Royal Inn (Portishead) — Restaurant in England

There are some places that seem to shimmer into existence, not so much discovered as stumbled upon, as if some benevolent deity has dropped them from the heavens into the most unlikely spot. The Royal in Portishead is precisely such a place—a veritable pot of gold at the end of a tortuous, Google Maps-induced rainbow. You navigate your way through a labyrinth of residential streets that suddenly turn into country lanes, all the while wondering if you’ve taken a wrong turn, only to find yourself perched on the edge of a cliff, with the Severn Estuary stretching out before you like a postcard from some long-forgotten era.

The Royal, an old pub resurrected and reimagined in 2023, doesn’t so much greet you as envelop you. The exterior is a masterclass in architectural diplomacy—where the modern and the historical engage in a polite pas de deux. Yes, there are electric car charging points, humming quietly like a nod to the future, but they are wonderfully overshadowed by the building’s original charm. The spiral staircase that ascends to the boutique bedrooms is a thing of beauty, winding upwards with all the grace of a Victorian waltz. It’s an environment where you feel time has no dominion, where history isn’t so much behind you as all around you, softly whispering its secrets.

The place is, naturally, a haven for dogs, who seem to own the place more than the owners themselves do. This is a perfect pub for a post-perambulation pitstop, where muddy paws are welcome and the only thing that might raise an eyebrow is if you walk in sans canine companion. The garden is the stuff of dreams—expansive, lush, and with a view that could rival any in the British Isles. The estuary lies below like a vast, glimmering mirror, reflecting back your good fortune at having found this place at all.

And the food, ah, the food. Pub fare, yes, but pub fare done with a subtle flourish. Take the 'Ultimate Burger', for instance—no mere tower of beef and bun, but a construction held together by a sprig of rosemary, a small touch that elevates the experience from ordinary to extraordinary. It’s a dish that knows exactly what it is, but also what it could be, and it flirts with that boundary with every bite.

Now, I have a deep-seated aversion to the term 'destination pub'. It smacks of overhyped PR jargon, the sort of thing that gets slapped on a menu to justify a £16 starter. But here, I’m afraid, I have to swallow my pride and admit that The Royal is precisely that—a destination. A place that’s worth the drive, the search, the potential for getting lost along the way.

In the end, The Royal isn’t just a pub, or a hotel, or a country inn—it’s an experience, a journey, and a reward all rolled into one. If you haven’t been, go. And if you’ve already been, well, what are you waiting...

I have been keen to try the Royal since the refurbishment and visited, with a friend, last Sunday at 5 pm for an early supper. On arrival, we encountered a group of five members of staff gathered in the foyer and, when they took no notice of us, we asked if anyone was serving we were informed that they were very busy and would be with us in a minute;; we were shown to our table with rather bad grace. The drinks ordered were lime and soda, which, when they eventually arrived, were just soda water with a slice of lime. I queried this with the waitress who explained to me that I really didn’t understand that their lime had a very subtle taste but she would actually put more in for me– I explained that it wasn’t a subtle taste but was in fact, just soda water .It was just without any lime at all. We ordered rib of beef with seasonal vegetables, which arrived extremely quickly, and the beef was very tender and very moist. However, a large portion of the plate was taken up by the huge rib bone which hadn’t been removed and another large portion by cold and rockhard peas. The seasonal vegetables consisted of two tiny florets of broccoli, two strips of carrot, two strips of soggy parsnip, soggy roast potatoes and a Yorkshire pudding that was so hard it could not be cut with a knife. There was also an unidentifiable slice of something on the plate which looked a little like stuffing, but I was unable to verify this as it was so hard, I couldn’t put my fork into it to taste. To top things off the horseradish sauce was tasteless liquid which appeared to have been diluted. We were so disappointed as neither of us could eat more than approximately half of the meal, and when the waitress asked how things were we shared our thoughts with her. We explained that she was not to take it personally as it was in no way her fault, but we would like her to mention these points to chef, and if he/she would like to come and talk to us, we would be very happy to do so - unfortunately, this did not happen. I would like to say that the waiting staff were all extremely pleasant and, without any prompting from us, we were not charged for the main course so that I feel is in the venue’s favour. I am reluctant to repeat the experience which is a great shame as I live locally and it would be a great place to...

I really wanted to enjoy our evening meal out at the royal which was a regular haunt in younger years. A few teething problems with what looks to be a young and inexperienced team. Firstly the renovation is fantastic with a new and expanded restaurant giving a warm and traditional yet modern feel. Our evening started well ordering drinks, unfortunately it went a little downhill after that. It must be said it was a Saturday evening for a newly opened restaurant so we will be giving them another chance. Starters came out after a medium wait, looked great and was enjoyed, unfortunately we ended up waiting best part of an hour from when our starters were taken from the table for our mains to appear, which made us feel forgotten. Several tables that were sat after us had starters and mains whilst we waited. Annoyingly, of the multiple times we were checked in on during our meal (usually 30 seconds after starting to eat) the empty glasses were not removed from the table which on a small table left very little room for our dishes. We had 2 pies and both mixed grills. The seafood mixed grill was enjoyed but my mixed grill could only be best described as “brewers fayre-esqe” not worth the wait, dry chicken, dry gammon, over cooked black pudding, not very fresh chips and the steak was not great quality. In my opinion this was a dish that had sat on the hot pass for far too long perhaps as other dishes were being prepared. The sausage was nice so will likely try the brunch options they have. We were also charged twice for a round of drinks which was rectified when we came to pay so no harm there. This place has so much potential but needs some time to work out the kinks and train up the new team.

Avoid the grill,...