You can quite easily get lost in the Bristol Flyer on Gloucester Road (not to be confused with the Bristol Fryer chippie further up the street). It’s cavernous, one of the biggest pubs in Bristol, so make sure you give whoever you’re meeting inside precise directions otherwise they could easily get lost.
My favourite meeting point always used to be the hanging wicker chair, but on my most recent visit I noticed that it has been removed. Fans of hanging wicker chairs take note: they can still be found at the Brass Pig and Deli Delish.
I was at the Flyer last weekend with a group of seven friends, with talk ranging from dodging hurricanes in Alabama to Hawaiian-themed 30th birthday parties.
The Flyer’s position makes it an ideal meeting point as much as its size. It’s a regular watering hole of mine, especially so with more friends moving to this corner of Bristol to buy their first home or start a family, or both.
The drinks selection here is very impressive. Take your pick from the numerous bottles behind the bar, Asahi on tap, or regularly-changing real ales and ciders.
“The revolutionary iDrink,” one comedian has written on a blackboard by the entrance to the paved area out the back, “available in two exciting configurations, draft and bottle!”
Food is of a consistently high standard for a pub that is certainly not gastro, with three daily specials on my visit: beef and Chianti lasagna (£7.75), pork and apple sausage and mash (£8) and fish pie (£8). This alongside a mains selection with almost a wide a choice as the drinks list, always including big Sunday roasts.
The Flyer is always buzzing with chatter and is a pub of real character. Meet me where the wicker chair used to be.
The Bristol Flyer, 96 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol. 0117 944 1658.
Bristol Culture 
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