The George at Backwell

Reviews

• PS

  Paul Southgate

  6 days ago
  3.0
  I sort of wanted to like The George. It has all the right ingredients. Old pub. Nice location. Big garden. The sort of place that appears in lifestyle magazines under headings like “Ten Countryside Pubs You Must Visit Before Selling Your London Flat and Starting a Microbrewery.” But somewhere along the way it has fallen victim to a very modern disease: the desperate need to modernise. The garden now sports one of those giant stretch tents that have spread across Britain like an invasive species. The interiors have been tastefully redesigned to within an inch of their life. Everything is stylish. Everything is curated. Everything is beige. And the end result is that the place has accidentally become utterly bland. I arrived on a sunny Friday evening at about 5.30pm, prime pub time. The first thing I encountered was a queue for the bar. Not a pub scrum, which is one of Britain’s great democratic institutions. An actual queue. A line. Like we were waiting to renew our passports. Then came the discovery that there was essentially nothing on draft because, apparently, the gas had gone. Or something. The explanation was vague enough to suggest either a catastrophic technical failure or a hostage situation in the cellar. Whatever the cause, it left bottles as the only option. Ordinarily this wouldn’t be a problem. Open bottle. Hand to customer. Take payment. The process should take roughly the same amount of time as blinking. Yet somehow four people behind the bar managed to turn it into a major logistical exercise. They moved with the urgency of civil servants on a team-building retreat. What exactly they were doing remains one of the great mysteries of modern hospitality. Meanwhile, a surprising number of customers were trying to pay in cash. Which raised another question. Who still pays cash? Apart from children, tourists and people conducting transactions they’d rather not discuss with an accountant. If I worked for HMRC I’d spend less time analysing spreadsheets and more time standing quietly next to pub bars. Anyone paying for three pints and a packet of crisps with a roll of twenties should probably receive a follow-up letter by Monday morning. In the end, The George manages the difficult feat of being both busy and disappointing. It looks like the sort of pub you want to spend an evening in, but once you’re there, you realise you’re standing in a queue drinking bottled beer while wondering where all the character went. A pub can survive bad décor. It can survive mediocre service. It can probably even survive running out of draft beer on a Friday evening. But when a place spends so much effort trying to become something modern and stylish that it forgets how to be a good pub, it’s missed the mark by a mile.
• SD

  Sue Duggan

  Jun 15, 2026
  4.0
  We ordered ploughman’s for lunch on Saturday but found it disappointing. 1 small cube of cheese, ham shredded and put in a ramekin pickled gherkins , chopped tomatoes and a piece of toasted sour dough. There was no pickles so I went and asked for some but was told the pickles were the gerkins. ! You can’t have a ploughman’s without chutney. Come on The George BRING OUT THE BRANSTON.
• MH

  Matthew Hopkins

  Jun 2, 2026
  5.0
  Calamari is one of the best I've had. So good I ordered two portions to make it a main course!
• MB

  Marcus Baker

  May 27, 2026
  4.0
  Wifi lets it down a bit. Requires giving name,address,age,email and phone number to some company. Not something I was willing to do. Bed was soft and room was comfortable. A smart tv or access to hdmi socket would have been nice but probably thats another wifi issue.
• CW

  Claire Williams

  May 14, 2026
  3.0
  Location for airport is spot on Rooms were good Food was good Waiter service horrendous My meal came out which was wrong and was told what I ordered they didn't have then to be they actually did what I asked for Husband couldn't eat his as wanted to wait for mine to come out When it actually came out it was tasty Asked for the bill And was offered no discount Asked for mine to be taken off the bill the young lad said ill take 25% off to which we weren't happy Also 3 things that were on our bill we didn't have but apparently what we did have wasn't on the till to put on the receipt to which we argued about . The lad in the end took my food off we paid and he threw the receipt and said that's for your attitude!!!!! I asked to speak to the manager as other customers were shocked Was told the lad was to scared to come out. ..this was appalling service if this was my restaurant I wouldn't hesitate to take the main off the bill as it would of been mine fault for getting it wrong Defo need customer service training for when there are issues within the service and food Shame really as we would of booked 2 more times as we are flying from Bristol in June and nov but don't want the poor service...

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