Bristol, England - Do any ILXers reside in this fair city?

Things I like about Bristol

- Ashton Court festival
- The Cube
- The Watershed
- walking round the Downs/Clifton
- The Hope and Anchor
- The Bag O' Nails
- The Highbury Vaults
- The Smiles Brewery Tap

I loved Imperial Records till it closed.

If I ever get my act together, I'd think about moving to Southville.

Snnap - I must have bumped into you at the Cube at some point, I'm down there often enough. I even used to work there, before the fire.

The sandwich shop Onimo is referring to is Fantastic Sandwich on Overton Road (and handily just round the corner from me) but is Not As Good As It Used To Be.

Run by Terence Trent D'Arby?

Stuff it up your smug, patronising arse motherfucker.

such a disappointment that Imperial closed.

At the moment I live in Southville but I have lived in Bedminster, Bishopston, Horfield, Staple Hill and Fishponds. I have to say I probably like Southville the best, there are not too many students about though saying that there are maybe a few too many right-on people with enormous buggies who are completely unaware of everything and everybody around them. Fishponds is probably the worst place in Bristol I've lived in though lately I've noticed that even this shithole is being gentrified.

My favourite Bristol things...

- Ashton Court Festival
- flying kites at ashton court/the downs
- Cube Cinema
- Here Shop
- the Albert Inn, Bedminster (RIP)
- Dean Lane Skate Park
- Imperial (RIP)
- Replay, Bedminster (though the one by the bus station used to be the bestest record shop in the world before it closed down)
- Tobacco Factory
- Teohs
- Brewery Tap
- the watershed
- the Heads

- Bucky the band
- Giggsy's Barber Shop, St Michael's Hill
- Al's Tikka Grill (Greasy spoon by day, Curry house in the evening)

Good question. Not right now, but I did for three months in the summer of 2005, and a year during 2003/4. It is the weirdest city on Earth, but I love it. Venue is particularly rad.

Anyone here now?

Yeah, still here in the same place. Re-reading this makes me realise I haven't been to The Cube in maybe 3-4 years.

The Cube is great! In Bristol next weekend for a nostalgic visit to Montpellier.

Is it true the bit along the docks is now the most violent stretch of pavement in Britain? I have fond memories of it as a kid but when I went back last year it appeared to be a mess of overdeveloped luxury flats and gigantic chain pubs.

Oh yeah, it's awful. I hate it if I've gone to a film at the Watershed and am leaving just as people are starting to turn up for Lloyds, Pitcher & Piano etc.

A lot of the violent reputation came from when the FA Cup was still in Cardiff, City fans used to come across knowing 1) police resources were aimed at the final and 2) a lot of fans who couldn't stay in Cardiff would stay in Bristol and go out round the waterfront. 2-3 days of carnage and pitched battles, every year.

Must've missed this thread for the past 5 years. Moved away just last year but could see myself living there again.

I've been here a couple of years now, but mostly working away so w/o as much time to explore and settle as I would've liked. I taken a hine to it though, and it doesn't feel violent & threatening to me at all. Even in town on Saturday night, when there was more 'edge' than I've ever felt here before, it wasn't (imho) as gritty as mankfester on yr average Friday night.

Seems on the whole like a very laid-back town, and I love the hippy-dippy eco-friendly independent-shoppery of the place.

I haven't been to the Cube yet; I'll have to give it a go.

I endorse the Cube and its policy of selling double shots of Wild Turkey for (iirc) £3

hine = shine

Heading to Bristol for the first time at the end of Jan to attend the Keaton/Lloyd/Chase/etc silent film screenings at the Slapstick Festival - what's it like these days?

sunny, houses the colour of neapolitan ice cream. silent cinema the same as it ever was. the keaton programme looks good.

is that festival the thing Paul Merton used to have a hand in and then ended up falling out w/ the programmers or something?

I met a very friendly one-handed cartoonist from there once.

I will be there next weekend. Have one good hook-up who said he can point me around. What shouldn't be missed? A day trip to Bath as well.

i've never been to Bristol, but it sounds like a nice place. we're thinking of moving, a change of scene entirely at some point. any ilxors recommend it?

