When I was in Bath, I thought it would be sensible to tick off a few more Good Beer Guide pubs in my ever failing quest to visit them all. I didn’t pick a great time to do as it was hot, it was a Saturday, Bath were at home playing their rugby thing and so the city was busy. But research requires bravery at times, and I am nothing if not heroic when faced with the possibility of sitting indoors with half a pint.
Anyway, before I get further distracted, this is the Raven on Queen Street which has four bars across six different rooms and although the upper floor is more for dining, drinkers are welcome throughout.
The Raven’s history stretches back from uncertain Roman and pre-Roman origins to a site that was part of Barton Farm’s farmland in the 17th century, before appearing on a 1735 map as a narrow garden, apparently lower than the surrounding streets and now forming part of the building’s underlying structure, in a pleasingly Georgian “just build upwards and hope nobody asks too many questions” arrangement. By 1800 the site was occupied by tradesmen including John Jarvis, a calenderer, and Thomas Trendell, a grocer, before the Carnall family butchers were associated with the address in the early 19th century.
The move into licensed trade came in 1864, when Thomas Toleman took over the Bazaar Wine Vaults from Charles Wright, who was described as a wine merchant to the Royal Family. The premises later became Fuller’s Wine Vaults, then Hatchett’s Wine Lodge, with Second World War pilots from a nearby airfield said to have used the pub and left messages on the upstairs ceiling, sadly painted over in the 1960s. It later became a city centre pub favoured by Goths and bikers, opened as The Raven in 2004 and expanded in 2022 by taking over the adjoining building.
There were ten real ales available including their house beers of Ravens Gold and Ravens Ale, brewed by Blindman’s Brewery. There were also beers from Stonehenge Brewery, Exeter Brewery, Frome Brewery, Otter Brewery, Sandstone Brewery, Goffs, Bowland and Wharf Brewery, so that’s a fair number.
I went for the Lyra’s IPA from Sandstone Brewery and it was citrusy, well rounded and had a decent flavour. I hadn’t had a beer from Sandstone before, but they’re based in Wrexham and have been brewing since 2008.
The food menu has pies and sausages at its heart, which is never a bad start. There is also quite a broad selection beyond that, and the pricing wasn’t unreasonable for the location. The team members were friendly, the service was efficient and it wasn’t quite as busy inside as I had expected. Certainly, in my humble view anyway, a well deserved entry in the Good Beer Guide with its beer, history, character and atmosphere.