Bambalan, Bristol

Official site of Bambalan - bambalan.co.uk

Official site of Bambalan - bambalan.co.uk

A recent opening at the foot of the Colston Tower, this follows the current trend for cafe/bar type establishments rather than the more traditional pub. Accessed via a rather dark and dingy stairwell, it’s main draw is the large outside roof terrace which is something of a rarity in central Bristol and it offers good views along the centre to the docks. Unusually even this was non-smoking, and the staff soon told one punter who lit up to stub it out. A smaller terrace along the side of the pub also houses a table tennis table. Internally it’s a good sized pub running around the perimeter of the building with the bar counter, loos, etc, in a block in the middle. Decor wise it follows the current vogue for the industrial look with bare concrete walls, exposed cable trays, industrial style lighting, bare copper pipes serving as taps in the loos and so on, although there was some glazed tiling in places as well as further tiling on the floor. Seating was a mixture of booths and basic metal chairs, whilst the L-shaped bar counter housed a selection of cakes and pastries as well as a few pots of herbs. An open kitchen was down at the far end, and although we didn’t inspect the menu, I understand it is of the Mediterranean/tapas genre. Unfortunately there were no real ales on tap, just keg Wild Beer Bibble. This wasn’t really to my taste to be honest, and for some reason is only served in ⅔ pint measures rather than a full pint. There were no draught ciders either, although whether anything was available in bottles, I’m not sure. This is certainly a great spot to sit out in the sun, but other than that I can see little reason to return.