Elbow room has everything going for it; it's got a well stocked bar, good location and a cool name…read more But I am really not a fan. Not to sound like a Park Street snob but this bar is usually packed with people who wouldn't normally enjoy the quirky retro chic of the other bars up and down the hill. On more than one occasion I've walked in to find people passed out on the floor or crying in a corner - not a great start to any one's evening! I'd recommend coming here during the day when the pool tables are empty and the aforementioned undesireables are yet to come out and play.

I don't like this place. It's halfway up Park Street and gets rammed with a slightly 'Trevory'…read morecrowd. It's half bar, half pool hall, but the bar part isn't big or unique enough to keep you interested and the pool tables are those big American ones and are expensive to hire (you pay at the bar for a certain amount of time, not by the game). Also, despite the name, it's not really big enough, which is pretty ironic, though considering the Stateside focus of this unspectacular place, they probably wouldn't understand this. The only time I've vaguely enjoyed this place is on a Sunday afternoon watching the footie, as it's less crowded then and they have some cheap drinks offers.

This club is a private members club so it doesn't run public club nights or anything, however one…read moreof my friends hired out the place for her 21st birthday and I went along to this and I thought it was a great little venue - perfect for this kind of occasion! The place itself is located in Berkley Square at the top of Park Street, so in a pretty posh place really, and this is reflected through the club... you go down some stone steps to the entrance and then you are met by an interior of classy slickness, and a really cool cocktail bar! All the staff are dressed incredibly smartly which adds to the posh ambience, and you really feel like you are in a top notch place - with brilliant service! At the back of the club there's a cool spiral staircase which leads to an upstairs dining area where they serve food, I've never eaten here personally but I've heard it's great! I have been up to the terrace however, which is pretty cool. I'd probably say this is the smartest venue I've been to in Bristol, and if you are looking for somewhere to hold a special occasion or business do then it's definitely worth a look and I'd give my recommendations!

The square club is a private members club so its not somewhere you just drop in for a quick pint…read more It is a lovely venue and is also home to the Square Gallery. I went to a private view here held by the artist Jim Starr (http://www.jamesstarr.co.uk/) When I visited Jim's work was to be seen throughout the Square Club, it looked amazing on the walls of this elegant Georgian house. It makes for a great gallery space. Outside there is a fantastic Terrace, it is an ode to zen like tranquility with wooden furniture, ambient lighting, out door art and chill-out music filtered through speakers, making it difficult to believe you are actually in the heart of the city. Drinks are however rather pricey but if you are after a nice drink in a refined tranquil atmosphere it is worth it. If you want to come here for an interesting evening (and don't want to become a member), the best thing to do is join The Bristol Explorers who regularly have talks here. The last Bristol explorers drinks evening had a talk by Monty Halls about his six months spent in the Outer Hebrides! So if there is an adventurer in you, definitely look our for the next Bristol Explorers evenings at the Square Club. http://bristolexplorers.com/

I had my wedding reception in Penny Square Barn. What an amazing venue this was for a wedding…read morereception. The barn is owned by the fabulous farmer Bruno and Gill, such wonderful people! I stayed with Bruno and Gill for B&B and one of my fondest memories is having a bottle of vino and a gas with Gill in the kitchen. Honestly Batcombe is just a fantastic place with some amazing friendly, interesting people. Bruno had just put in toilets when we got married here which was fantastic and the barn had not been used all winter so we had a lot of cleaning up to do. Its no frills but it makes it for economic sense as a wedding venue if you have the vision and want to get married in a glorious location. The main barn itself is gorgeously rustic, just put some dichroic floods as a backdrop and it becomes wonderfully atmospheric. We had a friend climb around like a monkey and do an amazing job on lighting and hung long swathes of black fabric over the not so pretty metal door entrance to the barn. In the smaller barn annex we also hung fabric to disguise the galvanised roof. We were able to have a fire going outside and allowed to have fireworks (before 10pm of course) and a flamethrowing fire engine. The villagers were just fantastic and welcoming and Bruno was an absolute star! Not only was he a bell-ringer, but he ran the bar at the village hall and made sure we had enough fuel to run the genny for the weekend. Barn does get cold at night so its worth renting a couple of space heaters. We got a TENS from Mendip council and ran our own bar which was fab. This is a beautiful quiet village so its not the spot to pound music late into the night as noise does carry but its a perfect venue for an event such as a wedding in the summer.

I've mostly been to this bar for birthday parties, spending many a merry hour in the large room…read morebehind the main bar. Would thoroughly recommend the place for functions like this. You get your own big space, clean white walls, a real wood floor, and a garden. I'm afraid I never asked my friends how much it cost or whether there was a minimum spend. The bar itself isn't too shabby either. It's a small, intimate space that's lit with candles, that is close to full with four groups drinking. I've never had to shout to get myself heard and the bar has never been more than two people deep. These characteristics make it a good place for couples, and I imagine they do a roaring trade on valentines day (I JUST realised that there might be something of a theme here, given the name...). So for parties or dates, Halo has what you want.

With plenty to sell it, Halo has a lot to give. It's a sizeable place on Gloucester Road, which…read moreextends further back than you'd expect. The front part, which you come into from the road, is the small room, with a few tables and chairs which soon gets full up, even in the daytime. Not to worry though, as there's a massive room round the back, past the bar, which caters for a whole troop of more people. It's a really good party venue, as you can hire out this back room and have a lot of space to play with. There's also a further room which opens onto the garden (there's two approaches), but this room has more of a formal feel to it with laid out table and chairs. In fact I've never seen this room be properly used in the many times that I've been. The garden is wooden decking affair, with wooden seats and benches an patio heaters to keep you warm in these cold nights. The garden is really quite peaceful, set back from the noisy road. Back to the bar, and there's a good range of beers, both bottled and draught, with a good range of spirits that's utilized on a few cocktail deals - last time I went for the black Russian for £5, which was a damn good choice. Halo's a good mid-Gloucester road catch.

