Things didn’t get off to a great start. Within a couple of sips, I was back at the bar of Hort’s asking for a replacement pint.
I have to say it’s pretty rare these days to be served a below-par pint. But this murky liquid was truly undrinkable, with a taste somewhere between vinegar and soapy dishwater.
Returning bad pints can often be a battle of wills. There’s always going to be some wise guy barman who will stand his ground and try to convince the customer they’re wrong and that flat, cloudy and vinegary is how it should be.
But I drink enough of the stuff to know a bad pint when I taste it and, thankfully, the staff at Hort’s couldn’t have been more professional. The barman poured a sample for himself, had a taste and agreed with me, apologising profusely and offering me a different beer as a replacement at no extra cost.
It was a bit of shame really as I’d originally ordered the Bonville Pale, brewed in Bristol by Hop Union Brewery. It’s one of my favourite beers, one I’ve enjoyed countless times at the brewery’s tucked away bar on a Brislington trading estate, but this was a pale version of how it should taste.
The other real ale on offer at Hort’s was also unavailable, its badge turned around – perhaps the pub doesn’t get through as much real ale as it once did – so I chose a keg beer instead.
Also brewed in Bristol, the Lost and Grounded Wanna Go To The Sun Pale Ale was in great condition – light, fresh and citrussy – although at an eyewatering £7.15 a pint, I was glad I wasn’t paying for the pleasure (the beer I sent back was ‘only’ £5.75).
Like so many city centre pubs, Hort’s is not a cheap option for a few pints. Although Young’s Original is a fairly standard price of £5.30, the Guinness is £6.65, Thatchers Gold £5.95, Peroni £6.85 and Beavertown Neck Oil a whopping £7.15.
It’s no wonder the place was virtually empty on a Friday lunchtime. There were only four people in the front bar area and a couple of tables of diners in the rear restaurant where a bacon, Brie and tomato chutney is £14 (served with a soup), the pie of the day costs £16.50 and ‘cyder battered’ haddock and chips will set you back £18.
Which is all a bit of shame as I’ve long had a soft spot for Hort’s. It’s a Bristol institution that was a Berni Inn restaurant when I was a kid in the 1970s.
A handsome building opposite the Old Guildhall in the heart of what we now call the ‘Old City’, it reopened two years ago after a major refurbishment that saw it transformed into more of a boutique hotel with 19 bedrooms upstairs.
And that’s how Hort’s feels these days. It’s like drinking in a chain hotel bar rather than a pub.
Maybe I chose the wrong day and time to visit, and I’d like to think it’s packed to the rafters most nights, but on this dead as a dodo Friday lunchtime, it lacked the soul and atmosphere it once had.
I finished my pint and left as soon as I could. Sadly, I can’t see myself returning in a hurry.
Hort’s, 49 Broad Street, Bristol, BS1 2EP.