Credit: The Bank Tavern
The Bank Tavern describes itself as “a uniquely inhospitable place”, but everyone who’s anyone wants to be seen here eating on a Sunday. Located in the city centre, close to the city’s finest music venues, shops and restaurants, open fairly late on weekends, and serving real ales and local ciders, it’s our go-to boozer when in town. But it’s best known for its famous Sunday roast.
Unfortunately, I can’t say how good it is because getting a table at The Bank Tavern on a Sunday is almost impossible. In the past, everywhere from the Daily Mail to ITV, LADBible and the Guardian have reported on The Bank Tavern’s notorious four-year waiting list for a Sunday roast. But thankfully, we don’t have to wait that long anymore!
How did the long waiting list start?
In March 2022, the pub stopped taking bookings outright to help clear an ever-growing list – which is when the ‘four-year waiting list’ story originated. But only in 2020 was the waiting list three years long. Of course, COVID probably didn’t help, but even in 2019, Bristol Post referred to its “19-month waiting list.”
A lot of this probably has to do with the fact that the pub was crowned the home of Bristol’s best Sunday Lunch at the Observer Food Monthly Awards in 2019 and the Bristol Good Food Awards in 2018. The fact that The Bank Tavern can only seat 28 people at a time probably doesn’t help either. Thankfully, we won’t have much longer…
When does the Sunday lunch bookings reopen?
Credit: The Bank Tavern
The “world’s longest waiting list” was finally cleared by the end of 2023. The diary reopened in January, but it didn’t take long to fill up again. So to stay on top of bookings, it appears that The Bank Tavern is now introducing a yearly booking system – with Sunday lunch bookings reopening at 10am on January 1, 2025.
The Bank Tavern said:
Fantastic news Bank Tavern fans! We will re-open the booking diary at 10:00am on 1st January 2025 for Sunday lunch bookings. We have taken the decision to release it to you lucky people so you can boast family and friends that you have been fortunate to secure a table at the world renowed Bank Tavern. So get all your friends and family on their laptops, tablets and smartphones as tables are likely to sell out quicker than Glasto & Oasis tickets!
Remember that you will need to enter your card details when making your booking and if you fail to do so your booking will not be confirmed and your reservation will automatically be cancelled within 48 hours! Please check your spam/junk folders for the confirmation email.
What can you expect from The Bank Tavern’s Sunday roast?
Credit: The Bank Tavern
A three-course Sunday roast at The Bank Tavern will set you back £27.95, with two courses costing £24.95. For your main Sunday lunch, you have a choice between 30-day dry-aged rare topside of beef, braised free range pork belly and a vegetable & lentil loaf; all roasts come served with a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, parsnip puree, creamy leeks, cider & balsamic braised shallot and seasonal vegetables and a jug of gravy.
To learn more about The Bank Tavern head here.