Bristol’s innovative living and working development, Paintworks, is home to this New-York-loft-style warehouse filled with Mediterranean food, local art and music. Pleasure-seekers from across Bristol flock to Bath Road to sample Bocabar’s individual vibe and great food. The eatery was given the Best Café award in 2013 and was marked Highly Recommended in the Best Family Friendly category in the 2014 Bristol Good Food Awards. In 2014, Bocabar was given a Taste of the West Gold Award and was a finalist in the Best Casual Diner in the Southwest category.
Bocabar’s high ceilings, exposed red-brick walls, fairy lights, wooden furniture and comfy sofas create a hub for the 700 or so creative bodies on site at Paintworks. The bar and tapas counter dominate the heart of the venue, displaying a selection of local draught beers and ciders, cocktails and wines, while an extensive Bocapizza menu features over 30 different pizzas, as well as monthly pizza specials that utilise local seasonal ingredients. Additional specials boards offer everything from gourmet burgers and warm mezze slates to fish and meat dishes. Breakfast snacks are served every weekday, and a tasty Boca roast is on offer every Sunday. Free-entry live jazz and world music entertains diners on Saturdays and DJs spin some tunes on Fridays. Exhibitions run every six weeks in the art space, so look out for details on the website.
Bijou Bocabar on the Glastonbury Levels, which opened in 2013, serves lunch and evening menus led by locally sourced vegetarian, fish and meat specials, as well as embracing gluten-free and vegan diets. Whilst Bocabar Bristol is much loved for its thin-crust gourmet pizzas, Bocabar Glastonbury boasts an exciting buckwheat gluten-free crêpe menu. The menu includes a hoisin duck crêpe comprising shredded duck leg in a hoisin soy and ginger sauce with Oriental salad, topped with toasted flaked almonds and sticky plum dressing.
At weekends your dining experience can be followed by DJs, bands, dancing and cocktails. Co-owner Paul Eavis links the Bristol music scene with Glastonbury’s, making Bocabar an exciting music venue as well as a relaxed dining destination.
