The Full Moon

Perfectly situated on the edge of the centre and Stokes Croft, the Full Moon is a venue which takes multi-​use to the extreme. It has a hippy and has a bohemian vibe, and is a proper boozer. There are live DJs on the weekends, many of which are well worth checking out. The outdoor area is a sun trap, and has been known to have markets, and an outdoor burger area, as well as an outdoor bar.
Great all round venue. And, there’s a backpackers here too. Go hang out there… you’ll like it

I have to say im a little bit in love with the Full Moon. Which means I may be somewhat biased in my opinions of this brilliant establishment.
The Full Moon bar and backpackers hostel is very convieniently located next to the St James Barton r-​about making it an ideal starting point for a night out in town or glos rd. It does have to be said though it is a wee bit rough around the edges. If your used to fancy pants cocktail louges with lots of lovely décor and well dressed patrons, you may feel a little uncomfortable here. The décor is definitely shabby chic ! Miss matched chairs and tables inside. Lots of seating and some fine graffiti on the outside.
But the Full Moon aint about the décor and all that jazz. Its about the socialising the music and the atmosphere and this place does it all very well. They also have very friendly bar and door staff who are very easy going ! Come here on a sunny afternoon and grab a table outside and pint of Stowford Press and you’ll be in heaven. Well you’ll be in my heaven anyway, which is ok I promise ! Pint prices are reasonable at 3.50 ish. Food is available. But I have to admit ive only ever had a pizza here. And that was good, but little overpriced and a bit tight portion wise.
However they also have a habit of putting on some fantastic live music and djs an a Saturday evenings and bank holidays. The only reason I dont give this a five star is because the toilets are not the best and could do with a bit of a refurb. But if your the type of person who enjoys a good festival and doesn’t mind a bit of rough you’ll love it here as much as I do…

When someone coined the word ‘Bohemian’ they were probably sat in The Full Moon — or looking at it! But that is why I love it! It’s the first thing you see as you enter Stokes Croft from town and it sets the tone perfectly.
The pub itself is a little rough around the edges: old tables, odd chairs and ripped sofas. It has the smell of beer as you walk in — like a proper pub should! They have a pretty basic bar menu: beers, cider, wines, spirits. Nothing out of the ordinary. And they regularly have bands and DJ’s over the weekend when its gets busy.
During the summer The Full Moon comes into its own. They have 2 outside bars in their massive courtyard, an outside pizza oven and shisha pipes. They also hold one or two huge outdoor ska and reggae parties each year. I’ve been to a couple and they are amazing fun. Such a good atmosphere.
This is as unpretentious as it gets; thats why its so good!

As far as hostels go, this wasn’t the worst one I stayed in-​but it definitely wasn’t the best. The location is great and the atmosphere is fun, but it could have used a lot of maintenance. The staff were helpful and pleasant, which after a tiring day of travel is almost worth it. It’ll do in a pinch for a short term stay.

With a name like that you’d expect a right bunch of werewolves and worshippers of Artemis. No such luck. Still, I made sure I came prepared by gluing some hair I’d sheared from a small dog all over my face and body.
My Bristolian accent is poor at best but luckily it didn’t seem to matter as all the bar staff spoke perfect English. I ordered a pint of real ale and enjoyed the scraps of someone’s discarded plate of cold chips.
They have a nice array of tables that is hard to fault, as well as as this strange green one which was covered in what I can only describe as balls. These two fellows had big sticks and they kept poking the balls and following some sort of turn-​based system. I passed nearly two hours watching this bizarre ritual.
Don’t go expecting full moonlight but don’t blame it on the sunshine either.

This pub and music venue really does have it all. Excellent food, a good selection of beer and cider and loads of all day music events (some provided for free!)
Step into the Full Moon and you will see a mash-​up of all Bristol social groups settling down for some lunch or an after-​work pint. Students mix with wearied festivallers, backpackers, office managers and bankers.
Attend one of the Attic’s ‘All Nations Dance for Jah’ events where reggae pumps out of the courtyard and a bbq provides caribbean smells of chicken, rice, peas and plantain.
Failing that, head in there for a pint and check out the huge multitude of flyers and posters that the Full Moon provides where you can check out the upcoming Bristol nightlife events.
All in all, the Full Moon ticks all the boxes for what you would want from an inner city pub.

Solid location with great staff and services. The bar/​pool hall next door was a great plus.

