decent burger and chips for under 9 quid, set among a menu of options you wouldn’t expect to see on your average pub grub list. Maybe worth another try, but I’m just not convinced.