A tiny pub’s Sunday lunches are so popular that it is fully booked until November next year– making it, surely, the most sought-after Sunday lunch in Bristol.
The success of the Bank Tavern in the city centre is riding on the food’s consistency and value, says owner Sam Gregory, who confirmed the next time one of his seven tables is free on a Sunday is November 15, 2020.
Mr Gregory said: “I won’t say we are the best, there are other places where you get a better cut of meat but we are excellent for consistency and for value.
“The customer who raved about us six months ago will enjoy the same meal this Sunday. That is the difference between us and other places people visit.”
He added: “The issue we have now, with such a small pub, is the lack of spaces.
“It is frustrating when people ring up, I feel their pain. They question if the booking tool on the website is broken, then they are aghast when I tell them it is not.
“They just don’t believe they will have to wait more than a year for a booking.”
The pub is down a dead-end road, John Street, off Broad Street in the city centre and has just seven tables which, on a Sunday, can only be booked for an hour and a half.
Food is served from noon to 4pm.
Mr Gregory worked at the pub while attending the University of West of England, studying economics and information. And when the former owner left, he got permission to manage it temporarily.
That was 13 years ago, and he has been there ever since.
Since then, the Sunday lunch has changed, starting with a “Cold War attitude” with a big serving of well-cooked food, before serving less food, but making it better quality and locally sourced, said Mr Gregory.
The pub’s Sunday lunch is continually praised by members of a Facebook group called Bristol Sunday Lunch Club . It was also nominated earlier this year in the annual Bristol Good Food Awards.
This Sunday’s pub lunch offers a choice of wild boar, beef, lamb or walnut loaf served with beetroot, carrots, parsnip puree and, of course, a Yorkshire pudding. It costs £9.95.
Mr Gregory is now looking at ways to put more tables in the pub.
He said: “We’re looking at getting smaller tables, anything really to get more people in.”
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