I LOVED Bristol. I can be pretty snobby about cities, and having lived in NYC for a long time, when I go to other cities I'm usually like "this is neat, can't see living here" and very occasionally I go somewhere where I can imagine living, and Bristol was one of them. Girlfriend blogged about the trip but we never finished writing it. Here's some photos on instagram:

http://instagram.com/p/MOwmzbNkw2/

http://instagram.com/p/MME7htNkyb/

http://instagram.com/p/MME6rvNkya/

http://instagram.com/p/MMZOOFNk-w/

Dewsbury is a very fine place as well, we only murder nauseating middle class hipsters on Wednesdays.

I love Bristol, would happily move there, not just (but not least) because it seems to have retained lots of decent pubs.

I love Bristol, would happily move there

I never thought I'd see the day you would write these words Tim! :)

What are job prospects like? Living costs etc?

lived there for 4yrs in the 90s. Great city. Two world-class arts cinemas within 200m of each other, great local band and arts scene as well as bigger hitting bands on the national/student circuit, chilled out but the large number of students keep it lively. I could certainly live there again.

Living costs wise, it's Southern expensive but not London/Oxford expensive. Clifton and Redlands are the two central desirable areas. Two large universities plus a wing of the BBC and financial and legal services centre of the SW mean there are plenty of jobs.

Moved out last year after it got progressively less like somewhere I wanted to live - been in Bristol and environs since '95. Traffic is murder (in fact, there was a C4 programme on just how bad it is last year) and Bristol is one of the cities that chose to elect a mayor - unfortunately they chose to elect a complete prick who is intent on driving through his personal policies even if councillors and local referenda vote against. Absolutely loved it for the first 10 years, but then noticed I was using the things that were great about it less and less.

Tip: live somewhere you can walk to wherever you want to go. Main routes get fairly locked up in the summer (we used to be able to walk into town faster than the traffic was moving) and there isn't a late bus service very far out of the centre, and even then only on one or two main routes; couple this with expensive taxis and living 5 miles out of the centre of town can easily cost you £25 to get home in a cab.

i live up in the countryside to the north of bristol, but have to commute in to work so can completely concur with the traffic issue.

it's just horrid.

would love to use public transport, but the options for me are virtually non-existent, and would take me over 2 hours to get home, on a good day, which is useless for those of us with school run needs.

Been idly daydreaming of moving to Bristol lately too. Too much history in Oxford, can't deal with London, got family in Devon and west Dorset, both of which would (I thought - not really looked into it) be easier to visit from Bristol.

On the other hand, I value good bus services, because I am lazy can't drive and have intermittent foot/leg problems

To put it in context, we used to live central-ish and work on the outskirts of town (3 miles as the crow flies). Because there was two of us we would drive - cheaper than the buses (which would have been over £6 each per day) and easier than having to change trains (one stop on a fairly regular main line, one stop on a suburban line with trains about an hour apart but prone to cancellation). Because of the way the house was constructed having bikes was out of the question as we couldn't have stored two without effectively giving up a room.

We now live well into the country, close to Hereford and I work in Malvern now giving me about a 30 mile commute. F still works on the outskirts of Bristol, she drives to Severn Tunnel (about 25 miles) and gets the train one stop. We both have comparable, if not faster commutes than we used to.

BUT

Lots of great things about it.

Three great arts venues near each other. Small-mid level bands nearly always come through town and there are a couple of great metal promoters. Two comedy venues south of the river which pull decent names. A few decent restaurants and some bleed-through of hipster London food fads (there's a gourmet hot dog place, for example). Lots of big public events in the summer in town itself, and the countryside isn't very far away when you want to get out.

xpost that's a bit frustrating as i don't drive (as yet)

That just means you have to be more careful where you live, to make sure you're on a main bus route or train line or walk/bike/pedalo to work.

yeah i'll look out for somewhere to store a bike i think

I'm contemplating Bristol as somewhere to move to as well. I've never actually been there which might be an idea before taking this any further.

Sick of London, can't afford to live anywhere around London, wife decided she didn't want to move back to the US after all. At least Bristol is a bit nearer my family. And if there are jobs there that would be a bonus obviously.

Is it feasible to live in a house in Bristol? My wife is completely sick of living in flats and dealing with the noise.

Depends 1) how much you have to spend and 2) how close to Bristol you want to live so how much time you are prepared to give up to Bristol's traffic problems.

Well I am used to living in London so if I can get somewhere in less than half an hour I'd probably consider it super-convenient. But since neither of us have driving licenses it would need to be on a bus route.