The Full Moon and Attic Bar had such great promise when it opened. Situated within spitting distance of the bus station in the middle of town, with a tremendous amount of scope to do all kinds of original stuff, it looked like it was set to become a popular regular haunt to many. It’s got everything; a massive bar with seating for food, beautiful enclosed courtyard that’s bigger than centre court at Wimbledon, a separate 200+ capacity dedicated music venue, and an 90 odd bed independent hostel.
Sadly, the project seemed ill-​fated from the beginning. The owners ran into financial problems during the process of converting the buildings into what it is today, leaving no spare cash to invest in events once the place opened. Nevertheless, things seemed to go well for a few months. Inexpensive bands played to massive crowds that spilled out into the courtyard. I even went to one night where people were standing on windowsills outside trying to catch the band. But after the initial surge, numbers began to dwindle away and the place seemed to lose its footing in the process. Since the launch its gone through a series of different identities, but none of them have really stuck. Now that places like Canteen have opened up the road, posing a greater threat to its survival than ever before, I don’t know what will become of the place. I walked past the other day, and there was no-​one in the courtyard, even though it was sunny. Conversely, Canteen was brimming over with people.

A hostel cum pub cum music venue, if I didn’t know any better I’d say The Full Moon & Attic bar had a split personality disorder. In fact, this is a combination that works beautifully. There’s always a travellers buzz to the pub (which serves great value drinks for the record), and the music nights put on are guaranteed an audience.
The Attic bar is host to nights showcasing a wide range of musical genres, from civilised jazz evenings to full on club nights with djs and the whole shebang. It’s a simple, but great space and provides the perfect intimate atmosphere for live music, with plenty of room for dancing on the wilder dj nights.
Whether it’s a quiet drink, a meeting spot for people from all around the world or a danc ing session til the early morning, The Full Moon & Attic Bar has got it sussed.

Even though I have only been to this pub a couple of times I do actually really like it, and I’ve had couple of really good fun evenings here with a group of friends. As well as being a pub, the Full Moon also offers accommodation as a youth hostel and the prices are really cheap so it tends to be quite popular for young people — if you are interested in finding a cheap hotspot to stay near the city centre then it’s worth looking up, as it will only take you ten minutes to walk into town, which isn’t bad at all!
I think that the fact it is a youth hostel adds to the whole ambience of the place, because it can be busy and bustling any night of the week. The staff are really friendly here too, and it’s a great place to pop along to with some friends. I haven’t personally eaten here, but when I went I saw several other tables tucking into what looked like good real pub food which made me pretty hungry! Prices were good too and very reasonable. Full Moon attracts a real variety of customers from young people and students to older people and foreigners, so there’s a real cultural mix going on.
Whenever I have been there has been a great atmosphere, and there’s plenty of seating too so there’s no need to book ahead. I’d definitely recommend it if you fancy somewhere new to go, even if its just for a quick drink, Stokes Croft is a great area to have a look around too with lots of cultural art going on!

This is a huge pub at the bottom of Stokes Croft, just off St James Roundabout. As well as a delightful place to stop in for an after work pint or some decent pub grub, this place is also a youth hostel and has its own small club/​events space across the court yard. Being a local I’ve never had the pleasure of staying but I hear the rates aren’t bad!
The range of drinks here is great and although there are high ceilings and large rooms, the leather sofas and long tables and benches make the space feel cosy. There are window seats too and the staff have been kind enough to put up a few gazebos outside to shelter smokers from the elements.
The food is an average price for pub grub but is tasty — the burgers in particular are very tasty!

The Full Moon and Attic Bar is a unique backpacker hotel, which provides an intimate setting with the community. The Attic Bar is a vibrant building, with bold graffiti art to ensue a welcoming tone to all backpackers from any country. The Full Moon prides itself on providing organic, freshly homemade food from local produce, with a clear and defined purpose to support the community.
The Full Moon boasts a fairly large car park, with an outdoor seating area, accompanied by benches and umbrellas for all weather conditions. Upon entering The Full Moon pub itself, the interior is very earthly and revitalising, with wooden flooring, and wooden décor throughout. The Full Moon really does provide a personal touch as drinkers and diners will see the same faces working behind the bar and in the kitchen.
It is very common to meet many travellers from all over the world, and so is an ideal spot for anyone wanting somewhere to stay for a night, or for locals to interact with interesting individuals from different parts of the world.
The Full Moon provides excellent live music, mostly on Saturdays, which ranges from jazz bands to drum and bass, and can provide the perfect tone for a merry night. The Full Moon is affordable to hire out as a venue, and due to its large size and entertainment options, such as a pool table, The Full Moon is also exceptional for any celebration.
I personally enjoy going to The Full Moon during the day time for some homemade coleslaw, and a vegetarian ciabatta meal, with an ice cold pint of cider, sitting out in the sunshine with some friends, and to hopefully make some new ones. The Full Moon bar attracts almost any kind of person, and is a fantastic hotpot of culture.

