The Famous Royal Navy Volunteer — Restaurant in Bristol

Just had hour annual Christmas roast as usual here at the volley. Unfortunately seems to have gone quite downhill particularly in terms of service but the food was also average.

We were a big group, which admittedly can be tricky to accommodate however we we felt they portrayed having to serve us was a huge chore. Is asking for an additional cauliflower cheese or whether custard is served with a crumble unusual at a Sunday roast?

Despite booking in advance we were asked the just evening before to contact all of the group and preorder, which we did. The food arrived but none of us had any cutlery at took a good 5 minutes to arrive while all our food was sat there getting cold. Food was ok but nothing special. Was a smallish portion.. half a carrot and some sauces on the side. Meat tasted good but the whole meal was definitely better in previous years and the veg option was not as my friend who ordered it expected at all. Beer and wine were nice.

Dirty plates were sat there well after food was finished and dessert had been ordered and brought to the table. We had to move the dirty plates to the table next to us for space for the dessert.

Despite all of the above we had still had a good night with pleasant company until the end when we asked for the bill, which they said they’d bring over. 15minutes passed and nothing arrived and the place was not busy in any stretch of the imagination. We went up to the bar and the staff were just chatting anyway. Requested the bill again politely and the barmaid who looked visibly irritated informed us that it would be brought to the table. Then the male barman looked at us and said with a sarcastic manner, ‘nice’. With a roll of the eyes… unsure of exactly we were supposed to have done wrong at this point (potentially it was annoying having to serve a big group of people?… surely this is part of the job particularly at Christmas time? I stress we were nothing but polite and courteous the whole time, just trying to have a pleasant meal with friends we’d not seen in ages).

We asked if we had done something wrong to warrant their reaction which we explained after he asked what reaction. He immediately responded very defensively said we were trying to ‘gaslight’ him.

I’ve honestly never experienced such an unusual response from someone who is meant to be working in hospitality. Bar staff who appear visibly hostile to (who had been returning) friendly paying customers. If there had been something we were missing he could have explained in a polite way (or even not… having worked in hospitality myself you are there to provide a good experience particularly to normal courteous customers!).

We will not be returning for next years meal or any...

Great pub for lovers of craft ale and cider. Enormous variety on offer, although this can make it difficult to find something you like because there is often a number of unusual brews that can be a bit of an acquired taste! That being said, there are plentiful choices for more standard pale ales, stouts, bitters and the like. The majority of the ales and ciders on tap are available in all 4 sizes from whole pints down to 1/3s. A flight of three thirds is available with a 10% discount - which is a great way to test the more unusual offerings and find something you enjoy for a larger glass!

There is a small roof terrace which is lacking in views but makes for a more sheltered and relaxed environment than drinking out on the street. The terrace gets a good amount of sun in the summer.

The pub is spacious but very popular, giving it a good atmosphere. The beer menu on the wall is an interesting touch and mixes up the standard pub experience. It would be good if they brought back the numbering on the ale menu - it can be a little tricky when ordering for a group to remember all of the names of the ales as the menu is hard to see from the bar especially at busy times. Ordering by number was much easier and also added to the unique experience.

All in all, the volley is my favourite pub on King Street - which is full of stiff...

Really nice building, great choice of drinks. Went for a Sunday lunch for a pre-booked party of 9. Understand we were a large party but for a Sunday at 12:30 it was not busy, not many eating. Order our Sunday lunches, starters were nice but for what they were, olives and some bread and humus, they took a long time. Mains in total took 1hr and a half to arrive. When they did they were cold, my mum sent hers back as was missing roast potatoes, my partner realised later on she never got some veg. My meal personally, the beef over-cooked, lamb very underdone, pork mostly fat with very little meat. At this point though I didn’t want to send back as had taken so long and just would have caused a scene which we didn’t want as was supposed to be a nice meal and would have ruined the mood more. Also due to taking so long to arrive, would not have had time at this point as had to be somewhere else. For spending £180 in total, and for some of the food £18 for a meal, it’s not really what we expected at all, the place was not very busy so not sure of how they came out so poorly. Massive disappointment, overpriced for the standard of food received, definitely will not, and already have not, recommended that anyone should go here, massive shame as venue is lovely, but actually felt quite...