2 Saracen Street,
BATH,
BA1 5BR
(01225) 460868
The ViewBath Review
Large, loud, busy and filled with students, The Pig and Fiddle is one of the most vibrant venues in town.
The Venue
The Pig and Fiddle is a large pub with a sizeable patio, which is arguably the most popular in Bath during the summer. Indoors, it is a split-level all-wood venue which is cosy in the winter with the advantage of also being airy and bright in the summer, thanks to a skylight.
The highlight of the furniture is a multi-tiered seat of the type that you find in small stadiums. The Pig and Fiddle is in fact turns into a sports bar whenever there is something to watch and they support pretty much any sport, as the mixed memorabilia on display confirms.
There are large tables, couches, big booths - basically lots of seating space. On the smaller tables they even have comic pages decorating the table tops, just to make clear that the place has a large student population as a regular crowd. The peculiarity that makes all the students giggle is the pig stuck upside down on the ceiling. You will hear the words Spider Pig very often. If you don’t know what that means, you may be too old to drink here!
The People
It doesn’t really matter in the end if you are a fan of the Simpsons or not, The Pig and Fiddle is a stronghold of the under-thirties, but it is rightfully appreciated by an older crowd as well. It is, after all, a bustling bar selling decently priced food and drink. You can even find the odd group of tourists walking in, they don't seem to mind the noise, and scoff down their meals happily.
It is undeniable that you will enjoy this place the most if you are in your twenties. And if you like places full of noise, people and life, The Pig and Fiddle will suit you down to the ground!
The Food
You can eat all day long at The Pig and Fiddle. Start with a breakfast (£5) and upgrade to a pub grub main for lunch. Dishes include fish and chips (£6.50), gammon with egg and chips, lamb and Guinness pie, and others. They also serve worldwide dishes like Mediterranean vegetable pasta, Mexican chili burrito, baked pasta gratin and others.
Burgers are their speciality. You can choose from beef, veggie medley, chicken and lamb with mint (£6 to £7) and then you pick which flavour you want from the toppings. Try the Killer Coronary - the name is there to warn you - with two burgers, bacon, cheese, one fried egg and onion rings, or the Saucy Cow (sweet chilli sauce, lettuce, blue cheese and red pepper. The Centurion with pesto and salsa is particularly tasty for a vegetarian burger.
For something lighter, they serve salads (£5.75), munchies (£4 – think nachos, salmon and prawn fishcakes, chilli and chips with sour cream), wraps (£4), toasted ciabattas (£5.75), fried potato skins with two toppings (£4.25) and more.
The Drink
The selection of beers is acceptable without being anything special. The ales (£2.95 to £3.20) are better than average with Bath Ales Wild Hare, Tunnel Vision and Bellringer. Within the draught lager they offer the local Butcombe Gold and Blonde, while in bottles (£2.85 to £3.15) you can get Desperados and Corona together with the regular ones. There’s very few wines available as well, priced at an average £12 a bottle.
The Last Word
The food, especially the burger section, is more interesting than the drinks, but at the end of the day it doesn't matter much because during the summer the large terrace is the real attraction and in the wintertime it’s the games and the cosy interior that draws people in. The fact that you can have a killer burger is a bonus.
Pig and Fiddle has been reviewed by 1 users