This small bar is right in front of the train station and it's an excellent stop off, especially if you're a sports fan.

The Venue
Sports Bar is part of the Royal Hotel, but unlike other hotel bars it caters to locals more than it does its residents. Its decor, however, is the usual cream dream of a hotel lounge bar and the comfy armchairs, neutral colours and low tables scream bland. It may not have an interesting design and there is only one (large) screen in the room, but it serves its purpose.

The People
When there's not a match on the Sports Bar can be tumbleweed quiet. Its sports bar theme puts off most couples and tourists who are too busy finding historic Bath to bother with a bland hotel sports bar. However, the smattering of outdoor seating makes this an attractive place for an afternoon pint on a sunny day. On its busy days the crowd is, unsurprisingly, mostly men and its close proximity to the train station makes it an ideal stop off for thirsty commuters who don't yet want to go home to eat a microwave meal for one.

The Food
The bar menu, cooked in the hotel's restaurant kitchen, is quite good and offers a decent variety of pub classics. You can get sandwiches and wraps (£3.25 to £6) with fillings like home-baked ham with English mustard, prawn mayonnaise, warm Cajun chicken or Scottish smoked salmon with rocket. Alternatively, you can order a jacket potato (£3.25 to £4) with vegetable curry, extra mature beef chilli and other classic toppings.

If you are looking for a full meal, the options aren’t that many but you are likely to find something you are happy with from a selection including Thai fishcakes, goats cheese bruschetta with sun blushed tomatoes, chef’s pie of the day, pork and apple local Bath sausages, crispy confit of duck salad, terrine of pork, scampi, beef burger and fish and chips (£4.25 to £6.50). Sweet small bites (£1.50 to £4) are also available, such as 1846 Cream Tea (£5) which includes scones, jam, cream and pot of tea.

The Drink
The drink selection is fairly decent and they have a few interesting beers, a decent list of wines and all the necessary spirits. You can get bottles of the excellent Bitburger and Hobgoblin Green Goblin cider, as well as draughts of Hobgoblin Ale, Old Speckled Hen, Green King IPA.

There is more than a dozen wines available and they're all rather classic varieties from the usual countries along with some better quality bottles. The prices go from £10.25 to £22.50 a bottle and the glasses are priced at £4 to £5.60 for a 250ml measure. They also sell Champagne (not very popular here) at £38.50 to £42.20. Double premium spirits, instead, go for £3.80. They also serve coffee, some with liqueurs (£1.50 to £4.50).

The Last Word
The food isn't exactly what the sport crowd craves (where are the chicken wings?) but most people aren't here to eat, they're here to watch the match and the Sports Bar fulfills that need.

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