What counts as a Bristol pub?

The obvious questions when coming up with a list of pubs in Bristol are: what counts as a pub? And what counts as Bristol?

We have gone with a quite broad definition a pub, which also includes lots of bars and other venues, but ultimately consider a pub to be:

• Somewhere you can get a draught beer or cider
• Is open to the public and you don't have to have a ticket or pay an entry fee (e.g. so not a gig venue or nightclub)
• It's not weird not to get food (so not a restaurant)

For the definition of Bristol we've gone with the official boundary of the City of Bristol as published by the council. Confusingly this doesn't include some places on the northern or eastern periphery of Bristol like Filton or most of Kingswood, but does include Avonmouth. But, we had to start somewhere and this was an easy objective boundary to use.

These criteria are always subject to change, and we are the arbiters of the list. We are sorry if you don’t like it. The boundary especially could be expanded if people start getting close to "completing" the current one.

What counts as the same pub?

Things change. People change. Pubs change. They close, reopen under new management, change their name, change their vibe, or even move location.

We consider a pub to be the same pub if it remains in the same location and has the same vibe, even if the name changes. In those cases, ticks will carry over.

If the vibe changes significantly, or the pub relocates to new premises, we consider it a new pub and you’ll need to tick it off again.

Get in touch

Follow us on Instagram at bristol.pub.offical for updates and fun pub content.

Got feedback? Questions? Noticed anywhere that's missing, closed, changed name or doesn't meet the criteria? Email [email protected].

The proprietors

Built by Alex Norton. Illustrations by Rosalie Hoskins. Vibes and social media by Adam Becket, Liv Rubene and Lottie Norton.