Now The Full Moon itself is quite a cool place to hang out on a nigh out in the city, sat right at the bottom of Stokes Croft it is on the gate way to one of the greatest pub crawl roads in the UK. Now, even better is that you can stay here in The Full Moon’s Backpackers Hostel (i’m not suggesting exsisting Bristolians should shell out cash to stay here for the night because i mean just go stay in your bed, this review is for those visiting our city!) where beds start at a very reasonable price of £16:50 pppn. The hostel boasts an array of facilities for it’s guests including:
Self Catering Kitchen
Laundry Facilities
TV Room
Internet Access
Restaurant
Twin Rooms
As well as thos guests can enjoy all the other delights that The Full Moon has to offer as a bar/​pub where you are always likely to find DJs spinning out tunesw or Live Music from an array of Bristol’s thriving music scene, as well as acts from further afield. This is greatly located hostel which I would recommend to any backpacker!

Full Moon is fundamentally a sports pub, dedicated to screening live sports matches and hosting its own snooker and darts tournaments. Possessing a very local vibe, it’s not the friendliest of places. Expect to be eyed up curiously on entering the venue if you’re not one of the regular pack. However, if you are one of life’s ballsier characters, and are looking for cheap drinks above all else, Full Moon is the place for you. You can purchase most lagers here for a modest £2, and other drinks can also be purchased at bargain prices. Karaōke night every Friday is also a popular event here. Again though, you’d be a fool not to expect a helping of drunken animosity.

Bit dodgey. Not because of the pub itself, but who comes in, you do get some rough looking people, but the landlord seems to be able to keep them all in check.
There was Kareoke on Friday’s last time I came in which brought some much needed joy to the place and there are a couple of Plasma screens for watching sports which is pretty good.
The pool table is usually busy, and I didn’t feel comfertable putting money down to play some games when the people on it had finished.
Fairly small.

Formerly the Full Moon and Eclipse, these were two slightly rock orientated establishments which sit right at the ‘town’ end of Cheltenham Road. They’ve since been taken over and converted partly into a hostel (which I, for obvious reasons, haven’t frequented), but it’s a very good spot if you’re visiting the city, being very near the centre.
I also haven’t been in the Attic Bar in its new incarnation (it’s for private hire), but the Full Moon bar is a nice spot. The atmosphere is very relaxed with friendly backpackers milling around, good organic food served all day, and outdoor seating. It’s also a good bet for a midweek pint as by the very nature of the place, there’s generally a livelier atmosphere here then than at your average pub.

As a resident of Bristol I haven’t used their hotel service (just to note, putting ‘backpaker’ and ‘hotel’ doesn’t make sound quite right to me) but I’ll give my view on the food and drink. A visit to the Full Moon should give you a hearty taste of Stokes Croft life.
Cool music, cheaper prices, and a less moneyed studenty crowd than you get elsewhere. Everything is a lot more down to earth than in the city centre. They even throw parties every couple of weeks. A good selection of beers, especially for somewhere not quite so old manish as most real ale pubs are.
The food’s pretty much just straight pub food, with a few organic and homemade offerings thrown in too. Hits the spot, and again a bit cheaper than going up to Gloucester Road or to the centre. The Full Moon’s a decent, unpretentious pub.

The first pub you get to from the bear pit going to Stokes Croft. This looks generally like a good pub for groups of people (which it is) but it has a surprising secret in also having great food and well-​looked after beer.
Their food is organic and very tasty. They aren’t mean on their portion size either. They have six beers on at a time, often Gem, Doom Bar and Deuchers IPA and last time I went they had Golden Hare and Butcombe.
They have a full bar, interestingly some vegan wine, and live jazz on a Monday (8−10pm) which means they get a mixed crowd of friendly crusties, backpackers staying upstairs and those who like food and beer which is not a bad thing. Vibe is always friendly and chatty. I have felt comfortable here as a couple and with a group of about 20 of us trying to organise a new year party whilst eating lunch and having a beer — the staff handled our comings and goings with ease.
Pub is open til 11-​ish (12-​ish on the weekends) and they have the next door Attic Bar for later nights.

The Full Moon’s rising over Stoke’s Croft — a backpacker hotel, a bar, a club, a party venue, and a damned fine attempt at a gastro-​menu — this place has got it all.
For banging tunes — hot new DJs in the Attic Bar — fluro lights and fancy cocktails. For chilled largers and perfectly cooked organic steaks head for the Full Moon pub on the opposite side of the courtyard. Fancy a kip in a comfy (if basic) room for less than forty quid a night? Head upstairs to the hostel.
To top it all — they play host to the Bristol festival, Drum ‘n’ Bass nights and great gigs — officially the hottest venue in the ‘up and coming’ Stokes Croft area right now, and deservedly so, methinks.

The Attic Bar is a very nice venue for bands with very friendly people and a great sound system. I saw local psychedelic noise boys The Heads here and the sound was as good as I have heard in this country. The engineer took lots of trouble to get it right. Everyone at the venue was very helpful and the bar staff were very efficient. A decent selection of booze with the accent on organics on a lot of the stuff — wine particularly.