Mud Dock

Cannot speak highly enough of the guys who helped us absolute novices with getting set-​up and going. Polite, fun, straight-​talking, knowledgable and immensely helpful, the guys were, without exception, terrific. It helps that they are selling great products, but it’s their enthusiasm and willingness to ensure that the customer gets precisely what they need that makes this such a terrific place to come. That they were very welcoming to our hound was just icing on the cake!
The café upstairs is also great — good food, good service, nice setting and reasonable prices. All in all very happy.

If I lived in Bristol, I think I’d come here a fair bit to eat /​work /​admire bikes /​bask in the sun on the outdoor deck (where the wifi works, oh yes).
Down by the docks, this large building isn’t an obvious «there’s a nice café spot here», but if you go past the bike shop and up the stairs you’ll come onto a deck-​terrace, and inside find a big, spacious bright restaurant serving delicious food things.
Luckily for me, gluten-​free options were marked. More luckily, I had a sweet tooth and so had a gooseberry and kiwi mess for lunch. It was reaallllyyy good.
The wifi worked perfectly the whole time we were there, it was nicely buzzing but not overly busy for a Tuesday afternoon. And again, if I lived in Bristol and needed a bike, I’d come here.

Love this place! Beautiful roof top views over bristol. Fantastic smiley and friendly service and great value and very tasty brunch. Fully recommend!

Popped in to look at some bikes and found staff knowledgeable, friendly and keen to oblige without being at all obsequious or overbearing. Their prices seem about right compared with other shops I have visited and they had a reasonable range of bikes to try out and compare but the winning point is the service and advice they provide.
Finally, popped upstairs for a coffee and lovely views around the port. Lovely staff and a good coffee — what more could I have asked for!

This review is just from the perspective of a girl with a laptop, looking for free WiFi and an espresso. Both of those are available here, along with friendly bartender/​waiters and lovely patios with a great view of the Bristol Harbor.
I don’t know about the food, but grab a drink and sit outside, you won’t be sorry!!!

This cool café, upstairs in an old dockside building above the bike shop of the same name, has a pleasant atmosphere and bags of character.
It’s a great place for summer brunch, because there aren’t too many menu choices to overwhelm you in the morning, the coffee’s good, and while the food’s nothing out of this world the outside roof terrace makes it all worthwhile — with great waterside views over a stretch of Bristol harbour.
If you’re heading here primarily to enjoy a drink in a nice building in a top harbourside location, you should be happy with Mud Dock — but if you’re a real foodie, you might be a tad disappointed.
Particularly handy, on the other hand, is the Pay & Display car park right next to Mud Dock — it’s a great place to park if you fancy stopping here for a bite to eat, followed by a stroll around the Harbourside and perhaps on to the Hippodrome, and then up Park Street or Corn Street areas of town.

It’s become a trendy thing to fuse various businesses together. Not many however can claim to have joined a bike shop with a café in holy matrimony.
The reason why it works is because really, there’s not a lot of overlap between the two aside from the odd bike part passing for decoration. Mud Dock the café and Mud Dock the bike shop are undoubtedly two very different animals.
I can’t comment on the bike shop but the food on offer upstairs is acceptable although nothing special and the selection tends to be fairly limited. What really makes Mud Dock worth your hard earned cents however is the light and airy atmosphere for when the weather’s not permitting and the excellent outdoor seating area on a balcony overlooking a pleasant stretch of harbour for the odd day when the sun graces us with its presence.
So come, grab a drink and if you’re hungry snack on a mezze plate, — they’re fine but won’t blow your mind (or tastebuds) — otherwise there are better places to eat along this stretch of the waterfront than Mud Dock.

This bike shop come upmarket café come pub is in an enviable location for any business, commanding amazing views of the harbour and right by a big car park. Its wonderful upstairs terrace is also a real sun-​trap. First and foremost it is a bicycle shop and this business operates out of the bowls of the chunky red-​brick building. They have a great selection of cycles from the classic to the more specialist and the staff are really well-​informed. The bike theme is continued into the restaurant upstairs, with wheels and chains all over the place. I absolutely love the way they have decked it out, with huge windows casting light over the room and a lovely l-​shaped bar. Cocktails here are really reasonably priced and they do great mezzes and tapas. It’s also great for brunch on a Saturday, although far pricier than a greasy spoon. But I think early evening drinks on a summer’s day are where the Mud Dock comes into its own. It has far and away the best outside area of any bars along this drag and a lovely relaxed vibe.

It’s okay, nothing special and over priced.

I love this building. The café upstairs has bags of ambience, with old fashioned bicycles hanging from the ceiling! The food is less marvelous and while the service is friendly and helpful, food is slow in coming, especially if you are in a group. Highly recommend pre-​ordering your meal if a group of you are planning on coming here for lunch. On a fine day, the outdoor area is a real pleasure.
I bought my bike shop from here. Word of advice — don’t email them, they never reply! When I ordered my bike from here, I went in to pick it up and discovered it hadn’t been set aside for me!
My verdict on the Mud Dock — good, but could be great!

Strange concept this. One part of this place is a bike shop (the downstairs part) and the other is a very nice café/​restaurant (the upstairs part). Being close enough to the waterfront to have that waterfront feel, the Mud Dock is a popular haunt during the summer months as it has great views of the water and the harbour side.
The menu changes regularily and is usually very limited, so you’re not going to be spoilt for choice. They do straight forward food, done with a bit of class, which tastes very good but could possibly do with being a pound or two cheaper, as it doesn’t always quite warrant the price tag.
I would probably give it 3 stars if it were a restaurant of it’s own accord. The food is good but too expensice for what it is. It get’s 4 stars because the bike shop is really good and the staff are very friendly.

