The Old Bookshop on North Street is brilliantly cosy and creative, with a rockabilly feel...from…read morethe taxidermy, and old typewriters that adorn the walls to the clock cabinet near the ladies and the music that you'll hear coming from the speakers. As well as full bar, they also sell cocktails which are delicious and well worth checking out...in their own unique jam jar style. The staff are always welcoming, and although you can't reserve tables, getting there early for a spot of dinner is a must. Options include Tapas which starts at £4 a dish, or you could even have a main, such as what I had last night. Chicken fillet burger, with gherkin salsa, coleslaw (which had a hint of dill), and fries for £8.50. It was delicious. Check out the new garden hidden out the back...done out like a boatyard...it's small but cute. Oh and keep an eye out for live bands, they get some gems.

I found myself here at 5.30pm on a Monday evening, after taking some recommendations from some…read morefriends as to a good place to go for a good "pre theatre" watering hole. Given that it was 5.30 on a Monday, I was worried that the place might be a bit empty - however there were a few people already there enjoying a drink and a conversation, and was more or less full by 6.30. Even if it had been empty, I think we would have still been put at ease with the comfortable and easy going atmosphere - a well thought out music playlist, sultry lighting, quirky and interesting decor, and lots of little cubby holes. I found the place quite charming! The selection of drinks was varied, and a small but nice menu of small plates and main courses. I am often reassured when restaurants offer only a small selection of food, as usually this means that the dishes are prepared/cooked fresh, and are usually better quality. We ate a selection of small plates, all of which were very nice. It was a pity that the 'cocktail bar' at the other end of the place was closed as it was a quiet day, but I imagine that it is lovely and lively on Friday or Saturday. Defiantly a place to return to - but perhaps not on a 'school night'!

We booked a table for a Saturday night at 830pm, arrived at about 815pm...the restaurant was packed…read morebut after about 10-ish minutes a table was cleaned and set and we were seated so cannot complain at all since we did arrive early. The lady who seated us as if we wanted water, we ordered a bottle of still for the table. While looking over the menu about 5mins after being seated a waitress came by asked if she could take our drink order, the other lady had clearly forgotten our bottle of still. This waitress apologized and quickly brought our water and cocktails. My margarita was fantastic. Once ordering our food I had a chance to look around, it was fairly busy and you could hear chatter from the tables around us but it was quiet enough you could easily speak to those at your table, I loved the industrial look they had going on lots of wood grain and metal with low warm lights and a single tea light candle on each table, gave the place a relaxed and welcoming vibe. To start we ordered their sourdough with olive oil (delicious but I wish the olive oil was on the side so you could dip it yourself instead of covering the bread in it, you will end up with olive oil on your hands with this dish), iberico and manchego drizzled with honey (the cheese with honey was amazing...creamy nutty slightly sweet) next out was the seared tuna (by far my favorite of the night, you could taste the quality of the tuna it was simple highlighting the natural flavor, so good!) then came the cauliflower manchego (the cauliflower was so good basted in a brown butter!) patata bravas (this was my least favorite dish of the night, the potatoes themselves were good nicely seasoned and crispy but they served them in a sauce that made all the bottom potatoes in the dish soggy and the taste of the sauce was overpowering) our last savory item of the night was the chateaubriand (fantastic, I perfectly cooked, tender and tasty)...to finish off the evening we had flan (sweet custardy traditional) and chocolate mousse (rich creamy, well balanced, served with high quality evoo, sea salt, and thin crispy sourdough). Overall it was a fantastic night out, slightly slow service, but the food more than made up for it. Will absolutely be back again!

Great Tapas Place try the Iberico Pork Chop. Great Atmosphere, cool place to have dinner and chill.read more

I was at the restaurant and there was a hair in the food and the waiter told me to suck it up and…read morestuff it and then when I told him to take it back and fix it and make me a new one, I didn't even ask for a refund. He told me to suck his big juicy balls. And 10 year old daughter my five-year-old son and my 14-year-old daughter and my six-year-old son heard this. I went to get a refund to leave with my wife Lisa but the owner told me you can't get a refund because you paid card and there's some sort of difficulty but then when I was leaving, I saw them refunding one of their biggest customers outrageous

Excellent in every way. The food: small plates (tapas) - varied, creative, high quality -…read moreanchovies in a vinegar base, smoked sardines, iberico cut like steak, cod in a basil sauce, very good cheese selection, especially the blue, etc etc. Big strong cocktails, a dozen different g&t's, young friendly quick service, and a nice spaces w multiple options, outside, in at tables or bar, open to street. Worth multiple visits!

Great food,music,service,ambience, location. I highly recommend this place for tapas and romantic…read moreeveening out.

It seems like Bristol folks really, really like tapas! I saw sooo many tapas and small plate…read morerestaurants on our visit! My friend even spotted "Greek tapas"(!?) (I'm not sure why they didn't just call it mezze!!) Anyway, I guess as there are so many tapas joints to choose from, they have to be decent to stay in business... and I really enjoyed lunch at the New Moon Cafe. They had a selection of tapas that were three plates for £12. We ordered 9 different dishes and shared them between 4, for a lovely (and filling) lunch. I really enjoyed everything, but in particular, I loved the potatoes with chorizo, the glazed shin of beef (oh my goodness this was good), the falafel, and the spinach, mint and feta frittata. I didn't take any photos of the food as I was pretty hungry...and it all looked so yummy that it was half eaten before I even thought of taking the lens cap off my camera. Oops.

