Hole in the Wall

I’m torn… the location, décor, drinks are all great, but the food is pretty disappointing — as can the service be.
We live really close had a great meal here one day, so came back — and had a crappy meal. Thought we’d give it one more shot and… well…disappointment reigned supreme. Overcooked meat and vegetables, and stuffing that could be used to prop up the wobbly table. Not even that busy, as an excuse.
Come for the beer and the lawn, but plan dinner elsewhere.

The plus points — situated next to Queen Square in the sunshine the garden seating area outside is a great space, friendly and buzzing. The bar staff and indeed waiters are lovely and very accommodating.
The negative — Completely over priced, and lacking quality for food. I tried their crab and prawn cocktail starter — it was £7.95, contained 3 large prawns and a tiny bit of crap meat, the sauce also wasn’t flavoursome. Next was a slow cooked Steak and Black Sheep ale pie for £12.50. Basically a tiny portion of meat with a bit of puff pasty chucked over the top, a few carrots and bit of kale and cabbage mash. The meat was tender, but again flavour and seasoning were missing.
A real shame and at those prices they should really be providing better quality food. Still on a sunny day, a drink outside is always a pleasure.

Well ambience and décor wise this place is decent enough, service was excellent with an OK choice of beers. Given the place was quiet the food was quick but did arrive at separate times so some where halfway through before others started.
There was an unfortunate issue with one of our choices having meant to be tomato and garlic linguine with prawns, crab and chorizo was actually just sweet chilli sauce with spaghetti and some prawns. The other meals were just standard pub food.
In a sunny day for a drink outside I think this place would shine but beyond that really mediocre experience that was quite forgettable.

Nice enough but not quite good enough for the price. This is basically jumped up pub food without the gastro finesse. Not a lot more to say about it really, it’s ok if you just want something to eat but it will never be memorable in your mind

I went here with my parents, we had been walking along the water front and it seemed like the ideal place to quench our thirst. We got a little carried away; 2 hours later and we were still there and several drinks in!
It is a nice traditional pub with a really relaxed atmosphere so it was easy to lose track of time. Especially sitting in the comfy seats, any more booze and I could have fallen asleep!
The Hole in the Wall is lacking in special ales, the only beers they offer are the mainline brands on tap, but the prices are more than reasonable and they had some great deals on wine.
We also got some great advice from the bar tender about good places to eat and visit in Bristol, he gave me some great new places to see and I have lived in Bristol for 6 years!

On a sunny day this smart, modern pub is seriously popular thanks to the big lawn area out at the front, where drinkers can spill out and enjoy the last of the sunshine followed by a balmy evening outdoors.
In the winter, on the other hand, it has less slightly appeal.
The bar staff are generally quite quick and pleasant, and there’s a good atmosphere here on busier nights, –but when it’s quiet there are far more charming city centre pubs in which you could while away an evening.
It’s a perfectly decent place for a drink before a gig over at the nearby Theckla, but I wouldn’t choose to dine here; the food’s okay, but nothing to write home about, and there are so many other rival eating places in this area, from Severnshed to the restaurants along Welsh Back, that is would have to try a lot harder to get me back to eat there again.

I first came here on Black Friday in December for a Christmas dinner with mates. We had to run the gauntlet of a pub packed to the gunnels with really drunk and louty folk hell-​bent on getting leathered. But once we got upstairs a nice little room had been set aside for us and the hassled staff couldn’t have been more pleasant. They do great jugs of wine here which may be why I can’t remember too much about the food, only that some of us were disappointed with the guinea fowl which was served with no seasoning or sauce and just plonked on a plate. But I remember everything else being tasty, although it is not nearly as cosy as its neighbour in Bath. Because of the grassed area outside the Hole does also get really rammed in summer but it’s a nice spot to enjoy afternoon ziddders. I’ve heard they do great piled high family platters of roast of a Sunday too. However, with so many gastro-​pubs in town I think it needs to try a little harder to secure a high standing in the pecking order.

For a while I just nicknamed this place the Hole! We often go to the Hole as its a convenient location to work. A meal ordered here took ages to arrive and the fishcakes ordered my one of my colleagues came back burnt. She sent them back to the kitchen and they appeared to have cut off the burnt bits and then mushed the fishcake back together.
However there is new management since that foodie experience, still it can take an establishment a while to shake off the shackles of poor previous management. I’ve eaten here since that incident and found the food to be ok, not wow, but not bad. Its a fairly pleasant place to come for a meal. I prefer inside to outside. Its nice to have an outside area, there are tables outside but they outside area is so uninspiring, it would be nice if they made something interesting out of the space instead of it just being rickety tables and chairs on a bit of grass. Being a big cheapo, on a nice day, I’d rather just buy something from the off-​license and enjoy cheaper alcohol sitting in Queens Square instead.