First time and a little disappointing. The food was way over salted, especially the lamb and the…read moregreen beans and I do like my salt so this is saying a lot. Great setting, but food was a little disappointing.

This was one of my Christmas presents, a meal out here. It's an amazing room, with wonderfully high…read moreceilings and stairs like the scene out of the Titanic. We were seated in the bar area and I opted for what I thought was a glass of champagne but it turned out to be a champagne cocktail 'the classic'. Wasn't to my taste! But my mistake. They have no draft beers, but some bottled and a good selection of bottled ciders. We were then seated at a big round table - too big in my opinion cos I felt I needed to shout to everyone on it! The menu looked amazing. As French as you could possibly get so I was in heaven. The waitress then came over and told us half of it they didn't have! Bit naughty not to mention it on the website cos there was a lot missing. I chose the steak tartare to start, It was delicious! Fillet steak minced with pickles and mustard through it, it was quite fiery actually, I think there was quite a bit of Tabasco in it too but it really enhanced the dish. Wasn't sure about the raw egg yolk served on top but I was pleasantly surprised. I opted for a bottle of the Pinot noir which was nice and subtle, the more expensive of the wines at 30ish quid. But that was at the top of the price range on the wine list so quite reasonable really for all the wines ( it helped I wasn't paying too! ). For the main I went for the sirloin steak, served with fries and the best pepper sauce I have EVER tasted. Yes The Yeoman - it beat yours! (can't believe I just said that). I asked for it to be cooked rare but it was slightly overdone. Usually I would have sent it back but it was so tasty I didn't actually need to. Everyone else was thoroughly enjoying theirs too. For pudding I shared a cheese board and again was transported through those pearly white gates. The cheese's where magnific! Melt in your mouth blue, Brie to die for, a lovely smoked one which I thought I wouldn't like. Yum. Yum. YUM! My friends chose the baked Alaska which was flambé'd at the table, it looked amazeballs. We all left stuffed and giddy. It was a real treat, I highly recommend for a extremely pleasant evening out. Thankyou Jane and Keith!

Food, service and atmosphere was great. Staff were so friendly and smiley it was really good.read more

Racks is a high end wine bar, on St Pauls road, between the heart of Clifton Village and the bottom…read moreof Whiteladies Road. It's quite a posh place - expect the real, clichéd Bristol Uni and general Cliftonite crowd in here. I'm probably a fan though - the outside seating area is a really nice place to have a drink, even in the evening as it's serviced by a good amount of patio heaters. You've got to come prepared for Clifton prices though, as a drink is going to be quite far the wrong side of £3. They do a good range of shooters - last time I was here I tried the more lethal concoction of Jagermeister, Goldschlagger and Midori, which went down surprisingly well, and at £3.50 was an adequate, but not cheap, price for a shooter like that. They do have a table service, even if you're just drinking, which is quite helpful and surprising, you really don't expect that in Bristol. Also the staff here seem to be unfailingly attractive - I'm sure the management must have some sort of ploy going on, but I'm sure there's not too many complaints. As well as a main menu of good pub type food, they do a range of set menus, including buffets, BBQs and a more gormet set menu. The food is an excellent quality, and I actually think fairly priced for the standard. The only drawback the menus other than the main are only available to large groups, but the main one is pretty wide ranging. Maybe a bit boring, but I advise the burger, a beer, a bit of sunshine and have a chill in the patio area - it'll do your soul good.

Theatre aside, the kitchen and bar is excellent. Top quality small plates and interesting local…read morebeers.

I've been coming to the old vic for many years so not only is it a great venue but for me it holds…read moremany great memories and is where my love of theatre began. The shows you get to see at the old vic are a far cry from the tacky unoriginal touring shows you get at the Hippodrome. Showcasing its own in house productions you find a lot more edgy and original theatre, so it's a must for all theatre lovers. On this occasion I took my one and half year old son to his first ever theatre production, Magic Elves. The show was in the small theatre downstairs and was perfect for small children and adults alike! He was engaged and mesmerised from the off and I hope this starts a similar love of theatre...

Full of school groups who constantly disrupted the performance. I asked to move but it was…read moreunfortunately sold out. I emailed the hippodrome to complain and felt very brushed off. I was told that they cannot ask children to be quiet due to child protection, however they can sell a ticket which requires me to sit amongst them? It doesn't make sense to me. I saw 4 other members of the general public on the upper circle being affected by the noise, the rest just school groups. I was also told that the book is taught on the curriculum so to basically expect school groups - it isn't my first thought when booking a show but even so it doesn't excuse the disruptions. Won't give me a refund and bought my ticket with an NHS discount to make it affordable for myself. So disappointed with my experience, and zero empathy from the hippodrome. Avoid if you can.

Disaster, Theatre is really tired, the worst I have seen, seating is awful, too many seats for size…read moreof theatre, my wife and I are slim, but it was so tight, could not move our arms, people next to us were complaining about same issue, seats were hard and uncomfortable, show was Mary Poppins, every 10 minutes there was a delay to start, ended up 50 minutes later start! we had to go to catch our coach, spoke to Theatre manager, I asked for refund, she said that would be done by contacting customer services, but they would refund a penny! was a disaster, "NEVER EVER GO THERE AGAIN"