Llandoger Trow

Absolutely beautiful old pub. Great location! As a student it’s perfect for a pint and lunch.

Great for a drink or no-​nonsense good food. Friendly, with its own ghost according to legend and staff who have lived there. Gets very crowded Fridays and Saturdays. Characterful of old sea-​faring days.

Such an amazing place with so much (apparent) history. I love the building and the way it slopes the way it probably has for a hundred years. I stopped by here for a nice hand-​drawn beer, and I couldn’t have been more impressed. The picnic tables outside are a great place to sit and people watch in one of the most interesting parts of England: Bristol.
The beer selection was pretty good. The staff were nice. The toilets were clean. This was the first pub I visited on my trip through Europe, and it did not disappoint. Prices were very reasonable, but typical for the location as I came to discover throughout Bristol.
In all, this bar is all about its character. The place next door was full of loud music and chavs. This place was quiet and seemed like the type of place where I’d write Treasure Island if I was Robert Louis Stevenson.

This pub really is in direct competition with The Old Duke which is right opposite — they even share a courtyard. It’s a less ‘happening’ pub; more traditional, even with their drink servings. I once ordered a vodka cranberry in here and the bar staff looked at me funny before saying they didn’t have it. My guess is that this isn’t a frilly drink kind of pub, if you consider vodka and cranberry a frilly drink.
It’s still a good pub to come to for when it gets too busy or there is no music on at The Old Duke, or even during the daytime, as everyone is outside anyway, enjoying the sun in the courtyard overlooking the river.

Sharing the big, cobbled seating area out front with The Old Duke, the Llandoger is an excellent, classic pub that can offer a slightly quieter evening than the jazz venue. I have never been able confidently to pronounce the name of the pub out loud, so I’ve only ever said «Hey guys, shall we go to the … you know, the one opposite the Duke?» Luckily everyone knows the Llandoger so they always know what I’m getting at!
It’s a gorgeous old pub in its own right, and has loads of little nooks and hideaways that you can occupy, which make it a good choice if you don’t want to be mingling with the crowds necessarily (perhaps if you’re on a date, as I was…). With big comfy seats and tables, and of course all that seating outside, and never loud music, it’s a really good pub to choose for a drink after seeing a play at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre down the road.

The Llandoger is situated opposite the Old Duke, and both share the same massive outdoor seating area which spreads across the cobbled street. The outdoor seating area is what makes this pub, and on any warm or dry evening in the summer it gets packed and has a buzzing atmosphere that cannot be beaten! The ambience is very festival like and everyone is always in a great mood. The pub attracts a large range of different customers, from students to locals to foreigners exploring the area, and it really does give a great impression of the culture and atmosphere of Bristol!
The pub itself is beautiful from the outside and it has a very authentic feel with a white and black exterior with traditional beams. The indoors is pretty big and there’s plenty of seating here too, so on a colder or rainy night it’s still a great hotspot to go out to! I have eaten here just the once aswell and in my experience the food is also great, so there’s really nothing bad to say about the place and it’s definitely somewhere you should try out! On another plus side it’s surrounded by several other bustling and great bars, such as the apple cider bar, so you could really make a great and varied evening out here!

Often overshadowed by the neighbouring live music behemoth the Old Duke, Llandoger Trow is actually a pretty good spot for a drink. Situated on a lively strip in Bristol’s city centre, flanked by Tudor buildings, this old pub is steeped in history.
There’s plenty of outdoor seating on benches, with usually a happy crowd of pubgoers milling around on sunny days. Strains of jazz are usually wafting in the air from the Old Duke and there’s invariably an upbeat but relaxed atmosphere.
Head inside and the building exudes times past, with original fittings still intact. It can feel a little dark and dingy but all is forgiven if you just imagine yourself conspiratorially leaning over a pot of mead on a wet and windy 16^th century night…

One of the oldest pubs in Bristol, this watering hole is steeped in literary and local history. As soon as I step up the huge, wonky wooden steps I feel like I’m being transported to another era. Then I see the bar prices and am jolted safely back to earth!
As with all old pubs this place is full of nooks and crannies, great for intimate meetings or large gatherings — you won’t be getting in the way of anyone else if you head round the corner, right of the bar — even on the weekends you can usually get a large table all to yourselves.
I agree with another reviewer that one of the best spots here, weather permitting, is outside. Everyone mills between here and the neighbouring Old Duke and on warm summer evenings the atmosphere pretty much sums up how great Bristol is; the cider, the waterfront, the jazz and the relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Bliss!

