Bonaparte's at Bristol Temple Meads

[whole diary]

[johnneyw]

Started a new thread as this is a fairly self contained subject and not really, I think, part of the Temple Meads refurb.
Does anyone know what's happening to Bonaparte's?  The sign on the door says they aren't open yet but looking inside, all of the furniture has gone and the bar along with all the fixtures and fittings have been removed.
It's looking quite desolate and abandoned.  Anyone heard if there are any plans for it?

[DaveHarries]

I, for one, hope it will reopen as a bar. I always enjoyed a pint in there after work if I had a bit of a wait for the next train to Sea Mills.

Dave

[RichardB]

I'm sure it will return.  I have to say I was never very impressed by Bonaparte's - I think another operator could run a much more appealing bar there.

Huge competition close by, not least the Wetherspoon but also the King's Head, Barley Mow and Cornubia (and more).  All the same a Bristol Tap (for example) there would be really popular.

I was last in Bristol at the beginning of March last year.  I miss it.

[johnneyw]

It's a great space with a lot of potential, not least it's architecture.  I'm not too concerned who takes it over as long as there still is some form of cafe bar there and the architecture is respected.

[Phantom]

Never seemed to really make the most of its real potential, but with the Knights Templar so close maybe it was always going to struggle
On a personal level ever since asking for a couple of different draft pints and each attempt saw bar flies come out of the pumps I will stick to cans and bottles from in there !!

[froome]

Have to agree with most of the comments above. It is a space with huge potential for an enjoyable bar/cafe/restaurant, but I've usually been disappointed whenever I've ventured into it. It was a good place to escape the cold winds that blow down Temple Meads' platforms, but sadly I found little else to entice me in.

Having just done a quick check on Google, it seems many others felt similarly.

[grahame]

... I've usually been disappointed whenever I've ventured into it ...

Indeed, save for the massive saving grace of meeting wonderful friends in there - many of whom are here on the Coffee Shop. And I look forward to such meetings again ... "don't (actually) know where, don't know when" ... but I hope "when" won't be too long off.

[TonyN]

I have avoided it for many years.
A long time ago I had to intervene when a member of the local low life attempted a run between the tables to snatch a handbag and make a quick exit.

[johnneyw]

A long time ago I had to intervene when a member of the local low life attempted a run between the tables to snatch a handbag and make a quick exit.

Blinkin' flip!  We're you successful in foiling the ne'er-do-well's dastardly deed?

[DaveHarries]

I sent GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) a query earlier on Twitter:

"Hi there. Is the bar on Platform 3 at Bristol TM^‡(resolve) merely shut for a makeover or has it gone permanently? I used to enjoy a pint there after work so I hope it is the former."

I have just (at the time of writing this) received this reply:

"Hi Dave, SSP who have the lease have closed it permanently as a bar sadly, however they will be opening it back up under a new brand. We have not been told yet by Network Rail what brand it will be."

A pity. I guess there is always a chance it might return as a bar though so we will have to wait and see.

Dave

[eightonedee]

SSP who have the lease have closed it permanently as a bar sadly, however they will be opening it back up under a new brand.

Probably a wise decision. As the Emperor Napoleon re-introduced slavery into the French Empire the bar furniture might otherwise end up in the Avon or the Canal Basin.

[Red Squirrel]

SSP who have the lease have closed it permanently as a bar sadly, however they will be opening it back up under a new brand.

Probably a wise decision. As the Emperor Napoleon re-introduced slavery into the French Empire the bar furniture might otherwise end up in the Avon or the Canal Basin.

That made me one wonder how on earth the First Class Refreshment Room came to be called 'Bonaparte's..! Luckily we have Google. It seems that it may have been an attempt at humour; there was a similarly-branded operation at Waterloo Station (geddit?) This is now a coffee franchise. Perhaps the same fate is in store for the First Class Refreshment Room. Maybe they'll have the wit to call it 'Brunel's' when it reopens, and serve coffee so bad it tastes like badly-roasted corn...

[jamestheredengine]

I, for one, hope it will reopen as a bar. I always enjoyed a pint in there after work if I had a bit of a wait for the next train to Sea Mills.

Dave

I rarely venture as far east at Bristol, but my usual approach is to end up drinking in the Cornubia in Temple Street, then making sure I leave 15 minutes before my train (and I'm sure others will walk faster than me). Easiest way of killing 45 minutes in my experience (and others would have jogged on and caught the previous hour's train, no doubt!).

[Red Squirrel]

As an alternative, I can recommend the Barley Mow on Barton Road, just over 500m from Temple Meads.

[Red Squirrel]

Here's how Bonapartes looks now. Let's hope they do it justice in its next incarnation!