Bonzo Lounge, Bristol

Official site of Bonzo Lounge - thelounges.co.uk

A new build pub in Keynsham’s redeveloped civic centre at the end of the High Street, many of the adjacent properties are still empty but this latest outpost in the ever expanding Loungers chain has been trading for a few months now. There is an elevated patio area at the front of the pub with colourful seating. Inside the pub is all one open plan room with something of an industrial feel as is often the case these days with a bare concrete ceiling, exposed cable trays and mostly industrial style lamp fittings, although in contrast there were also a few retro tassled shades. The flooring is wood strip and the floor to ceiling windows on three sides give it a light and airy feel and make the most of the outlook. Paintwork is mostly mustard, and the walls were liberally sprinkled with all sorts of pictures although these are all quite generic rather than anything of local interest. The menu offered the usual selection of dishes which will be immediately familiar to anyone who has frequented any of the chain’s other establishments. Main courses included fishcakes, chilli, risotto or jambalaya and these were mostly around the £9 mark. There were also a number of burgers, tapas and sandwich options, as well as an all day brunch menu. Being there for breakfast I went for a couple of poached eggs with hollandaise sauce (Eggs Benedict in all but name) and this was fairly average. This always seems to be the case and I really must stop going to their outlets for breakfast as I’m invariably disappointed. House-keeping was also a little lacking with all of the menus on our table being dirty and sticky. The solitary beer on tap was Cruiser Atlantic Pale Ale whilst the only cider was Stowford Press. This is really just as much as a cafe/coffee shop as a pub and isn’t likely to be somewhere I’ll rush back to.

Official site of Bonzo Lounge - thelounges.co.uk