A classy gastro pub establishment which is great for a pre-​gig drink if you’re headed to the Thekla (situated opposite). Split over two levels, you’re usually able to find a seat in the Hole in the Wall and they’ve usually got some metal tables and chairs outside on the lawn. It’s pretty much by the river so you’ll get some nice views and as it is situated at a cross roads you can while away your time watching the world go by. They serve the light and refreshing Suffolk Aspall Cider on tap in brandy style glasses, which gives it a little more class. As you’d expect this isn’t the cheapest of pubs but it isn’t too overpriced either. The food is absolutely delicious, especially the puddings to share — £10 of pure bliss in the form of a massive Eton Mess. Yummy. And look out for their special offers which are advertised at the bar.

Goodish pub grub — nothing too adventurous, reasonable VFM and family friendly service. Bit of a drag that you have to queue to order but I guess that’s the basis of the business proposition.
Apparently, RLS wrote «Treasure Island» in a pub that stood on this site (impressive?). Avoid the House White, it was undrinkable. I took mine back and for 15p more had an acceptable glass of Chardonnay.

The Hole in the Wall is modern pub on the edge of Queens Square. They do a good selection of beers and wine, and they serve typical British food. When I visited it was quite quiet and there didn’t seem to be too much atmosphere (good or bad), however it was early evening so the pub may well get busier later on. For those heading to Thekla, this would make a good place to stop for pre-​drinks as its not too expensive and there is enough room for your whole group to sit down and enjoy a couple of drinks.
Unlike a lot of pubs in Bristol there was no leering old men in a dark corner. The place felt light and fresh but I did fell it lacked personality, but in all a pleasant place to spend an evening.

«*@%! The umbrellas broken… oh God, the hole in my shoe’s letting the water in… I’m squelching as I walk!»
These are not good things to hear at the start of a night out. Me and my sister were off to a gig at the Louisiana when the worst weather since Noah’s Ark attacked us from every direction. We got as far as the Hole in the Wall when we had no choice. «Drink?» Drink!
The handsome young barman took one looked at our drenched-​rat-​faces and said. «Hello girls. Can I get you something hot and spicy?» Not the wittiest of chat up lines, I thought. But then I noticed the ‘Winter Pimms’ sign he was pointing too. «Perfect,» we said in unison. We sat ourselves down as the good looking fella bought over two warm Pimms with a cinnamon stick and brown sugar on the side.
I’ve been to the Hole in the Wall many times, and have never been disappointed. Happy staff, quick service and a wide range of drinks makes this one of my favourite spots in town. It gets pretty busy on Friday and Saturday nights so I tend to stay clear, but there’s always a good time to be had here.

We were just about to give up on pub food when we found this place. Having just moved here and having had a few bad experiences right off the bat, this place saved us from the brink of foodie depression.
I ordered some sort of lemon sole dish which was nicely done. A well cooked fish with some fresh, steamed veggies on the side. I don’t recall what my male suitor consumed since I wasn’t even vaguely interested in sharing based on the desirability of my fish.
The interiour of the pub was deceptively large, especially given the name, we almost cruised past it in search of the place more befitting the name. Its all light wood and swedishy inside. But is has a warmth to it and seems clean. It was a slightly rainy weeknight but there was still a good 60% of seats taken. Everyone was eating which is a good sign in itself.
I was happy with the prices and happy with the food and it was a comfy joint. I’ll circle back around to try this one again. It’s already been suggested a few times but we’re determined to try a few more before we fall prey to the repetitive cycle we will undoubtedly form after we get settled.

Just off of Queens Sqaure, this fairly high end pub has a lovely lawn out the front where you can enjoy a pint or two on a sunny day. I don’t think they call it themselves, but I would certainly call it a gastropub, with much of the crowd here coming primarily for the food. The menu is comprehensive, with all the pub staples as well as some dishes you don’t see to often, such as venison steak.
They’ve recently done up the inside, and it feels like they did it with a view to the food side of things. Lots of dining tables, rather than small round pub tables, make it feel like this is somewhere you should get something to eat. There’s more of a drinkers environment outside, though.
Reasonably priced, especially when you consider the slightly exclusive Severn Shed over the road. The Hole in the Wall balances between serving good food in a pleasing environment and being somewhere needlessly flashy and expensive quite well.

The Hole in the Wall is the large pub just off of Queen Square which sits on the roundabout opposite Severnshed and the River Station. The most notable thing about it is the large seated area out the front, though as this looks out onto a roundabout and a road, there are better outdoor options in the near vicinity offering views of the docks.
It’s always looked a tad rundown to me, though it’s worth noting that it’s had a makeover fairly recently and is rather smart inside. The large interior now has a smooth wooden finish with plenty of seating, from high stalls near the bar for after work pinters to larger, lower tables for foodies.
And foodies is what they look to attract now, with an extensive menu of pub classics on offer all day (though I haven’t eaten here for quite some time). Not comfy enough to sit down for more than a pint or two without eating, this is more the sort of place you’d meet your family for a meal on a Sunday afternoon.