loumc's Qype profile

Funky little bar with original art for sale on the walls, tucked away behind WH Smith in Clifton Village. By day it’s a cafe serving nice coffees and lunches- Mediterranean style sandwiches, salads and mezze are all on offer. By night they mix some great cocktails, and there’s a good variety of unusual bottled beers. There’s a downstairs room which gets packed out, with quite a cool vibe, and there’s a tiny terraced garden out back for the smokers!

Soulless looking Mexican place, the food is unimpressive- it doesn’t feel at all authentic, but then it is a chain. The atmosphere seems to liven up as the night goes on due to the number of large groups enjoying birthdays and work do’s. There’s a decent cocktail menu, which is probably the place’s saving grace. Large jugs of Cuba Libre and Sangria are certainly crowd-pleasers!

Great vibe and a real community feel, this cafe bar adjoins this renowned theatre in Southville. A good meeting place for evening drinks, coffees, cakes and lunches. It’s a shame the food is disappointingly mediocre! Paninis and sandwiches are nothing more than ordinary, although salads fare a bit better- large bowls packed with fresh, zingy ingredients.

Buzzing, huge pub on the Gloucester Road, serving a mixed and friendly crowd. There are always huge queues at the bar on Friday nights but the atmosphere is always good, with people tending to spend the whole night here rather than just stopping in for one. Drinks are reasonable, and they have a really good selection of wine by the glass. The food is typical bar food, but really well done, with the steak sandwich and scampi being particularly popular. Yummy chips too!

Charming old Bristolian place, one of Bristol’s original music venues- it’s covered in jazz posters and live jazz bands regularly pack the place out. The food is typical pub style, my gripe is that they used to do great cheesy chips at lunchtime but seem to have stopped! Like many places in Bristol’s Old Town, it’s great for summer evening drinking. The cobbles of King Street really get buzzing, with drinkers from all the pubs mingling and waiting for nightfall to pile in to the Duke for some jazz!

Good 'old man’ pub on St Michaels Hill, the start of many a pub crawl. It’s friendly with a good mix of students and locals, and despite the location, it seems to be surprisingly quiet on Saturday nights, making it easy to get a seat and a drink! There’s a wide selection of beers, prices are reasonable, and there’s a great little garden out back. The atmosphere is so relaxed and unpretentious, you could be reluctant to leave to continue your pub crawl!

Bring visiting friends here to enjoy the fantastic view over the gorge- which is the raison d’etre of the Avon Gorge. However, don’t expect much else from the place- drinks are pricey and the bar food mediocre. The place does really come into it’s own in the summer however, when you can sip Pimms while admiring beautiful views of the bridge and air balloons taking off at Ashton Court- an archetypal Bristolian sight!

Fantastic olde-world pub turned exclusive cocktail bar tucked away in St Nicks. The décor is great- all plush leather sofas, candlelight and a huge original fireplace (maybe as old as the pub itself which dates back to the 13th century). It’s the perfect setting for savouring one of their expensive but incredible cocktails! The bar staff really know what they are doing, and watching them mix the drinks at the tiny but incredibly well-stocked bar is entertainment in itself. There’s also a huge range of spirits, including rum as the name might suggest, wine and bottled beers. They do coffee and lunch during the day too.

Cosy, quirky cafe tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Park Street. The Cafe is actually part of the Folk House education centre, and as such has a hippy-ish, student-union-in-the-old-days feel. It serves lovely home cooked food; such as soup, quiches and salads, and the menu changes regularly. Fab cakes and coffee are also on offer, making it a refreshing change from the normal chain coffee places.

Another Lounge outpost, Deco Lounge has more homely and chilled out vibe than some of it’s other incarnations. The familiar bar menu does the job well, and the place is packed at lunch times and Sunday brunch. Breakfasts are my favourite thing here, with big full English, veggie brekkies and eggs benedict all more than satisfactory. Board games and Sunday papers complete the cosy vibe, pop in for a coffee and you could end up staying all day!