Dave (Bristol) wrote on 24 August 2010

I was very disappointed with this pub. It seems they do not really have to make an effort either with customer service as they are guaranteed a good turnover of tourists who will never be back.
Don't be fooled by the sign outside advertising lunch for £5 - once we enquired at the bar we discovered that this only applies Mon-Fri. But they didn't bother to take the advert down on the weekend. They didn't have many of the meals on the menu available (even 'Specials' which seems strange). When we were informed that mash wasn't available for the ‘Pie and mash’, they grudgingly accepted our request for chips instead. When the meals arrived, there were no tortilla chips with the chilli. When asked about the tortilla chips, the barmaid simply stated that none were available and walked away. There was no offer of any alternative.
To add insult, the one of the barmaids proceeded to smoke on one of the outside tables close to where we were sitting and eating.

Overall, a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Best avoided.

Grace (Newmarket) wrote on 5 April 2010

My boyfriend took me to Bath this weekend for my birthday and we found The Porter Bar by accident, I'm vegetarian and my boyfriend is strict vegan. We had been to another restaurant the night before and been really disappointed, the food was really lacking in flavour and was outrageously priced, the staff were friendly enough but the whole place lacked any kind of atmosphere. Porters on the other hand was brilliant. We ordered Falafel salad, Creamy Mushroom Pie, Chips and Tomato Tagliatelle (we wanted to try as much as possible!) and they gladly added veggie sausage to my Tagliatelle at no extra charge! The food arrived very quickly and it was all delicious. It was so nice to find veggie/vegan food that was so tasty, fresh and filling, unlike the food at some places that assume that because you're vegan you like eating tasteless, 'healthy' mush! And it was all at a reasonable price! Brilliant experience, we will hopefully be going back soon :)

niki (chippenham) wrote on 28 February 2010

I love Porters! My family and friends love Porters. It makes such a refreshing change to be looking at a menu and have such a great choice of veggie/vegan options. My children (aged 20 & 9) would be delighted if I took them to Porters every Sunday for brunch or lunch. The beauty of Porters is that it has a great atmosphere and caters for all ages & when we've finally chosen what we want from the menu the food is always delicious. The staff are always friendly and welcoming and the prices are very reasonable.

Claire (mk) wrote on 24 February 2010

This place is absolutely fantastic. I visited bath for an anniversary in January 2010 and found this little gem within minutes. Fantastic cider on tap and such a treat to be able to order wine knowing it is vegetarian. The menu is varied and very appealing, I had a fantastic mushroom pie with caramised onions and mash which was very affordable too. Very relaxed enjoyable envionment, I think we visited 3 or 4 times in 2 1/2 days. Wish we lived closer.

Vicky Stephens (STROUD) wrote on 16 February 2010

I have been here twice in the last few weeks, and have dragged in non veggie friends, all in need of food and refreshment after too much shopping!
The service is excellent, and the food is served quickly and is very nice, and well thought out. ( Especially recommend the chips!!) Friends loved the food too. Good sized portions and really tasty. Prices excellent too.
Sat in the little side room, and watched the world go by. Will be visiting again this week!

Philip Andrews (Restaurant Connection) wrote on 8 February 2010

I've just been looking at the long list of complaints and reviews for another restaurant, and thought - have to have a look at the Porter comments (I'm the owner - guess I should look more often) and was amazed to see that the most recent review was 2006. Given that the other restaurant's reviews were all bad or obviously mates trying to big it up to undo the damage, I'm not sure what to think about the paucity of our reviews!

However we have substantially changed the menu so that it is now much more interesting and varied, and is really much better than "just pub food". There's a daily specials list with about 6 options, and an extensive vegan/veggie menu. We do not serve any meat, fish or any other dead animal products, and everything is clearly labelled on the menu as either vegan or veggie. We have a wine list of 9 wines by the glass that are all either vegan or veggie. As we do around 700 meals a week, I'm sure that we should have more reviews than we do, but maybe apathy rules - KO.

Oh, forgot to mention that we do live music, comedy and sports - bizzarre I know, and are opening up another veggie cafe in our new Chapel Arts Centre which is also in Bath.

Laura (Birmingham) wrote on 19 June 2006

We went for a Saturday lunchtime and it was pretty quiet. The menu is fully veggie and has quite a few vegan options. We had shepherds pie and chestnut pie both of which were really nice. There was a choice of chips, rice, jacket or veg with each meal. The food wasn't amazing, it was typical pub food but it tasted good, there was a nice atmosphere, it was about £5 per meal and the staff were friendly. And it's just a great novelty to order vegan pub food! I would definitely go again!

Phil Child (Redditch) wrote on 3 September 2004

A fully vegetarian pub (with clubs on two other levels) this is a true novelty!  The food is great and cheap (£9.10 for a vegie burger with salad & chips, plus a side salad, plus a pint).  The portions are generous too - don't order the side salad unless you have someone to share it with!  It is perhaps not to all tastes as this is essentially an alternative/studenty-type pub/club but for those of a like mind it is a great night out.  Truly unique.  Not one to take the other half too for a romantic candle lit dinner, though...

Philip Andrews (Restaurant Connection) wrote on 14 March 2004

Ratatouille, Stroganoff, Shepherd's Pie, Nachos, Crepes, etc. Main meals £5.25, snacks from £1.50. Atmosphere, alternative with live music and comedy in the Cellar Bar. The Porter is Bath's only Veggie/Vegan pub - we do live music Mon-Thur in the Cellar Bar, where you can order food, and DJs Fri/Sat with Comedy on Sunday. The atmosphere/style is alternative, as is the music. Daily papers always available.