This is a wonderful old Tudor pub built around the 1600’s with several quirky little rooms, original beams and plenty of uneven surfaces. There is also a connection with Robert Crusoe and apparently Robert Louis Stevenson used to drink here. The interior of the pub is definitely the highlight of this place and I recommend taking a visit just to see it for yourselves.
The pub itself is half decent and tends to get very busy at the weekends due in no small part to its location (opposite The Duke). The age of the building itself and the configuration of the space inside does make it feel even more cramped then it is and I recommend getting a table towards the back of the pub, or alternatively sitting out front and making the most of the music coming from across the road. (which is something a lot of people do)

A landmark on the tourist trail of Bristol, this rickety old building that was built in the 17^th Century houses the Llandoger Trow, a surprisingly traditional pub for the centre of town. They have a good range of ales on tap, which cost less than £3, always a plus. There’s a fine line between it being an old mans pub and a really lively one — and on weekend evenings it’s invariable the latter, as people spill out onto the courtyard in front, which is shared with The Old Duke opposite and is one of Bristol’s best places to go on a night out.
Robert Louis-​Stephenson wrote Treasure Island in here, so my parents have told me many a time, and it was his inspiration for the pub ‘Admiral Benbow’ in the book. For a place this old, there’s definitely going to be a few ghost stories floating around, so if you like a ghost hunt head to the top floor and look out for the child wearing leg braces… spooky.

Whether or not you enjoy going to this pub is probably dependent on one thing: whether you can get a seat outside. It’s directly opposite the Old Duke on King Street, where the two pubs’ seats practically intermingle, and it’s close enough that you can enjoy the jazz coming from the Duke and the atmosphere that builds around the place.
However, the interior is dark, dreery and largely forgettable, which is a shame as it’s one of the oldest establishments in Bristol, going back to our time as one of the biggest ports in the world. Only worth entering to get a refill before heading back outside.

Apparently the pub where Treasure Island was written, this pub looks enticing from the outside (being in a tudor style black and white timber frame building) but disappoints on entry. Probably because it is in an old building the place is a bit dank and dark. This means you find yourself squinting to see across the bar. That this could be solved with a few lamps is a bit annoying. The service, though quick enough, isn’t perfect. For example, our request to turn down the music to hear a performance outside was first met with a refusal — they changed their mind a few minutes later.
It’s not a bad pub though, there was a real ale festival when I went (this actually amonted to a stall with a selection of about seven beers, but good fun nonetheless) and its cheaper than most of its neighbours. A mediocre pub that could be a good one with a bit of attention to the basics.

Wonderful old pub, apparently built in 1664 according to the groovy little ‘Nitty Map’ of Bristol that we bought. They have a Jacobean Room and everything (ooooh, get them!). It’s a new kind of old on the inside, having been refurbished, and an old kind of old outside (look a bit like it’s about to fall over!). A group of students were sat outside eating pie and chips on a freezing cold January afternoon — now that’s what I call hardcore (or just young, come to think of it) and the barman kindly lent me his pen.
Not bad, not bad.

This pub is in a lovely tudor building and was built in the 1600’s. There are several rooms in the Llandoger and lots uneven surfaces and dark wood due to the age of the pub.
There is a large cobbled area with tables at the front which gets quite lively at night.
There is a lot of history to this pub and apparantely drinkers at the Llandoger have included Daniel Defoe, Robert Louis Stevenson and Henry Irving. Apparantly the top floor of the pub is haunted by the ghost of a child who wore leg braces and his loud footsteps have been heard from below.
The Llandoger Trow is a good pub to go to for a quiet drink in the early evening but it can be a bit too quiet indoors and the food served is quite standard pub food.

Really great historic pub beside the docks in Bristol with a large paved area in front which is perfect for sitting in during the clement months. A good range of drinks on tap served up by charming and hospitable bar staff. The interior of the pub is cosy with a great little snug opposite the bar.
Apparently Robert Louis Stevenson used to be a regular!