Convivio, Bristol

Official site of Convivio - conviviobristol.co.uk

Official site of Convivio - conviviobristol.co.uk

I am pleased i went in Deco Lounge before it closed down. Deco Lounge was a decent bar that had 10am opening for drinks which i took advantage of. Once inside there there is a long oblong shaped room which runs to the rear,the room is bare boarded,there was a small area to the front which had normal tables and chairs,then there were three steps up to the bar area with the bar on the right side,there were pew seating opposite the bar and normal tables and chairs,the rear area was up three steps and had normal tables and chairs. There were no real ales on the bar,i had a drink of keg Bath Ales Dark Side,which went down very well. I quite liked this place. A great shame that it has now closed down. Pub visited 4/2/2017

I hadn’t realised that this was part of the “Lounge” chain which has a number of bars throughout Bristol and had expected to find a trendy sort of bar without any decent beer. I was pleasantly surprised though and compared to the other Lounges that I’ve been in, this is, to my mind, the best one. OK, so it’s much more of a cafe/bar than your traditional pub, and the beer choice certainly isn’t great but it’s a pleasant, relaxed establishment and certainly an improvement on many of the bars on the nearby strip. Wood features prominently in the interior decor, with a rough wooden floor, partitions and stairs, and even the paintwork is a sandy colour that blends in with it. It’s divided in to three areas with the bar at the front being the most relaxed with a brick fireplace off to the right and a community swap bookcase up above, a pile of papers nearby and a few mirrors and pictures. Up a few steps leads to the bar counter and beyond this is a room with a glass atrium and full of chunky wooden tables which looked a pleasant enough spot, although it did look to be a little more food orientated. The menu was chalked up on boards and looked to be extensive, although I didn’t study it in detail. Brunch and Tapas dishes seemed to feature prominently. As seems to be the vogue in such places, there was a selection of cakes displayed on the bar. The cocktail menu offered an unusual selection of options, and I just had to try the Cherry Bakewell. It was actually quite pleasant, and tasted of, errr, well Cherry Bakewell actually, although some may find the cherry a bit sweet and over powering. Staff seemed friendly enough, although some acknowledgement whilst I was waiting would have been good. Beers on tap were just Toga Man and Bath’s Dark Side porter. The solitary cider was Stowford Press. Overall I really liked this and will return to try the food (and some more cocktails!), but if you’re after a traditional pub with a good beer choice then it’s probably not for you.