We have a pint in a cosy Bristol pub with Polish food, karaoke and bare-knuckle boxing

If there's one thing you don’t quite expect to find at a roadside pub in Filton, it’s bare-knuckle boxing between terrifying men with tattooed faces.

Luckily, this brutal and bloody display was on the large TV screens at The Plough. Thankfully it was being beamed live from Poland and not in the pub itself.

It’s not the only Polish delicacy on the menu at this pub next to Airbus. Most of the food on the menu is Polish, from the sour rye soup and stuffed cabbage in tomato sauce to the Devolay - a sort of Polish chicken Kiev comprising a chicken breast filled with Cheddar, butter, parsley and dill.

A quick look at the pub’s busy Facebook page reveals countless events, too, from Brazilian music night to karaoke.

For a time, this large roadside pub was closed but it also spent a time as The French House before reverting to its original agricultural name. 

On a bitterly cold and wet December day, The Plough was a surprisingly warm and welcoming refuge from the elements.

In fact, I can’t recall walking into a warmer pub. I wasn’t the only one to notice just how warm it was - two other drinkers arriving after me commented on it, immediately removing their winter coats and hats.

The pub is deceptively large with a restaurant area and garden at the back of the small front bar area. There is also an area with a pool table.

In the bar, there is original wooden parquet flooring, which goes some way to show how old the pub is, although there are also more modern additions like brick columns.

But it’s the ceiling in the front bar that really stands out as it is arched and lined with rows of wine bottles - hundreds of them - like a wine cellar. I’ve never seen anything quite like it in a pub.

I didn’t spot any real ales at the bar so ordered a pint of Guinness, which was perfectly poured and rested before I was called back to collect it. Other options include draught Natch, Blackthorn Dry, Foster’s, Kronenbourg and Corona.

Popular with locals and workers from the many nearby offices and industrial estates, the pub also reels in customers with a happy hour from 11am to 12noon and from 4pm to 7pm.

The Plough is a pub full of surprises but my only regret is I mistimed my visit for the entertainment and food. I’ll just have to go back - but I might give the bare-knuckle boxing a miss next time.

The Plough, 127 Gloucester Road North, Filton, Bristol, BS34 7PY.