I was super excited to check out this place for a spot of lunch, as it's a place I've heard many…read moregood things. I was there during the week on lunchtime with friends, it's got this really lovely laid back cosy style, and was super friendly. I like the fact they have a massive blackboard wall, with lots of menu choices, from tapas to light bites, and have specials too. We headed to the back of the building which almost feels conservatory like. The whole menu looked mouthwatering, I opted for the Home Smoked Trout with cream cheese, scrambled egg and radish salad. All of the flavours really complemented each other, and the scrammed egg was the lightest and fluffiest I've ever tasted. It was an ample portion, and really set me up for the rest of the day. The other thing I should mention is price, you get high quality for a great price. My brunch was priced at £6.90. The perfect price for a lunch deal in my opinion. I shall most certainly be back, and would highly recommend this place.

Poco is the best Tapas Bar around! Excellent food with the best atmosphere created by the staff,…read morethe music, the layout and the people who end up eating there. I think most of their meat is supplied from Pipers Farm, where the animals are treated incredibly well, they are mostly grass-fed and the meat tastes incredible. As someone who doesn't buy a lot of meat anymore, and I hardly eat meat when I eat out because I can't be sure of where the meat has come from, this is a massive plus! Thank you to all the staff for creating a unique experience!

I have been to Brace & Browns a couple of times now, but only for drinks. I have seen other people…read moreeating the tapas and it has always looked amazing. So I decided to go there for lunch today. I was expecting good things but I wasn't expecting an all you can eat tapas menu for £9.95, which made me even more excited! Unfortunately at 2.15pm I only had 45 minutes to order; challenge accepted! The deal is you can order 3 dishes and once you've finished them you can order more. The guy behind the bar kindly said I could order 4 as I didn't have long, but said I could probably squeeze another order in 'if' I needed to. My order and review: Mini Burger: beautifully seasoned and just pink enough in the middle. The homemade burger sauce was delicious and a little bit peppery. Tempura prawns: the batter was perfect and not too greasy. I had 7 prawns and 4 of them were huge. Pork Belly: sadly it was a little undercooked and the fat was a bit wobbly - not what you want! Sweet potato pakora: 5 decent sized pakoras. Not much spice but tons of flavour that lasted for ages. Stick a fork in me: I wont be needing to order more! Considering the same dishes are between £6.50 - 9 on the normal menu, this is fantastic value. Every monday evening they do all you can eat for £12.50 as well. On my last visit we asked the barman if they had any sangria. They didn't have the fruit to make it but he said he could make us White Sangria - Uh, come again? It was around half a bottle of Prosecco, half a bottle of white wine, lemonade and loads of slices and squeezes of fresh orange. I'm not a big Prosecco fan but it was really good; perfect for a spring day in the front courtyard. The courtyard is a lovely place to sit and watch all the cliftonites go by! This is some of the best non spanish tapas I have ever had and with the offers they have, you'll struggle to beat it!

We went here for our Christmas Lunch and I had never heard of it before. Brace & Browns is tucked…read moreaway slightly and you have to look as I drove past it first of all. The inside is a bit dark but still welcoming. Staff are friendly and and helpful. Food served was very nice and fresh and delivered very quickly so you didn't have to wait long. The Drinks are very nice and presented well. Overall a very good experience. Very happy with the quality of food and the preparation.

I always here mixed opinions from people about this place and it seems that people either tend to…read morelove or hate the place. I am actually usually quite a big fan, although on my last visit they actually let me down and served my tables food out pretty cold - when it should have been piping hot! This was disappointing... but I'll get the bad point out of the way first! Right, on to what I love about the place... this particular branch at Cabot is better in my opinion than the one on Park Street, it's really modern and well decorated, and you get a real sense of a Spanish atmosphere from the interior décor and the tables which is pretty cool! I'd probably recommend going for an evening meal as oppose to lunch time though, because the ambience and the lighting is much better. The also have outdoor seating, and being under the closed roof of Cabot you could even sit here when it's raining and stay dry! They have those outdoor heaters too which make it a real option to enjoy sitting outside! As for the food, although it was cold last time, every other time I have visited I have been really pleased. They do a great variety of tapas, and its such a fun thing to share with group of friends! Although the tapas are fairly reasonably priced, be aware that they are fairly small and you are advised to order a good selection, so it can get fairly pricy! I would recommend this branch though, and it's a great place to go for a birthday celebration - they do sangria too to get you into the Spanish drinking mood!

Overall 4 stars. The food is nice and great when it's 50% off!!…read more But a star is knocked off because of the slow service from making out food order to getting it on to our table. It took a very long time and it was only just over half full. So if your going to see a film then make sure you tell them before you sit down and they might get your food out quicker. But again it's great for the price, look out for those offers!

