Port Of Call — Restaurant in Bristol

visited this pub on Tuesday 23 April 2024 with my brother. I have been happily going to this pub for over 45 years and always enjoyed having drinks there. We arrived at 3:30 and were the only customers in the bar. Very friendly bar maid until about 5pm when there was a change of staff. We were sat very close to the bar, about 5 feet, and when we were close to finishing our Guinness pints we asked the bar maid to pull 2 more pints. My brother said it in a normal voice, he did not have to shout because the bar was so quiet . She replied that she would do it this once but in future she expects us to come up to the bar counter and order our drinks from there. As any Guinness lover knows it takes several minutes to pour a pint of Guinness, so we were simply asking the process to get started before we went up to the bar to pay for it. There was only one other person in the bar so we could not understand the bar maid’s attitude. We were very polite and questioned on this on this, asking her had we offended her in some way. She simply replied that, if she was busy, then she expects us to come to the bar. We pointed out that there were only 3 people in the pub, so why was she making this a big issue ? Her reply was very rude.She clearly had attitude problems. We tried to point out that since covid many pubs had continued to provide a semi waiter service and were happy to take orders from a table and even, on occasion, deliver a drink to a table. Indeed this was the case when I visited the huntsman pub in bath the following day. This woman is not suited to be a bar maid or indeed be employed in the hospitality industry. Sadly, we will not be returning...

I have been a number of times on different days. Quality of the beer is always excellent, particularly the TT Landlord. They have a good range of ciders, lagers and other beers, some on guest so rotate. Summer drinks and cocktails are currently available - there is a wide range of gins, rums and whiskies if spirits are your preference.

A broad food menu is offered, and recently they extended the kitchen offering to include Monday evenings. There is a two-for-1 burger offer on Mondays 5-7pm, with meat, vegetarian and vegan options.

On Tuesdays there is a steak night. I ordered the ribeye, which was generous, cooked perfectly and came with a squid option. Delicious. The sides were hand cut chips, coleslaw and a salad.

For lighter fare there are rolls (sausage, vegan, vegetarian) available, along with small plates on the menu. The hand-made scotch egg is worth trying.

There is a garden out the back, which has a large wooden pergola, draped with a canvas cover, rolled up in summer but able to create a waterproof room should it rain, and provide a warm option in the winter. There's even a small wishing well!

Dogs are well catered for with a water station and free snacks.

The pub is up a short but steep street right next to the Kings Arms as you walk up Whiteladies Road, but is also accessible from the Downs direction, via a less steep street,...

I am compelled to write this as I feel strongly about somewhere that has crashed so badly. I don't know what has happened to this place where the Sunday Roasts used to be consistently of the highest quality. It's not that the quality of the roasts have fallen a little...they are barely edible. I visited with friends earlier this year and was shocked at the change. We thought it might be a one-off, although other people in Bristol were saying similar things. Yesterday, we tried the Sunday Roast again, giving PofC the benefit of the doubt, as it had once been so very good. The food was appalling. Rock hard roast potatoes cooked early in the day and left to stand for hours, red cabbage which had caught in the pan and was inedible, green cabbage and leeks which hadn't been cooked enough! and watery cauliflower cheese with cauli which hadn't even been cut into bite size pieces or cooked enough either. We had to cut it up ourselves which proved a task. Portions of veg were mean and we had to ask for more. The meat (I had beef) was pink and looked nicely cooked but was tough as old boots. The service was fine and friendly. The beer still excellent but the kitchen needs to take a long hard look at itself. The atmosphere used to be buzzing with chat and people enjoying the food and wine. It is now silent as people realise that they're paying good money...