If your Xmas doesn’t come with a cosy drinking hole, with warming beverages, decorations strung around the bar and a Christmas tree tucked into the corner, we don’t want to hear about it. The holiday season is all about a festive drink with family, friends or a few work colleagues you don’t find insufferable. We’ll admit it, Bristol can come across a little ‘bah humbug’ at times (and no, we don’t mean the former Bar Humbug on Whiteladies Road). But nothing will get you in the festive spirit faster than these Christmassy bars.
1. Racks
There are usually a few festive bars to be found in Bristol, but this Christmas, Racks is arguably the only proper one still going. Tucked away in the cellars of Bristol’s old wine merchants, beneath The Clifton Hotel, this charming venue even has its very own Ski Lodge and Après Bar. Readymade for Christmas parties, the sports bar-cum-restaurant has transformed into a Winter Wonderland with all the festive trimmings.
This is as close as you’ll get to stepping foot on snowy mountains in Bristol. The Ski Lodge can hold up to 150 guests for your Christmas party, but you’re just as welcome if you’re a small group too. Meanwhile, the Après Bar is like something straight out of a cheesy ‘80s ski comedy – there’s even a ski lift photo booth to dress up for in your retro winter gear. Book a three-course Christmas feast for the whole office, swing by for an A La Carte family meal, or sink a few drinks with mates. Just don’t get too piste!
Racks Bar & Kitchen, The Clifton Hotel, St Paul’s Rd, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1LX
2. Bristol Christmas Market
Where else in Bristol would you expect to find the festive feels? It doesn’t get much more Christmassy than this! Bristol Christmas Market boasts not one, but two festive bars up until Christmas Eve. On one end, you’ll find the Jäger Barn Bar – stocked with German Glühwein, mulled cider boozy hot chocolates – while on the other end is the slightly smaller Alpine Hütte.
Both are open until 10PM every day, but make sure to head to the Jäger Barn Bar from Thursdays to Sundays, when you’ll be to a variety of local performers. Plus, the private Christmas Iglus and Ski Gondolas have also returned to the Christmas Market for a winter’s break from Bristol.
While here, you can also peruse the offerings of over 35 unique festive stalls selling handmade gifts, festive treats, and unique crafts. A third festive bar will also pop up at Bristol’s Castle Park from Thursday, December 5, with the launch of the brand-new Christmas Village outside St Peter’s Church.
Bristol Christmas Market, 69 Broadmead, Bristol BS1 3DX
3. The Christmas Steps
Has The Christmas Steps got anything to do with the holidays? No, unfortunately. It’s believed the name is a bastardisation of Knifesmith Street. But you can’t escape the fact that this pub is literally called The Christmas Steps. I popped in the other day too and they had a Christmas tree up, which is good enough for me.
This cosy historic pub, which even has its own fireplace, is lit up with folksy, low-light decorations, whose real ale and pub classics also help keep the chill out of our bones. The traditional 16th-century boozer has a special Christmas menu serving everything from pigeon pie, roast turkey, mushroom wellington and Christmas pudding. Plus, outdoor heaters are in place for colder evenings.
The Christmas Steps, 2 Christmas Steps, Bristol BS1 5BS
4. Apres Bar Bristol
The Apres Bar at the Vintage Winter Wonderland is the perfect festive setting. Serving Butcombe beer, Thatcher’s Gold and warming mugs of mulled wine and cider – plus, winter cocktails too – head down to Millenium Square a Christmassy retreat on the water’s edge. Warm up in the brand-new undercover seating area, while the kids (and big kids) play on traditional fairground rides.
5. The Lost & Found
Even from the outside, it’s hard not to be taken in by the festive feeling at The Lost & Found. Large windows reveal a bonanza of Christmas decorations, trees and lights inside the botanical cocktail bar. Be it bottomless bubbles or a seasonal menu, The Lost & Found has something unique all year round, but it pulls out all the stops during the holidays.
Tucked away off Bristol’s Clifton Triangle, it’s become a festive wonderland and one of our bars of choice this Christmas. Those also after a little magic will find a festive menu for everything from a work party to an intimate family celebration. There’s even a festive buffet with everything from a sprout Caesar salad to garlic-roasted potatoes, pigs in blankets, and brie and cranberry mac ‘n’ cheese. Or just skip the food for Christmassy cocktails…
The Lost & Found, 85 Queens Rd, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1QS
6. Flight Club
Dust off those Christmas jumpers and sharpen your hand-to-eye coordination. Flight Club is the high-adrenaline, activity bar that’s doing the festive season correctly – and is ideal for a heated game of darts with a work colleague after some Christmas drinks. Not only is it serving festive tipples (like a Red Velvet Martini, Mistletoe and Pear, or a classic Mulled Wine), but every weekend in December, it’s decking the halls for a festive brunch filled with prosecco, bottomless pizza and, of course, darts.
Flight Club, 41 Corn St, Bristol BS1 1HT
7. Brozen Bar
You might argue this doesn’t belong on a list of festive bars in Bristol. But you’re not writing the list, I am, and I think it’s very festive, or at the very least ‘wintery’. Brozen Bar is unique for its frozen cocktails – using liquid nitrogen to add a frosty twist to our favourite drinks, alongside some new creations.
Brozen Bar, 43 St Nicholas St, Bristol BS1 1TP
8. BocaBar
You’ll find two of these Latin-inspired bars in Bristol, which both famously embrace the festive traditions this time of year. Known for Brazilian-style pizzas and live music, both locations have been festive’d-up. Surrounded by chandelier pompoms, fairy and festoon lights, tuck into seasonal cocktails, a special festive pizza and a range of Christmas bites.
BocaBar, The Paintworks, Bath Rd, Paintworks, Arno’s Vale, Bristol BS4 3EH
Finzels Reach, Fermentation, 1 Hawkins Ln, Bristol BS1 6JQ