Lovely environs and decor. The menu was fairly classic with some refreshing twists (eg. we had a…read morestandard English breakfast with chorizo beans, a flair that my partner really liked) and all was delish. The service was very attentive but not obtrusive at all.

We first entered the grand old bank that is now Cosy Club last week for breakfast and promised…read moreourselves that we would return for dinner, so this evening I had tapas (£11.50 for three small dishes) that consisted of small Cumberland sausages, chorizo and fish. The other dish was a New York steak ciabatta (with amazing chips). We ordered wine and washed the tasty meal down before following it up with sticky toffee pudding and a decidedly evil peanut butter cheesecake (which comes in a glass). We like it here. It's grand and light, and the food is good and reasonably priced. What would we change? We would upgrade the condiments, so that the ketchup is better, and that authentic maple syrup is used on our pancakes rather than golden syrup, which is thick and doesn't taste of much. We would also have preferred our meals a bit hotter, as we felt like we had to wolf it down before it got cold. But these are small niggles that can be easily fixed, and probably will be at some point if the professionalism of the staff is anything to go by. They're friendly, not over-familiar, not too pushy, and they seem to want to go out of their way to make sure you enjoy Cosy Club. The wine list is short, but will hopefully improve in time. As of writing, it's only been open a couple of weeks. I look forward to being able to buy Champagne by the glass!

Just gorgeous. Its a Spanish tapas restaurant, with wifi and doubles up as a language academy to…read morelearn first class Spanish with the aid of some lovely tutors. They host delectable paella night, dishing up the saffrony rice feast from a huge pan and serving it with a cheeky bottle of Rioja. Inside is cavernous, though tiny (only seats 24 people), the acoustic musicians that frequent pulse their folky and flamenco sounds around the place. The music nights are free entry too - bargain. Right now, I can truly think of nothing better than settling down to some chorizo and calamari tapas, a glass of red and chilled musical entertainment on a Friday evening.

The front window of El Rincon does remind me of a little restaurant down the side streets of…read moreBarcelona. It's colours and decorations draw your eye in and when we walked past the music caught our ears as well. Walking in, we arrived before the main rush, your greeted by a simple bar and relaxed staff each of whom snippets of Spanish can be heard from. We where shown to a table and offered a menu which covered all the tapas dishes we've come to expect of a Spanish menu and decided on a jug of the house Sangria. Service gave us a good amount of time to choose whilst the Sangria helped us along the way, even had a visit from the most relaxed dog we've shared a space with all adding to the ambiance. The dishes we chose were a good range and came pretty much all at once, given the size of table, dish jenga ensued however because we managed to fit it all in. We managed to get a second round in and also spoke to the waitress about the Spanish lessons they offer there. By this time it was really busy with a few locals getting ready for the live band. This place definitely packs all it can in a space. The band was excellent and spontaneous dancing occurred really excellent crowd. All in again really impressed and on a sunny day a serious bit if Spain. Fully visiting again.

This review started off at 4 stars but sadly the service went down hill as the meal progressed so…read morealthough I still think it's a great place my rating reflects this visit. The place does have a great Spanish feel and the staff are all Spanish adding to that authentic vibe. I ordered a small glass of Rioja which was £4.50, that sort of price is expected for good wine but this was a house Rioja and nothing special. A few of our party ordered sangria and were very complimentary about it. We all opted for the £20 deal where you get a variety of tapas followed by deserts and coffee. AMAZING value for the money. As the food started appearing our faces lit up with shear delight! Dish after dish was brought out in quick succession to the point that there was no more room on the table and we had to start filling our plates quickly to allow for more! The food was delicious and plentiful, stand out dishes for me were the Spanish sausage and giant prawns but it was all lovely. At this point I was sure this was going to be a 4 star rating. While we were still eating our mountain of tapas they started clearing our plates, including food that wasn't finished. That was the first thing that annoyed me. We then had a massive wait after the plates were all cleared away and when finally someone did arrive they were clearly having a bad night and really let it show. We were asked whether we wanted to see the desert menu and when we told the waitress we were excepting a selection of deserts as part of our meal deal, she made some snotty remark about how she was only checking as they needed to be prepared. When the deserts came they were nice, but there were 5 between 7 of us to share and my friend explained last time they'd had 4 to share between 4 of them! The food was all delicious but the service let it down. I do love El Porto and think it's great for value for money, but Bravas on whiteladies is still my fav for quality and service.

Bringing some Mediterranean warmth to Bristol city centre, this pub is to be found on the same…read morestretch of waterfront containing Mud Dock and Severn Shed. More expensive than either, it's better than the former but doesn't offer a reason not to spend less at Severn Shed. Tapas and everything else you would expect is to be found on the menu. The food's got heaps of latin flavour, and they've certainly done their best to justify their prices in this respect. Furthermore, the the warm and intimate ambience is just right for this sort of place. However, when classy Severn Shed are hawking five pound lunches a restaurant needs to have something special to charge over the odds. El Puerto doesn't unfortunately, making it somewhere to visit if you've got a hunger pang for something latin but perhaps not otherwise.