I think Bristol's great, have often thought about moving there (though some friends of mine who moved there last year from Amsterdam decided they couldn't hack the place, just couldn't get on with it at all fwiw) (xpost I think it was the congestion they hated most - they kept complaining about fumes!).

We were there a few weeks ago and with London goggles on it felt decidedly affordable, decent terraced houses in perfectly nice areas going for significantly less than a 2-bed flat in Walthamstow would cost you. If your tastes run to giant regency mansions in Clifton Village it might be a different story obv.

decent terraced houses in perfectly nice areas going for significantly less than a 2-bed flat in Walthamstow would cost you

lol was that a coincidence or did you remember from some other thread that I currently live in a 2-bed flat in Walthamstow? (albeit at way below current market rate)

Getting anywhere in less than half an hour is a bit of a stretch - we used to live about a 20 minute walk out of the centre and on a weekend it would probably take the bus about half that time to do the journey. In the summer it was quicker to walk. There are a couple of suburban rail lines but they only have hourly trains which aren't timed to tie up with the main route so don't bank on speedy connections, also Temple Meads not all that handy for town. I can't remember whether there is a night bus service on at the moment (there's been a sporadic one in the past) so expect to walk/taxi home after nights out (NB Bristol taxis v expensive; also Bristol buses pretty expensive and don't sell/allow return tickets during peak travel times).

63% of uk ilx posters live in 2 bed flats in walthamstow

I live in a 2 bed flat in Bristol o.O

Transport is a huge problem here, but if you're fit and bold enough to cycle (it's hilly and busy), that's a good option. Everything else about Bristol is grand, pretty much, and that's coming from a big-city girl.

imo Temple Meads > city centre is a fairly palatable walk but I tend to go everywhere on foot that's at all feasible

I have an interview for a job in Bristol this week.

if the traffic is bad, how are the cycling routes?

bristol is very bike friendly.

i work in the city, but live out in the sticks so have to commute in (there are a handful of very good park-n-ride schemes .. )C

a lot of the local living folks in the office bike in.

Clifton and Redlands are the two central desirable areas.

These look out of our price range tbh. What are other OK areas? Is Totterdown any good?

St Andrews, bits of Bishopston, bits of Montpelier, bits of St Werburghs. South of the river bits of Bedminster and bits of Southville are the routine choices. Hotwells has been 'about to happen' for over 10 years. We looked at Totterdown 15 years ago as an option but there is one main route through it and it's SLOW. I've seen it take 40 minutes to get from the shops at the top to Temple Meads in traffic.

What about Stokes Croft?

Brothels (sorry, massage parlours) and (daytime) trustafarian coffee shops run by people from other parts of Bristol. Used to be the most unpleasant part of walking home for me, highest chance of muggings. I know people who used to take a taxi just to get through it at night.

Kingsdown a better choice than Stokes Croft if you want to live in that area imo.

or Montpelier, it's just up the road from there and has Gloucester Rd in easy reach too.

Aye, I'd rather Montpelier too.

If anyone fancies going to a gig I'm unexpectedly playing Cellar Tapes on Friday with my new project. It will be odd.

got my second interview in a week... my first visit to Bristol, although it's strange to think it could possibly be my home soon.

so it's official - i should be moving here around late august. so much to think about - where to live and how to get costs down without living in squalor being a priority. i'll be working in central brizzle, between temple meads station and cabot circus. ilxor, kinder has kindly sent me a few notes to do with various areas, but if anyone hears of rental accommodations, pref 2-3 bedrooms with at least some sort of outdoor area, hit me up :-) looking forward to discovering a new place and hopefully meeting some brizzlxors in person

So, we've started looking at houses. It appears CJ Hole have a bit of a tight grip on the rental market and drive up prices. Lots of agency fees and deposits and things nowadays - way more than when I started renting ten years ago. I'm wondering if there's a good place to seek out private lets as I'd much prefer an independent landlord (so long as they're not a total asshat)... If anyone's got any tips or knows any honest letters, gimme a shout pls !

We saw a nice one in Totterdown. Is that an okay place? I have a mate in Easton who says it's not bad there either.

Because CJ Hole are also a large estate agent, they've probably done more to drive up the BTL market in Bristol than anybody else. I found our original flat in a small independent letting place on Gloucester Road, which I unhelpfully can't remember the name of but is still there (or was 2 years ago).

