Three Sugar Loaves

Great place, good music on weekends and a great dive off the beaten path the rest of the week!

My band played here last night and although the gig was pretty much of a disaster that was our fault rather than the pub’s to be honest. I hadn’t been in the place for decades before that, and it strikes me as being wholly unchanged since way back then in the 80s. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Not really a music venue, it’s more a place for the mature drinker to huddle down in a nook or cranny for a quiet civilised pint with friends. Even on a Friday night there are no bouncers on the door (despite the central location), and you won’t find yourself standing knob-​to-​arse with a load of council estate twats looking for a punch-​up like you do in Corn Street. On my visit I was disappointed that they had absolutely no diet drinks on offer, so despite having forsworn alcohol since my summer holiday I ended up drinking two pints of Guinness. On the plus side, I was delighted to find that Friday night is free chilli night, so enjoyed helping myself to a bowl of that.

Nice pub with friendly atmosphere and landlord. Beers is well kept too.

Such a great old building. You can just picture yourself shouting at a busty waitress to bring you more Mead! Its a good spot to grab some lunch as it has a range of Pieminster and Tom pies. If you haven’t had Pieminster or Tom pie, you don’t know what you’re missing! Its a very dark pub so if you want some daylight, there is an outdoor eating area but it does get a lot of through traffic, good if you want to make passers by all jealous with your pint and pie. I haven’t sadly been here in the evening but seeing some reviews bigging up the music, might have to check it out some evening.

I visited last week and hoped for more.
I expected to use a toilet that would have a cistern on the wall, without wee and poo awash on the floor.
Disgusting.

I’ve only ever been to this little pub during the day, mostly because I’ve had a hankering for a Pieminister pie. Surprisingly popular with families and couples looking for a bite to eat to break up the dullness of Saturday shopping, I was expecting more of an old man pub than anything else when I first came in here.
The food was excellent and with split level sitting we managed to find a dark corner to ourselves. I’m not sure how a pub can even be so dark during the day but it’s no bad thing if you enjoy drinking and dining in private. The range of alcohol on sale isn’t massive but it is great if you can’t face walking up the infamous Christmas Steps, or better yet, acts as a treat if you’ve had to walk down them!

This ancient, doddery old pub has a thoroughly Harry Potter feel about it, with its wizardy name which is a reference to Bristol’s sugar industry, and quirky location (the Christmas Steps could be compared to Diagon Alley). And while you sadly won’t be able to order butterbeer, you’ll still get that cosy feeling of drinking in an old, quite special, well-​worn establishment that hundreds of old men have visited before you.
The pub seems intent on attracting younger drinkers; they have DJs in the evenings, and nights here are sometimes heralded on Facebook. For such an old, traditional, not particularly «cool» pub, in a location that many students would consider a bit too far outside their bubble, this strikes me as an odd endeavour.

A pub with a Jeckyll and Hyde tendency. By day it is a family-​friendly pub serving good food in a relaxing atmosphere, sitting quietly and patiently at the bottom of the Christmas steps. However, at night it is clear what the pub is pateiently waiting for… drum and bass. After eight thirty in the evening, you can expect to hear drum and bass blaring from the windows as the pub becomes host for an entirely different crowd. Both occasions are great and highly recommended by anyone who has given this 17^th century pub a try.

If you’re anything like me, a walk up and down the Christmas Steps is enough to turn you to drink. Or at least a congratulatory pint of something cold and strong. Any excuse, eh? Well as luck has it, right at the bottom of the steps, tucked away from the busy main road is Three Sugar Loaves, a 17^th century pub.
During a day this mild mannered pub is a great place for an afternoon drink away from busy Corn Street or Broadmead. By night there’s a weird intervention of drum and bass music which will flood the bar with hardcore music lovers. Whatever time of day you go be sure to try out the local Thatcher’s cider as I personally think it’s one of the best

A tale of two pubs, this one. By day a cosy little place. Joyfully quiet compared to most places in the city centre. Being out of the way on Lewins Mead does it the favour that not many people know about this place, and those that do actually appreciate going to a decent pub. Come here for a respite from the consuming masses in Broadmead (or after a hard day of job hunting, as was the case when I first stumbled accross the place).
Wait long enough and things will start to liven up considerably. The place will pack out as people come along for the drum and bass put on, and generally kick a bit of life into the place. A night here is a million times better than most other city centre night clubs in my opinion, but that probably reflects my music tastes as much as anything else. With that said, there is undeniably a great atmosphere once things get going, decent prices, and a nice setting that make this great night out.
A very different story by night to that by day, the Three Sugar Loaves is an attractive proposition for either.

A seventeenth century treat for you, right at the foot of Christmas Steps. It’s miniscule inside (deceivingly so, considering the imposing exterior)
There’s also a schizophrenic feel about the pub. On weekend evenings upstairs plays host to an odd mix of drum and bass and hard dance (that no-​one dances to) and this is all juxtaposed with the charming open fire-​ness and wooden beams of the downstairs.
Still, this was a regular haunt for myselfs and my work colleagues when I worked in the city centre. Equally good for the overspill of shoppers from Broadmead and Cabot’s.
If you’re looking for somewhere close, warm and fun that also dishes out lip-​smacking pints of Hoegaarden, Doom Bar and Cornish Knocker, Red Stripe and Thatcher’s Gold cider, you can’t go far wrong with this 300 year old establishment. It must be doing summat right.

I like the Three Sugar Loaves pub as it brings something a little bit different to the normal pubs in Bristol. Situated at the bottom of the Christmas steps (so central but in a quiter area), The Sugar Loaves is a cosy yet funky pub that serves a really great range of local ales and ciders. It never gets that busy so it’s great for a quiet drink on a Friday or Saturday night and the lady who normally works behind the bar is great as she recommends the best drinks and is happy to let you try some before you buy. There is also a fantastic fish and chips shop opposite.

This is a pretty average pub in the centre of Bristol. Located at the bottom of death-​trap alley (xmas steps), this cosy, if slightly stale pub has subsided of late into more a city workers’ wine bar than a 300 year old drinking stalwart.
This pub was once picketed by BARC for selling Kangaroo, Crocodile, Ostrich and Wild Boar which i find personally laughable. Surely this is not the owners fault. Relinquishing management control of all English pubs to Australian backpackers is surely the ‘root’ cause here.
I actually wanted to review the sugar loaf in Easton and mistyped. Save your time visiting wine bars and get to Easton for some famous easton ale.