The Chequers

Walk down Rivers Street towards the city centre and you'll find yourself in one of Bath's better-kept drinking spots. The Chequers has that proper local pub feel—wood-panelled, warm lighting, the kind of place where regulars nod at each other over pints. It's not trying too hard, which is exactly why it works. The sort of venue where you can genuinely relax without worrying you're in someone's Instagram backdrop. They take their beer seriously, the food menu looks proper (not gastropub-trying-too-hard), and there's actual character in the place rather than the sterilised formula you get elsewhere.