The Raven of Bath (Bath)

Aah, the Raven of Bath. The best pub in Bath and the inspiration for this very blog. It seemed wrong to have written so many posts on this blog without a visit to it's spiritual home, and so this Thursday seemed the perfect opportunity to rectify that situation.

I can still remember the first time I went to the Raven. It was 3 years ago and was persuaded to try out this great new pub that Steve had heard about which served nothing but pie and real ale - so far so godd, right?! The only problem, was that prior to turning into the Raven, it was a somewhat more salubrious establishment known as 'Hatchetts', and was a real spit and sawdust biker pub that correctly reflected it's name by being the kind of place you would expect to get knifed more than you would expect to get a good feed. Thank goodness I chose to believe Steve's recommendation (well, he has to be right some of the time), and I have not looked back since. In fact, that first trip was so influential, that I managed to even overcome my aversion to kidney (and other meat that looks like organs), so it must be good.

What makes the Raven so great is that there is only two options on the menu - pies or sausages. (although these days they do offer some other options for those fusspots who don't fancy a pie!) Fortunately the array of pies on offer is second-to-none as they are supplied by the wonderful Pieminster Pie Company from Bristol. Whether you go for a 'Mr Porky', a 'Chicken of Aragon', a 'The Matador' or just a good old fashioned 'Moo pie' (steak ale for the uninitiated), then you are guaranteed a pie of superior quality - they even have seasonal pies with equally pun-filled names like the Ho, Ho, Pie. It even has a vegetarian option (The Heidi Pie), if you fancy avoiding meat - although why you would do that, I do not know!

Today's choice was the Matador, which contains beef, chorizo, olives and butter beans. (It must be a good pie as I normally hate olives!). It has well seasoned pastry - not your plain old shortcrust - and was served with a red wine and thyme gravy and classic chips. (As well as the fantastic choice of pie, the only other major choice you have to make when ordering is which gravy and chips and mash, however a safe bet is always chips and red wine gravy!) Uncluttered by such luxuries as vegetables, the only thing that you find on your plate which isn't a pie or a chip is a little bit of parsley and a tomato, which I am sure 90% of people leave on the side (however, for some reason it just wouldn't be the same if it wasn't there as it adds a delicate splash of colour to your plate of brown.)

As well as serving fantastic food, the Raven has a great old-school pub feel (with the tiniest pub door in the world) and serves a great collection of real ale. Although the Raven's Gold is always a safe bet, you can always be guaranteed to play the 'Real Ale Lottery' game where you chose your drink based on the relative comedic value of it's name. It was also one of the first non smoking pubs in Bath, is deaf-friendly and regularly has poetry nights and spoken word nights which help give the place the kind of character which makes a pub truly something special. (Just make sure you arrive nice and early in the winter or on match day as the place fills up and is standing room only these days).

Pros: Great array of Pieminster pies, great selection of ales, great location
Cons: Not cheap, limited menu if you don't like pie, no longer a well-kept secret - can be busy!

OVERALL VERDICT: 9/10