A review of two halves…
The bike shop downstairs is great, really nice staff, interesting gear and bikes and they have several evenings where you can learn how to maintain your bike whilst drunk. Well there was a lot of wine and I think we pumped up a tyre. Anyway,
Upstairs is a totally different kettle of fish. One lunchtime I had a nice bowl of fried potatoes in front of me and when I asked for some mayonnaise I was told bluntly that the chef didn’t believe in it. Well I do and I’m the customer, this isn’t michelin star food here! We asked that the service charge — included in the bill — was taken off and the waitress (different one to who had served me earlier) agreed without batting an eyelid — or asking us what was wrong. Must be par for the course. Either I’ve mistaken the level they are aiming for here or they have ideas above their station.

The first restaurant (they call themselves a café but I’d say it’s a bit more than that) I’ve known to be connected to a mountain bike shop, mud dock is sophisticated but still laid back. The menu crosses lots of boundaries — apparently they started with a Spanish influence and have meandered across the globe picking up hints of various over countries. The result is best described as contemporary European with traditional British influences.
The location on the docks is what I really like about the place. You get lovely views in an interesting old building, lots of light in the day time and the upstairs of a bike shop is certainly an original place to put a restaurant.
It’s fairly average for price with some good deals (the five pound lunch offer is a steal). Service is included in the price, which always annoys me. Mud Dock is a bit different with pretty high quality food.

I haven’t been to the restaurant upstairs for a while, but can highly recommend the bike shop below stairs. I know very little about mountain bikes other than that I like riding them, so I have had good reason so use their services over the years.
They have always been very helpful — once I was going past and realised my tyre was a bit flat and they happily pumped it up for no charge — but the main attraction is that they do free labour. Essentially, if you pay for the parts from their shop, they will hold onto your bike for an afternoon and do all the dirty work for you free of charge. This is an absolute godsend, especially if you’re as much of a spanner with a screwdriver in hand as I am — and, for that matter, even if you’re not, hey, it’s free!

I have to say, I didn’t experience the same rudeness or poor service as the guy who’s previously reviewed this restaurant. In fact, I found them friendly and attentive without being full-​on, always a bonus if you ask me.
Mud Dock featured in the second series of cool Brizzle teen drama ‘Skins’, but even before Cassie parked her bum on one of its benches, this place exuded cool. Situated right by the water, a few yards from the Thekla, and above a mountain bike shop — the first thing you think is bloody great location and ‘this looks soooo laid back.’ Inside doesn’t disappoint, you climb the spiral metal staircase into the main room, where light shines in through a huge round window and rows and rows of bikes hand over your head like some kind of modern art sculpture.
The last time I ate here, with the parents-​in-​law a couple of weeks ago, I chowed down on calamari with delectable garlic mayo dip, following by one of the many daily specials — sea bass and parma ham and even managed a trio of crème brûlée. The wine list is extensive and compliments the modern, but hearty plates of food. Dining too a while as it was a Friday and ultra-​busy, but the moonlit views over the dock more than make up for the wait.

A very nicely situated restaurant, upstairs above a bike shop, near enough to the waterfront to have that waterfront feel, but round the corner away from the main tourist drag. Plenty of seating inside, and a little bit of slightly uncomfortable outdoor seating which quickly fills up on sunny days. A lot of people find it a great place to chill, but I wish it felt a bit comfier.
The menu changes regularly and is usually very limited, so you’re not going to be spoilt for choice. They do straightforward food, done with a bit of class, which tastes very good but could possibly do with being a pound or two cheaper, as it doesn’t always quite warrant the price tag.
I have to echo mellymel’s too cool for school comment though. The staff definitely seem to get employed based on their hairstyles and fashion sense rather than for their positive attitude or customer service.

A great shop for all sorts of cycling gear, clothing and bicycles. They carry some manufacturers that other cycling shops don’t and are very helpful whether on the phone or in person.
Located near the Arnofini and the Thekla, it’s easy to get to and there is parking in a lot next door. Obviously, there are racks for bicycles too.

I can’t comment on the bike shop because from afar it seems way too sleek for me to even press my nose against the window. But the restaurant/​bar has always been a disappointment. Over the past 5 years I have given it a go on 3 occasions and every time I have come away amazed by the surly service. This seems such a shame considering the food has always been well above average. But whatever enjoyment I can muster from that is swept away by the too cool for school attitude that seems to have been essential criteria for the waiting staff. But I’ll put my hands up and say I haven’t been back for at least a year so apologies to anyone working there now who is cheerful, helpful and approachable. It wasn’t you!

I love this place and the recent, or at least feels like a recent edition of the balcony, offers fantastic views of the waterfront.
The restaurant is lovely and has a really unusal feel to the place. really rustic. The food is lovely and is a great location close to the city centre and if you are keen on bikes this place is your idea of heaven as below the café is a bike shop that is well worth a look if you love all things bike!

The Mud Dock, located on the Waterfront in Bristol is a bizarre mix. Downstairs there is a great bike shop and upstairs there is a bar and restaurant! I prefer the bar and restaurant (the bike shop is good and the staff are friendly and helpful, however, my cycling needs are nowhere near technical enough for this place!) The restaurant upstairs serves some really lovely food and whilst its not particularly cheap is really worth it for a nice dinner. Expect to pay around fifteen pounds for a main meal. They do excellent fish here and a real variety of it too. I’ve sometimes had to wait quite a while for my main meal, that would be my only concern with this place.