Totterdown was always fine as I remembered it but it lives and dies on how congested or otherwise the Wells Road is.

glad i left

congratulations on the job DL !
hope the home hunt goes ok.
shout if you ever fancy a lunch hour meet up.
unfortunately i rarely do the after work thing due to kid kaos, unless there is a gig i want to go to.

Nice one Mark. I didn't realise you lived in Bristol. Having a lovely time circumnavigating the pitfalls of rip off lettings agencies right now. I mean look at this http://thebristolcable.org/2015/07/taking-the-piss-agency-fees-2/

Anyone know of anywhere online I could look for private tenancies or a decent honest agency that doesn't try and charge dozens of hidden fees?

i don't live in bristol ..
i live in the near-by regions of the cotswolds and have to commute into bristol for the job (near st nicks market, so pretty central).
i will ask in the office next week to see if anyone knows of a cool local groove re landlords.

aw thanks! although my suspicion is that there is no such thing as..

Found a house! Signing for it today. Up in Montpelier nr Stokes Croft. Needless to say we're excited.

What part of Montpelier?

not far off gloucester road. bath buildings.

Lovely, we nearly moved into them at one point.

ah nice. it's a really great place. just what we were looking for. bit more expensive than we'd hoped for but having done my sums, not commuting into London each day means I save money anyway.

you're near all the nice cafes and stuff around Picton Street, not to mention Bell's Diner
Boston Tea Party is NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE and it makes me cross

Letting agents are shits round here. We let our flat with one a while ago and they cocked everything up. Just one example, it took about 5 requests to get them to spell my surname correctly.

"s u r p r i s e" right?

we're going with 0cean. they don't seem so bad, but i trust lettings agents about as far as i can throw'em. can't believe how many fees and upfront costs there are in renting these days. shame we even have to use an agency - i found out about the house through a friend whose mum owns the house, but hey ho.

xp very good.

oh hello. I live here now! :-) :-) :-)

what ?!? I thought you had Hitchin written through you like a stick of rock...

a lot of people were surprised.

good luck dog latin!

This may be of interest.

http://www.thevinylfactory.com/vinyl-factory-releases/the-8-best-record-shops-in-bristol/3/

Anyone up for coming to see either Jlin or Colin Stetson in Bristol in the next couple of weeks?

I have never heard of those people and am largely tied down by abject poverty and frogbox crazy separation-anxious dog, but /wave and a belated welcome to brizzle dl

hi Zora!

Massive Attack due to play a big homecoming show in September. Anyone interested?

10 months in, how is the Bristol adventure going?

Yes I would be interested in Massive Attack, but I doubt it's realistic (for me).

I'm loving it mate, gurt lush etc etc... Already made a lot of friends, doing DJ slots and generally getting involved in a lot of stuff. Met up with kinder from ILX once or twice. Still need to meet with MarkE at some point (not forgotten this). Job's a lot better than the one I left in London. Overall it's one of the most positive changes I've made in my life. Frustratingly we have to move house again cos our landlady's selling-up, but that's not til September so hopefully we'll find somewhere just as good. Need to buy soon, but that feels a bit of a way off.

Oh, I'm seeing Kamasi Washington at the Anson Rooms soon too if any Ilxors are about for that.

Last weekend I went to Bristol for the first time since I was kid - me and my partner enjoyed it so much that we've already discussed potetially moving there! We ended up raving to old skool hardcore and jungle in Stokes Croft a crowd approx 15 years younger than us till 5 AM.

Haha, that was the 'Rave On Avon'. We tried checking it out but by 5pm there were amyl-ed up students spilling in and out of every venue so we hung around a bit and then went for a pint. Stokes Croft is anarchic at the best of times, but it was just a little bit too much for me on that occasion. chap, if you revisit let me know.

Will do! Think it would've been a bit much for my old bones too, but we were sort of in holiday mode.

Stokes Croft is just a stone's throw from nice leafy cobbled areas, don't worry :)

I'm looking for beer/brewery/pub recommendations if you have any...?

Follow @marktaylorfood on Twitter - food critic for Bristol's paper who has loads of recommendations on his timeline.

Cheers suzy!

I haven't been paying close attention to craft beer recently because (a) I'm drinking less beer and (b) I get a bit bored by the aggressive happiness of too much of the stuff (I have half a feeling this is becoming an out-of-date view but hey, I'm drinking less beer just now. Also I used to go to Bristol a lot but now I go only very rarely, sadly, os my view's not worth so much.

