It has been a part of the community since the 1930s
The Good Intent on Broomhill Road(Image: PAUL GILLIS / Reach PLC)
The first thing I notice when I arrive at The Good Intent is the extraordinary footwear worn by the chap propping up the bar.
It’s the first time I’ve seen the words ‘F***’ and ‘Off’ emblazoned on a pair of sliders and I can’t stop looking at them as I sip my pint.
The rest of the locals perched on bar stools with their cans of Natch cider aren’t wearing anything quite so unusual or distracting.
It’s Friday lunchtime and The Good Intent has a steady trickle of drinkers coming and going.
The only pub in Broomhill if you discount the nearby Beeses riverside bar a two-minute walk away, this large red-brick 1930s pub is very much of the old school and one of a rapidly dying breed.
Originally a Georges Brewery pub, it’s similar in size and design to long-lost interwar Bristol pubs such as the Happy Landings in Hengrove, The Fellowship in Filton and The Friendship in Knowle.
Those three pubs are long gone – two are supermarkets and one is now flats – so The Good Intent is very much a survivor.
The Moore family ran the pub for several years and, more surprisingly perhaps, comedian Mike Reid – best known as Frank Butcher in EastEnders – was once part of the management of the pub.
A large, airy two-bar pub with original wooden parquet floors and high ceilings, there is also a large garden at the back.
As well as a dartboard and pool table, there are several TVs for Sky Sports although on this lunchtime, the entertainment was Now Classic Rock and The Rock 100 of the 80s with Mark Goodier.
The pool table is a popular option at The Good Intent(Image: Bristol Live)
The retro music seemed to be going down well with the regulars who joined in on Simple Minds’ Alive and Kicking and John Parr’s St Elmo’s Fire.
Open from 11am, there are cheap pint deals all day, every day. These include Foster’s for £3.30, Carling at £3.60, Thatchers Gold £4 and Inch’s cider for £3.70.
Also on tap are Doom Bar, Cruzcampo, Stella, Amstel, Guinness and Thatcher’s Haze and Dry, although most people were cracking open cans of fridge-cold Natch on the day I was there.
There used to be a restaurant at the Good Intent but these days sustenance comes in the shape of classic bar snacks like Scampi Fries and Bacon Fries.
In other words, proper snacks to soak up cheap pints in one of the city’s last proper pubs.
The Good Intent, Broomhill Road, Broomhill, Bristol, BS4 4SA.