Best (and worst) Spoons in Bristol

By Imogen Rogers, Deputy Living Editor

Ever been to Spoons? Of course you have! Here are our verdicts on the place everyone secretly (or not-so secretly) loves!

The V-Shed

Located on the Harbourside in a former transit shed, this is the largest of the city’s Spoons. With beautiful views and outside heaters, the exterior of the V-Shed is by far the best part. Once you step inside you are confronted by underage drinkers, creepy men and a severely understaffed bar. Although this does work in your favour as you will never be able to find the toilets here. If you do, watch out for the V-Shed ghost who lurks around the girls’ toilets in her kimono. Wait, you are still here? Well, then at 10pm the ground floor suddenly turns into a ‘club’. One minute you are eating your bangers and mash and the next thing strobe lights are causing epileptic fits and Ed Sheeran is on repeat.

The Commercial Rooms

The ‘classiest’ of Bristol’s spoons, The Commercial Rooms situated on Corn Street in the city centre has moved away from its historical legacy as the local prostitution haunt. Just out of reach of the regular student areas, The Commercial Rooms are quieter and cleaner than the other Spoons, and you can order a drink without having to shout at the bartender. Give it a try if you are living in the city centre residences or are on your way out to SWX or Mr Wolfs.

Imogen Rogers / Epigram

W.G Grace

A relatively nice Wetherspoons, the W.G Grace is conveniently placed along Whiteladies Road on your walk from Stoke Bishop to the triangle. It has a seated outside area, a board game corner and is pretty clean and modern compared to the others. If you are organising a social, avoid the W.G Grace as the tables are small and so there is little room for big groups of people. But, if you are looking for somewhere to use your freshers’ voucher booklet and claim you £2.69 hangover breakfast then this is the place. The service is fast, and it is quiet enough that you can actually sit down, have a conversation with the person next to you and nurse your headache.

The Berkeley

“Why does this place stink of vomit?” said a mature student to me when entering The Berkeley on Park Street. Good question, but one no one wants to answer. With the familiar sticky tables, awful carpet and poor bar service The Berkeley is ‘the’ Spoons of Bristol. A favourite for students but by far the worst Spoons in Bristol, The Berkeley is the centre of every bar crawl and sports social there is. Trip advisor reviews include ‘Quite grim now’, ‘Not nice’ and ‘Poo’, but I think that just adds to the charm or the place.

Featured image: Imogen Rogers / Epigram