ANYWAY I really like beer by Moor (who've recently moved to Bristol), I like their Raw in particular; Bristol Beer Factory are VG, I think of them as being particularly strong on stouts; Arbor Ales also always worth at least a taste. People seem to like Wiper and True but I don't recall ever drinking their beer. The Wild Beer Company's from not too far away (somewhere in North Somerset I think) and it's worth looking out for their stuff if you like your combinations experimental.

I don't know about whether there are good craft beer bars in Bristol - I'm sure there are but I think Bristol's blessed with a very high number of surviving nice old-fashioned pubs; this looks pretty useful to me: http://www.camrabristol.org.uk/Files/TavernTrail.pdf though I don't know lots of them so I can't vouch for its quality. If you're interested in old-fashioned boozers then you should definitely have a look in the Kings Head between town and Temple Meads, it's an amazing survival and their "tramcar" snug is (as far as I'm aware) unique.

(The craft beer angle of that post is because I saw you'd posted a similar question on the beer thread fwiw)

the Bag of Nails is a v good old skool Bristol pub imo. if you google it you'll find a bunch of stories from eg Buzzfeed about its USP, which is the several cats who are also there at any one time, but it has a lot to recommend it outside of that

Best craft beer place is Small Bar on King Street, at the Queen Square end. I also used to like Beerd on Cotham Brow.

What sort of place are you after (and any particular area)? Bristol is spoilt for great pubs of all kinds. King St in general is quite fun with lots of ancient pubs then you come out to a few bars on boats. Beerd (not on King st) does pizza and lets you buy 1/3 pints to try.

Beerd is near Highbury Vaults and White Bear (3 and 4 on that tavern trail) btw

Highbury Vaults was probably my favourite old school pub in Bristol. Cotham Porter Stores is nearby and probably the last real old school cider house in town (used to have just a section of wall and a drain outside as the gents, for example).

Love all the Kingsdown pubs and then you've got Crofters Rights etc on Stokes Croft. That's been fairly recently re-done and looks like they've half finished but think that's the intended effect. Has tons of local and guest craft beers/ciders
http://croftersrights.co.uk/tap-list/

Aldo OTM about the Highbury Vaults and Cotham Porter Stalls (though the last time I went to the latter it had been given a lick of paint and wasn't quite the dark brown cider cave I remember from visiting in the 80s. Still excellent though.

Wow, thanks for all the tips everyone. I will report back in a few. Cheers!

hah, I've been to hardly any of these places.

Staying nearby Temple Meads for the odd night or two for the next few weeks. Any nice restaurants to check out?

Also a good vegetarian place if possible

Follow my friend Mark on Twitter or scroll through his tweets.

tx!

Temple Quay often has good street food events but they're during the day I think.
Been recommended Yurt Lush right near Temple meads but not been. I try and ignore the shit name.
Temple Meads seems like it's far out of the way but it's not too much of a trek to Queen's Square, Riverstation (which is v nice) - 12 mins walk from the station according to google - and all around Welshback/ King Street. So loads of places if you don't mind a 15-min walk!

Then there's Casa Mia which is a bit more 'occasion' and the Ostrich pub which is worth stopping by for a drink.

Veggie friends like Souk Kitchen which is in Clifton and Southville and Thali Cafe is always a good bet (also in Southville, Clifton, Montpelier, and other places). Dog latin could probably help on that front, too.

sorry just re-read your post, thought you were looking for convenience but if you don't mind going a bit further there's tons more I could suggest, but probably best to have a look on Bristol247.com or similar.

Thanks - good for a 20 min walk around temple meads btw so I'll try some and let you all know. Feeling violated by what I had tonight. xp = not a problem, quite like more suggestions and can always make the time, especially in summer.

where did you go tonight?!

hotel food.

I'd say St Nick's Market and the area around Corn Street is a good shout for street food and restaurants. Feels like I see a new place every day - especially Asian cuisine.

for value, near the arches on Gloucester Road I have tried Asian Spicy (which despite the generic name is an excellent Indian restaurant) and Affendi, a Lebanese restaurant which we checked out randomly the other day and loved. Both are BYOB which makes for a nice cheap meal.
More expensive is Glassboat on the Welsh Back. As the name suggests, it's on the river and the food is very tasty, Anglo-French. Good if you like steaks and seafood and just the right kind of service.

Cheers.

found this anarchist bookshop today. #adventures

just booked tickets for Simple Things Festival. Prices go up at midnight tonight but they stand at £35 incl booking fee, which looks reasonable to me.

