Since moving to Long Ashton, we’re gradually working our way around as many of the pubs and restaurants in the area as we can! With my mum visiting over a sunny weekend, a pub with a decent garden was a must – and the Jubilee Inn in Flax Bourton seemed to fit the bill.
Located on the main road through the village, this Brains Brewery pub has a pretty traditional village pub feel, and is both dog-friendly and child-friendly. Inside, it’s all beamed ceilings, stone pillars and wooden tables – and there’s fireside seating for the colder days, too.
In a bid to keep COVID-19 at bay, there are hand sanitiser points dotted throughout the venue – including outside before you head in – and the Jubilee Inn team have implemented a one-way system inside the pub to try and encourage patrons to maintain social distancing rules.
For families with smaller children, there are baby changing facilities and highchairs available. We’d seen photos of the kids’ play area on the website and on social media, but sadly these were fenced off when we visited, and looked to be in a pretty sorry state of disrepair. The kids’ food menu, though, was not only very affordable (£5 including both a main and a dessert), but also varied. Kids can choose a main from a list of seven, from sausages or scampi to chicken or pasta, plus a side (fries, mash or garlic bread) and one choice of veg (baked beans, peas or salad) – it’s a great solution for fussy eaters!
It was the cheeseburger, skin-on fries and baked beans that the three-year-old went for: a sizeable portion for any child! He demolished as much of it as he could manage – I was just surprised that we weren’t asked if we wanted any sauces in the burger, as with just the patty and a small amount of cheese it was a little boring.
The regular, grown-up food menu offers plenty of variety – including a range of vegetarian and vegan dishes. There are various options that give a nod to Brains Brewery’s Welsh roots, too, including a Penderyn whisky and chicken liver pate starter, Glamorgan sausages, and Mario’s Welsh ice cream as a dessert option.
The cod and chips (£10), which comes with a choice of mushy or garden peas, has this Welsh theme itself, coated, as it is, in a Brains beer batter. Absolutely no complaints from that side of the table, with particular praise for the crispness of the batter, the generosity of the portion size, and the “proper” (ie, zingy and chunky) tartare sauce.
My own meal also demonstrated that The Jubilee Inn is a pub for those who like their portions sizeable! I ordered the Taverner’s Burger (also £10) – a choice of a beef patty or grilled chicken breast (I went for the former) with streaky bacon, Welsh cheddar, BBQ sauce, salad and onion rings, served with fries and coleslaw. The whole thing was served on a wooden tray topped with Brains-branded pretend newspaper (give me a plate any day…), but the skin on chips were kept warm and crispy in their battered serving dish – and they were decent too.
The coleslaw was pretty generic (and much of the moisture seeped into the paper), but the burger was surprisingly good. A juicy, meaty patty with plenty of seasoning, bacon that was actually fairly well done (the way I like it) and a tangy BBQ sauce – it could just have done with a little more cheese. The onion rings were a nice addition, with a crispy, crunchy shell and softly cooked onion within.
We grown ups were too stuffed for dessert, but the small person’s meal had a choice of four included in the price. We headed outside to make the most of the sunny weather while he enjoyed his mini doughnuts and chocolate sauce…and the rate at which they disappeared into his mouth suggested that they were a hit.
We were really impressed with the size of the garden, and can see it being a hit during the warm weather: a choice of covered or open air tables and a decent amount of space between them – great for social distancing! Sadly, the kids’ play area was fenced off and locked up: the play equipment was in a pretty sorry state, and with large mushrooms growing in the soil behind the fence, it was clear that it had been left pretty untouched for a long time.
With the picnic tables themselves overrun by aphids and a huge colony of ants next to the play area, it does seem that this beautiful outdoor space could do with a bit of TLC.
Overall, though, despite the garden niggles, we were impressed: a decent meal at a decent price in friendly, attractive and COVID-safe surroundings. And with The Jubilee Inn just a short drive from home, we’ll no doubt be back.