From A Vegan Guide To Bristol 2006

Without a doubt the best pub in the South West. Why? Brilliant beer, great music and fantastic veggie food – plus lovely people, special surroundings and fully fledged Niteclub (Moles) bang next door too. Now it’s fair to say that a lot of pubs in the area score highly on a number of these points, but it is the unbeatable added combination of the exclusively veggie menu coupled with loads of live music that wins it for me.

Its an alternative pub, I guess, with live music four or five times a week, DJ’s at the weekend and comedy and quiz on Sundays,’ says Phil, the manager who has been running the Porter for eleven years.’ We went veggie the day I took over – I’ve been veggie myself for thirty-five years, so I would never sell meat. Anyway – there’s just no need – our Veggie Lasagnes, Veggie Breakfast, Veggie Shepherds Pie, and chips with everything are amazingly popular, and our veggieburgers are better than any meat alternative.

With an open mic on Monday, footie and the rugby on two large screens upstairs, ridiculously cheap food of an exceptional quality (mostly organic, definitely GM free) and a musical blend that includes blues, funk, soul, bit of jazz, folky stuff, singer songwritery sort of thing (but no pubrock, according to Phil), you can see why this is the Best in the West. I wonder if they are thinking about letting a few rooms on the premises because its sounds like it would be pretty cool to just go the whole hog and move in lock stock and barrel. Paradise. Beer, food, rock n roll. ‘ave it.

The Porter - Best Pubs.