I'm considering going to that, it has a good line up and the Tekklife showcase should be great

The Teklife showcase is one of the main reasons I want to go.

i return to work next week DL if you ever decide to do the lunch hour meet-n-greet thing.
i work tues/wed/thurs.
i work between st nicks and the galleries.
well, that is as long as the crew i work for have not been relocated in my absence - this is not beyond the realms of possibility !
ps. glad to hear things are going well, and hopefully your have managed to sort a new place to dwell out.

hey Mark - shit can you believe it's been a year to the day since I moved here? I must have been busy because it feels like no time at all. I work right near castle park/passage street so let's definitely do that. I'll take it to Facebook

Just a quick update my favourite place is Namaste I think (just found it after one of my many walks around September), really good curries over the week. Good 20-25 mins from the hotel so a bit nearer is Old India. That street is good for pubs and pretty serene too.

Wish I'd made the decision to move here instead of staying in the south east. For one thing I'd be much closer to my family. Maybe one day we'll make the move.

Does anyone have any Bristol record shop recommendations? I lived in Bristol in the Revolver/Imperial/Replay years and I understand things have changed a fair bit!

Any fine(ish) dining tips appreciated, though there's some very good stuff above...

I like Bells Diner a lot (small plates with a Mediterranean kind of feeling, ate so much I nearly exploded and it was all delicious);had a really good modern European meal at Wilson’s on Chandon Road - that’s the closest to fine(ish) of the one’s I’m mentioning here.

The place I was most excited about finding last time we were there (last month) was a wine bar called Bar Buvette, the food offer is really simple but fab and the wine is great and it was a very pleasant place to be.

There was a good fish place in Clifton Village but I can’t remember its name.

nice one, thanks Tim. This article has what looks like some good recommendations, including Bells:
https://www.timeout.com/bristol/restaurants/the-best-restaurants-in-bristol

The fish place in Clifton is called, somewhat predictably, Fishers. I once got kicked under the table for half an hour so I wouldn't bellow NICK FUCKING KNOWLES at Nick Knowles, because he was two tables away.

Casa Mexicana on Redland Road has been the best Mexican outside of London for 30 years now. There are two great South Indians nearby too, Hare Krishna Kitchen on Redland Road and Dev's Kerala Kitchen on Gloucester Road (top of Pigsty Hill). But I suppose none of them are fine(ish).

There's always been a good place on Chandos Road, but I've been away for 5 years so I don't know what it is now. There used to be a good one on Cotham Brow, more or less next door to Cotham Porter Stores but it's probably changed hands or might not even be there now. So I guess I've got nothing.

hah no it's all good, thanks! The other half is vegetarian so South Indian is always a good bet!

If you’re on Twitter, follow Mark Taylor - fantastic food critic repoing for Bristol 24/7 (and an oooold mate of mine).

cheers, spotted that upthread, will take a look now

From that link, Flour & Ash recently got in a twitter fight about substituting mozzarella with rennet. (Long story, I actually thing they're entirely in the right but I have heard things about their attitude from other people so I'm on the fence.) They also did a naked restaurant night so they're kind of a clickbait hipster place.

I went to the first Zazu's Kitchen before it moved (and before the second branch). It was OK, but was a few years ago.

I boycotted Bell's Diner after they refused to fit me in one night when the place was only half full and I told them I'd be quick. Petty, maybe, but you have to have some discriminators otherwise you'd be out all night so they went 15 years without my custom.

I note Pieminster says they've been tarted up in the review, it was basically a hot counter and some seats a few years ago. Everything else is after my time, sorry.

yeah Flour & Ash sounds a bit much I think. Pieminister is fine, but pies are pies aren't they!

any advance on Wanted Records for blowing-cash-on-tat purposes? Friendly Records looks like it might be good...

Everywhere I knew was shut when I left, sorry. I'm from the Revolver/Imperial days too.

I wonder if any of those places on Gloucester Rd which were just bins and bins of tat or huge amounts of unwanted dance records are still there. Probably gone or totally picked over by now

The one on Cheltenham Road is still there (can't remember the name, orange sign?).

I used to go in there (whatever it was called) and desultorily flick through the bins while avoiding studying. I'd probably find good stuff there now if I could go back in time!

Cotham Brow place is Bulrush, meant to be vv good although I've not had a chance to go.

I love Dev's Kerala but it's more like a canteen rather than tablecloths.

