8 min readFancy a cheeky pint somewhere in Bristol after exercising your doggy? No problem! The city has plenty of dog-friendly pubs and bars that are happy to welcome you for a pint with your pooch.
Bambalan
Brightly coloured Bambalan's dog-friendly staff are always happy to offer water and food bowls if needed, as well as a lot of fuss from the team! You’ll find a big terrace to perch on – a great spot on a sunny day – while you indulge in a few cocktails and Mediterranean bites.
Image - Bambalan
The Ostrich
Take a seat on the large harbourside terrace to refuel with your pooch. Water bowls and snacks are available, and dogs are welcome inside the pub as well - not that you'll want to miss out on the view on sunnier days!
Image - The Ostrich
Froth & Fries
Froth & Fries has an impressively broad collection of revered Belgian and UK craft beers and ciders. The team’s love for beer is matched by a love for pooches, making it a go-to for pups and their owners in the Old City.
Image - Froth & Fries
Racks Bar and Kitchen
A sunny terrace, quality pub grub and special offers keep punters coming back to Racks, a sports bar and restaurant based in former wine cellars in Clifton. As a bonus for dog parents, pooches are welcome to join you.
Image - Racks Bar and Kitchen, credit Evoke Pictures Lifestyle
King Street Brew House
Pups are free to pop inside with you at this buzzing King Street boozer or perch next to you on one of the outside benches. Sip an al fresco craft beer from their onsite micro-brewery and nibble on some outrageous fried chicken from their resident kitchen ‘Eat the Bird’ while you're there.
Image - King Street Brew House
Wiper and True
Another spot for lovers of local beers, Wiper and True's brewery taproom in Old Market and Barrel Store in St Werburghs both welcome dogs, with water bowls waiting for thirsty pups and freshly brewed pints for humans.
Image - Wiper and True
Highbury Vaults
Dogs are welcome in this cosy pub on St Michaels Hill, which appears in both the CAMRA Heritage Guide and the Good Pub Guide. Otherwise you and your dog can take a seat in their suntrap back garden.
KASK
Bring your four-legged friends along while you enjoy some tasty wines in this Bedminster wine bar. They've got a cute back garden for warmer days, but dogs are also welcome inside the bar.
- Dogs are also welcome nearby at Spirited, a bottle shop and bar on North Street.
Image - KASK, credit: Kym Grimshaw
The Gallimaufry
Take your four-legged friend along to Gloucester Road institution The Galli, where you can sit and people watch from the terrace or dig into some delicious food made with local ingredients. Depending on when you visit, you might catch some live music too.
The Canteen
There's usually a fresh bowl of water waiting for dogs at The Canteen in Stokes Croft. The two of you can quench your thirst beneath Banksy's ‘Mild, Mild West’ and humans can sample the all-veggie, locally sourced menu. There’s bad news for doggy music-lovers though, who aren’t allowed in if there’s live music.
Image - The Canteen
Moor Beer Tap Room
This pub attached to the Moor Beer brewery is open to the public 7 days a week. It has 10 taps selling draught beer, a beer garden for you and your four-legged friends to relax in, plus water bowls and doggy treats.
No.1 Harbourside
This waterfront bar and restaurant celebrates all good things about Bristol – the arts, local music, craft breweries, boats, bikes, independent businesses and dog-owning punters. Staff will bring your pup a bowl of water so they don’t get jealous of your beverage. Like their sister establishments, The Canteen and Old Market Assembly, unfortunately your doggy will have to get down to the funky beat somewhere else when there’s live music on.
Image - No.1 Harbourside
The Bank Tavern
Hidden down a side street in Bristol’s medieval Old City, The Bank Tavern is a friendly and cosy traditional pub, with a great selection of cask ales, quality food and award-winning roast dinners. Pub dog Charlie is often around to greet guests while sporting a stylish bow tie or neckerchief, and your own dogs will be made more than welcome in the pub or outside seating area.
Grain Barge
Doggos are allowed on the top deck of this converted 1930s barge on a lead, so you can soak up some Harbour views and ogle the impressive Brunel’s SS Great Britain across the water with your hound. Run by Bristol Beer Factory, you’ll also find tasty craft beers, wholesome pies and lagers and ciders from some of the UK’s best independent breweries.
Image - Grain Barge
The Stable
If you’re into pizza and pie, you can’t go wrong with The Stable, whose pizzas include unusual locally sourced ingredients. Cider aficionados will be in heaven here with a hefty selection of varieties to sample. Hounds are welcome too and needn’t feel too put out about their owners’ tasty feast, as they’ll be given their own doggy treat to complement their bowl of water.
Image - The Stable
The Lazy Dog
With a name like The Lazy Dog it would be silliness if they didn’t welcome four-legged guests, so of course you can have a hair of the dog here, with your very own hairy dog beside you. Pups get water bowls, doggy treats and are allowed in every part of the pub and big garden area.
Royal Navy Volunteer
Famed for its roasts and huge range of beers from independent UK breweries, The Royal Navy Volunteer (or Vollie as its known to locals), is almost as well-known for its love of dogs. Pop in on a weekday after a good bound around Queen Square to be able to eat in the restaurant area with your pet (note weekends are dog-free).
The Kensington Arms
A fantastic boozer and gastro pub run by restaurateurs Josh and Holly Eggleton, with a menu designed by head chef Oscar Davies. The quality of everything here is top notch without feeling pretentious, with four-legged pals very much welcome. It's a great spot for a summer's drink on one of their outside tables, or a heartier wine-abundant meal with friends.
The Malago
If you find yourself a bit peckish from walkies anywhere near Greville Smyth Park – renowned for its beautiful mature trees – family-run independent The Malago will be more than happy to welcome you in for some seasonal British food with a European twist.
The Kings Arms
At the top of Whiteladies Road, next to dog paradise The Downs, this sprawling candlelit pub specialises in real ales, tapas and dog-friendliness. Water bowls for thirsty pooches are readily available and dotted all over the pub and outside on the terrace and two resident pub dogs, Dolly and Honey, are waiting to welcome furry friends.
Image - Early morning on The Downs, Bristol, credit Ann Brook
We also received plenty of recommendations from our followers on Facebook and Instagram, sharing their own favourite dog-friendly pubs across Bristol:
- Alpha Bottleshop & Bar, Bedminster
- Sidney & Eden, Gloucester Road
- The Ship, Redcliffe
- White Lion, Frenchay
- The Railway Tavern, Fishponds
- The Millhouse, Emersons Green
Country pubs
You've got plenty of choice when it comes to choosing a pub following a country walk with your pooch. To the east of the city, on the river between Bristol and Bath, you'll find The Chequers Inn, followed by The Lock Keeper a couple of miles downstream. The walk between is an easy stretch of the legs for you and your dog! There's also The Upton in nearby Bitton which welcomes dogs in the garden and inside the pub.
Image - Lock Keeper
Down in the scenic Chew Valley, you can follow up a dog walk around the lake or nearby nature reserves with a refreshing pint and lunch at The New Inn or Ring o' Bells. Further down in North Somerset, you'll find dogs welcome at traditional country pubs such as The Langford, The Railway Inn and The Rising Sun.
Image - Ring o' Bells
To the north of Bristol, The Bowl Inn in Almondsbury and The White Hart in Littleton-upon-Severn are more great options for dog walkers needing a some well-earned refreshment.
Read more...
