The Dark Horse — Restaurant in Bristol

Been here a few times, nice atmosphere and good beers, cosy pub. The beer ‘garden’ is a bit grim being that it’s actually a bit of space between the pub and the building next door looking out on to the busy church road, but at least there is an outside space I suppose. We came for a friend’s birthday / Sunday lunch and were put in the very back room which although spacious and enough and decorated fairly nicely was set out sort of looking like a children’s birthday party and with a door directly on to the kitchen which was a little off putting seeing the kitchen staff sweat out while slinging cauliflower cheese in to dishes. The manager was very nice and had left his phone there so we could put on whatever music we liked. Good job too as, by his own admission, he had booked too many people in to the 3pm slot so we didn’t even start getting our food until nearly 5pm. This was a slight worry as we we had travel booked back to London at six thirty but we managed to wolf it down and made it in the end. As for the food itself, my partner and I both ordered the small roast (as opposed to the regular or children’s sized roast). This is something we often do in London as we find too big a roast can be a little sleep inducing and you usually get plenty with a children’s roast. It has to be said the portion here was a lot smaller than either of us expected and we probably wouldn’t order the small again, particularly as the portion of meat (I had chosen lamb) was so tiny. The food itself was good and the gravy was yummy which is crucial for me. The lamb was kind of shredded up which was a shame as it seemed as though someone had chewed it up and popped it on the plate. The cauliflower cheese was good, nice and crispy on top and creamy inside. Friend ordered the pork which was also yummy and much better sized portion. Enormous Yorkshire’s as well if you’re in to that. Overall would defo visit again but not in a large group and not ordering the small roast if you want more than a couple of...

The room is above the pub and getting to it involves climbing some rickety wooden steps and walking across the roof terrace which was full of customers. |We had to ask people to move from their table to get to the key code entry door and step over a hole/ gap in the wooden terrace floor. |Inside the entry door is a hall with a few rental rooms. Ours was at the front and small but adequate. |The room was noisy as music in the bar below plays until 01.30-02.00, we thought it would be quieter after about 23.30 but it wasn't . It was hot so we needed the window open as there was no fan in the room so it was noisier as a result. |The room door was a bit small for the doorway so light came in from the hall and the curtains were thin and let light in too, so it was light all through the night. |The shower didn't work properly as it was tricky to get it to a reasonable temperature and to stop or start it.|So as not to leave anything of ours I checked under the bed which had a thick layer of dust mingled with toiletries that had been sitting there for a while.|I felt it was dilapidated and needed basic improvements like decent curtains and shower plus some attention to care|The website needs to make it clear there is music playing and the pub opens until late on Saturdays (and maybe other days) and that it is difficult to cross the crowded terrace with luggage.|Hotel.com site says there is ‘free on-site self-parking’ available but this was closed off and we had to park in a residential area some distance away|On the plus side staff were helpful and friendly and the bed and linen were fine. |Really I would like a refund as it was expensive for the quality of the place and the...

At first we were delighted to see that we might finally get a table to eat their highly aclaimed roast welsh lamb. After a long wait at the bar to be served, we were informed they had already sold out of the lamb, its ok we can try the pork which sounded equally as delicious, we sat down and waited expectantly near a couple already enjoying their meal. Within a few short minutes our food was served then a few moments later we received our cauliflower cheese and then our cutlery. My roast parsnips were cold. My knife was blunt and I really needed a steak knife to go through most of my meal. The potatoes were hard, leathery and cold. There were 2 x lap dogs running around the bar jumping on the seats between us and the nearby couple begging for treats as we ate our food. No sign of their owner. As when the couple left the dogs did not depart. The gentleman who served us our food quickly cleaned the table next to us, spraying it with disinfectant all the while ignoring both the 2 x dogs and the fact that we were still eating and the spray would contaminate our food.

Very...