We visit The Long Bar in Old Market, a legendary Bristol pub that’s just been refurbished

There has always been a certain smell associated with The Long Bar. When I drank there in the 1990s, it tended to be the musty aroma of regulars who clearly had a strange aversion to soap.

But since this Old Market pub’s recent refurbishment, there’s another whiff in the air. It’s the unmistakable smell of fresh paint and scrubbed wooden boards that’s a far cry from the sticky, cider-splattered floor of old.

The pub’s lengthy bar top is also new - the well worn old one was replaced during the pandemic - and on the weekday lunchtime I visited, the drinkers were also a little more fragrant than their predecessors.

Back in the day, The Long Bar was a favourite watering hole of boozy newspaper journalists and ink-covered printers but since they left the area, the clientele is a lot more varied. Like other ‘proper’ Bristol pubs, The Long Bar opens early, often around 10am, so conservations may be starting to slur and blur by the early afternoon.

‘How are you today?’ asked the barmaid to one regular perched on a stool at the bar. ‘Well, I woke up this morning at least!’ was the deadpan response from a man who may have overindulged the previous day.

‘He can’t drive,’ laughed another, pointing at a fellow drinker. ‘But he still drives us around the f***ing bend though!’ came the quick retort from another with spot-on comic timing. Like The Little Grosvenor in Southville and The Pegasus in Southmead, this is a pub where drinking is taken very seriously indeed.

And there can’t be many pubs with metal handles above the urinals in the gents - presumably to steady any customers who may find the wall moving when they stand there.

Food is limited to ten types of ‘fresh rolls’ (£2.50) and classic pub snacks like Scampi Fries, Bacon Fries and pork scratchings. There’s a tall fridge of cold cans - Stella, Thatchers Gold and Natch - and a huge range on draught. Prices are so low they would even give Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin sleepless nights.

Foster’s is £2.70, Amstel £3.20, Heineken £3.50 and Moretti £4. Then there’s Blackthorn at £2.50, Bath Ales Gem £2.50 and Butcombe £2.60 - that’s if you’re not swayed by the offer of five Jagerbombs for £10. When I was there, the majority of drinkers were on the cider. The cloudy orange Cheddar Valley was clearly the most popular choice.

Above my head, a TV screen beamed a grainy episode of Bruno’s Forgotten Hits 1980-89 on the Now 80s music channel. The retro sounds of Bronski Beat, Arcadia, Tears For Fears and Talk Talk filled the void.

But it’s the original black and white wattle and daub on the walls in the airy, high ceilinged back room that is most striking about this deep, narrow pub. It’s a reminder that, like the ‘at risk’ (according to Historic England) Grade II-listed Kingsley Hall nearby, this part of Bristol is steeped in history.

The Long Bar also occupies a historic building but its reputation as one of Bristol’s last remaining drinkers’ pubs is even greater. Like the customers themselves, it should have a preservation notice slapped on it immediately.

The Long Bar, 70 Old Market Street, Old Market, Bristol, BS2 0EJ.