Souk Kitchen good for veggies too iirc (I've only been to the Southville one)

I don't really do record shops any more but you're probably thinking of Idle Hands and/or Plastic Wax.

Plastic Wax, that was it! Thanks also for restaurant advice...

Blimey, Plastic Wax.

I have bought so many 7"s over the years thanks to the combination of weekend daytime drinking and Plastic Wax's 20 for a tenner deal.

Also check out the 'Centre for Better Grooves' on Cranbrook Rd, just off Gloucester Rd for a decent collection of funk / soul / jazz and PK music for mountains of drum and bass / hip hop / house etc.

Centre For Better Grooves shut the other week :-/

Bell Diner was definitely magnificent when I went there, but I hear say it went a bit downhill of late, maybe a change in owner or something. Can't speak from experience.

For that sort of thing though, I really enjoyed this place in Clifton http://newmoontapas.co.uk

As for record shops, Idle Hands are a neat little dance specialist with a good and interesting range.
Rough Trade have just opened a very nice branch near the Lanes in town.
Plastic Wax, as people are saying, is great, along with a bunch of other indie places up Gloucester Road

pubs wise I have a list of old haunts from student days as possibilities: Highbury Vaults, Coronation Tap, Cadbury, Hope & Anchor. Anywhere newer that is worth checking out? There are a few suggestions upthread that I have noted.

Cadbury was a haunt of mine but the new owners have tried to spruce it up a bit, which of course meant sacking a bit of the life and soul out of it.
Not sure about those others.
The Bell on Jamaica Street is quite good fun
Stag and Hounds in Old Market is a fairly big pub with a good atmos and live music sometimes
St Werberghs and Easton have a plethora of decent pubs if you can be bothered to venture slightly off the beaten track. The Plough in Easton is especially good
Then there's Gloucester Road of course. A great 'audiophile bar' called Edit where they sell small plates and sometimes showcase full albums on their fancy soundsystem
The Gallimaufry is always popular but good

thanks! I know the Bell of old, always a place to go prior to Blue Mountain/Lakota/Cube etc. (showing my age again no doubt). Edit sounds like a good bet too, I think we'll be doing some hanging out round there

Bell Diner was definitely magnificent when I went there, but I hear say it went a bit downhill of late, maybe a change in owner or something. Can't speak from experience.

I was there last month and it was still very good, in my amateur estimation, which is to say I didn't notice a difference in quality from the previous time I went. It seemed unusually quiet for a Thursday night though.

sometimes happens when places switch owners, bit ropey for a bit and then gets better.

Blue Mountain and Lakota still going strong if you fancy some late-night studenty clubbing vibes. The Cube is a really good arthouse cinema now and always worth a visit.

If anyone's out at the weekend and fancies something a bit mad and different, I'm going to this: https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/#date=2018-04-14&event_id=44042

yeah the Cube was a thing back in the day, I'm happy it's still around. We're also planning to go to the Watershed, which was also a staple of student days and had good food. We'll probably visit the Arnolfini, I should think.

We wound up lunching at the Asian place in the boxparkish place called Wapping Wharf - it was good. I'm normally a bit sniffy about boxparks and similar but this one seemed a cut above, quality -wise. I was also pleased to be able to drop into the Wild Beer Co bar next door, though I imagine that can be irksome if packed.

That looks good, DL; frustratingly I'll be blowing past Bristol on the M5 at least twice this weekend but won't be stopping. TBF I'll have my dear old mum with me and alien punk is probably not her speed.

nice one. yeah I've been to that box place. It's not bad although I can't for the life of me remember what I had.

Watershed is a great cinema, if a little pricey. Not tried the food. Arnolfini definitely worth a visit, especially if there's an exhibition on

The Cube is a great little cinema, went there last friday for the Slits documentary and it was packed. The Cadbury has been completely ruined by the new owners imo, lost all of its charm and coziness. My favourite pub in that side of town is the Duke of York in St. Werbs.

Neil S: the Hope and Anchor has probably changed hands since you were there. I used to go there a fair bit when I lived that side of town some years ago but I've been past and it's been spruced up - not been in, though.

thanks guys, more great stuff today!

Tim: Wapping Wharf will be somewhere to at least have a look at, we'll likely go to SSGB, Science Museum etc.

Will: noted on the Cadbury, that's a pity, I enjoyed the down-at-heel feel, it used to have a really good jukebox too.

