Bristol pub’s Sunday lunch so popular it’s booked up until 2023

The Bank Tavern won an award last year for its Sunday roast

(The Bank Tavern (Photograph by Tom Leigh))

The Sunday lunch at a pub in Bristol has proven so popular that it’s fully booked up until 2023.

The Bank Tavern, on John Street in the City Centre, has been around since the 1800s, the establishment states on its website. 

Its Sunday roast features ingredients sourced from local suppliers in the city, offering customers several meaty options, in addition to a vegetarian vegetable and lentil loaf.

On a Sunday, it costs £11.95 for a main meal, £14.95 for two courses and £17.95 for three courses.

In 2019, The Bank Tavern received the award for Best Roast at the Observer Food Monthly Awards, in addition to winning Best Roast at the Bristol Good Food Awards the previous year.

However, anyone who fancies trying the pub’s famous Sunday roast may have to wait at least three years until they are able to – or opt to eat at the pub on another day of the week.

On The Bank Tavern’s website, every Sunday is currently completely booked up until 26 February 2023.

Members of the public interested in checking out the pub’s Sunday roast can only book through the website, rather than over the phone.

Sam Gregory, landlord of The Bank Tavern, spoke to The Independent about how hard the kitchen and front-of-house staff – of which there are nine in total – have been working to ensure business can continue amid the coronavirus pandemic.

He explained that when the pub won the Best Roast award at the Observer Food Monthly Awards, the waiting list for their Sunday lunch was six months. However, this has since extended to several years.

“Sunday dinners have always been an important meal for us. Ironically at the moment, it’s the only day we make any serious money in the kitchen," he said.

Over the past few months, the size of the pub’s tables have had to be reduced, a significant factor in the current three-year waiting list, said Mr Gregory, who has been landlord of the pub for 13 years.

While it may take a while for any new customers to book a Sunday lunch at The Bank Tavern, if anyone who already has a booking has had to cancel due to the pandemic or because they are shielding, the pub will ensure their reservation is honoured at a later date.

“As a business we decided that we would honour every booking that was missed because of Covid, so we’re doing extra sittings now into the evening. We’re offering these places to people that have missed bookings," Mr Gregory said, with kitchen hours from Monday to Saturday remaining 12pm to 4pm.

Mr Gregory added that the pandemic has had “a heartbreaking effect on hospitality”, paying tribute to the “amazing” businesses struggling in the current climate.

“The only day we’re making any money now is Sunday. We’re trying to sustain a business. It’s really not pretty, and the curfew is really, really killing us. There is a darker side to it. These three years worth of bookings don’t guarantee us financial success," The Bank Tavern’s landlord stated.

"The staff have been amazing. The way they’ve responded to whatever curveball we’ve been thrown. They’ll do the extra hours, they’ll do the extra sittings. Everyone knows we’ve got to get through this, and it’s really humbling to have such a fantastic team behind me.”