Kinder: thanks. One of the attractions of it was the lovely beer garden, which I suppose is still there. The weather is looking good so such a facility might well be a necessity!

that's still there and looking at the website they still have a Ploughman's menu as well a Sunday roasts so probably hasn't changed much at all!

The guys who run the H&A nowadays also run the Volunteer Tavern which is a decent little pub with a lively beer garden in summer and a decent selection of ales.

OT: The title of this thread is a total throwback to when people online felt compelled to speak like medieval courtiers, before the whole 'fedora, milady' stuff happened

another place to go is King Street and Welsh Back which are both chocka with olde fashionedy pubs and various converted barges. Three Brothers Burgers do a hassle-free lunch for a decent price, and if you like strong cider the Apple barge is great

The Old Duke on King St is great for live Jazz

I've been to the Apple fairly recently, it was good fun and notable for vomiting students just outside

If anyone happens to be about on the 11th May, I'm putting on a new wave disco at the Stag & Hounds in Old Market https://www.facebook.com/sciencedisco/

nice to accidentally meet Willl of this board the other day at a mutual friends' birthday party. Ilxors should have a special 77 tattoo branded onto their foreheads so we can recognise each other without a 40 minute preamble.

If any other Brizzlers happen to be about this evening, I'm putting on a little new wave, electro and disco night at the Stag and Hounds: https://www.facebook.com/events/153781205472037/

I'll be back in town for the Flipper and mclusky shows in a couple of weeks, and staying down inbetween.

What's new in Bristol? Haven't really paid attention since the container village opened behind M She'd.

Very disappointed to read that Bar Buvette closed; consoled myself that I'd still be able to drink too much delicious wine at Le Poivrot until I read that that had closed also. Anyone have any preferred places to drink excellent wine by that glass in Bristol, places that are neither loud nor snooty?

Bell's Diner gone too, I note. Small sadnesses.

loads of restaurants seem to be closing right now :(

I recognise it's a long shot but if any of you are in the vicinity of the UWE Bower Ashton campus anytime in the next month, there will be a show of some of my printing / book work in the library there (I'm setting the display up on Friday morning).

I have the privilege of having a wander around Bristol without anything to do and I’m reminded how much I love it here. It’s one of my favourite places in the world.

<3

If I'm in the campus area (not actually too likely but who knows?) I'll pop in!

Here’s a documentary about 20th Century Flicks in Bristol, somewhere I spent large amounts of time in when I was a student in the 90s, renting lots of kung fu and Hong Kong action flicks, as well as “prestige” films. It’s now the “last video shop in the world” apparently. I visited a couple of years ago and they still had my account on file (no fines thankfully)!
https://kottke.org/20/02/the-last-video-store

Yes! Saw that shop when I was in BRL recently and thought wtaf

they gave me a couple of posters, which was really nice of them! must try to get to a screening next time I'm in town.

you can rent it out for private screenings. Still not done it though. I should fix that

I used to about 20 metres away from 20th Century Flicks back when it was in Clifton, and when VHS/DVD rental was a thing. Their 'world cinema' selection was second to none and the staff were always happy to give an opinion or recommendation which was refreshing after years of browsing in faceless Blockbusters.

Also when we lived there the wine bar / club directly below our flat used to have PeeWee Ellis from the JB's playing every few weekends and we could hear him wailing 2 floors below us. This combination of facts made the insufferably posh prickishness of Clifton bearable for the year we lasted before moving back to where normal people live :)

used to *live* ...

I don't think I ever went in to the wine bar, sounds like I should have given it a go!

We never went in either as a: we were the poorest people in Clifton and b: our lounge pretty much sounded like the club once it got going.

Bristolers, I'm putting on a new free "Global Beats" type night at Cosies in St Paul's next week in case anyone's about

https://www.facebook.com/events/745232679486744

Here's where I'm playing on NYE. Really chuffed to be on the outdoor stage for 11.30-1am. just gotta think of an appropriate banger to play at midnight

https://www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/#date=2021-12-31&event_id=70061

Got to be On a Ragga Tip.

I mean, that's a good choice! They've asked me to play "High-life, afrobeat, disco, psychedelic" and indoors it's more bass-oriented stuff (i think they're trying to limit the amount of tear out shit outdoors). I was kind of thinking Angelique Kidjo's version of Once In A Lifetime could work, although I'm sure I could get away with a bit of SL2.