Hotel du Vin & Bistro - Bristol

Firstly, our booking through open table had not gone through according to Hotel du Vin & Bistro so we did not have a reservation when we arrived - having made the reservation over a week in advance. Thankfully the staff were helpful and they did have a table. Overall the staff we pleasant and helpful, and it is a beautiful room/setting.

The food was mediocre at best. I was really looking forward to this meal but unfortunately was left disappointed, as was all of our party.

Waiters were great.. we had 2 birthdays and they were looked after amazingly.. little treat cake with happy birthday written on the plate in chocolate.. and a glass of bubbly for them! Made them feel special!
They lit our candles and brought our birthday cakes out.
Disappointed there were no scotch eggs that we seen at the other hotel de vin in Clifton. My husbands favorite!
We had an unfortunate seat looking at the fire exit doors.. but everything else was smashing. Thank you

Lovely place. Excellent food. No record of me having made a reservation through open table but luckily still space. It was a special occasion so very relieved about that.

Pros
Staff: Great
Wine: the only good point, great selection of wines.
Cons
Food: We had Onglet and Vongole pasta, it wasn't sophisticated at all and poor taste.
Venue: The walls are dirty with food stains...and there is barely enough light.

I'd recommend a glass at the bar instead of the restaurant.

Excellent food, nice staff, great ambience

Great food, can’t work out why it’s not on more people’s radar, the Chateaubriand is amazing and good value compared to a lot of steak restaurants in Bristol.

We eat out a lot and enjoy trying all the new and interesting restaurants but always come back here, consistency is hard to achieve in most places but not here. We look forward to our next visit.

Brilliant food, great cocktails and fabulous service. We will definitely go again!

Lovely cosy setting. The ambiance is calm and welcoming, the service is attentive and professional. Excellent food. Happy to return.

Very disappointing.
Meat and fish were overcooked !

We had a table booked for 7pm that we were supposed to leave by 8.30 for the second serving but they were able to make the table available for the whole evening, which meant a relaxed pace. Service was excellent, attentive but definitely not in your face. Food was very good. We had the house white which was pretty good. Not a huge selection for vegetarians but enough to have a couple of choices. Really nice atmosphere on the Sat night we were there. Would be happy to go back

Highly overpriced for what we had.

Much better atmosphere & food quality elsewhere in Bristol.

We had the Roast Guinea Fowl Platter to share and it was just delicious! The tables were a bit too close together and the service could have been more attentive, but the ambiance was good.

Authentic French style cuisine, efficiently served in pleasant surroundings.
An enjoyable evening.

Good honest upmarket bistro style food with a great wine selection and a really nice buzz.

There were some mix ups with one of the meals and a drink (found it really hard to be understood by some of the staff, they didn't seem to follow English very well) but wasn't the end of the world. But then a really obnoxiously loud group turned up and basically ruined the atmosphere for everyone (really foul mouthed too) so we left quite soon after we finished our meals. We weren't the only other people that looked unimpressed with their behaviour so we did comment to the staff, but I don't know if they said anything. I have lived in central Bristol for years yet this was my 1st visit to eat and it definitely didn't live up to much anticipated expectations - I was expecting a refined atmosphere without nasty groups you'd get in Wetherspoons with just a champagne budget. Next time hotel du vin can you ask already very drunk people on arrival to either calm down or leave when other customers comment on it, rather than just keep topping their glasses up..? Id love to come back but this has really put me off.

I enjoyed the ambiance. The wine list was very good. The moules were a very generous portion and the crème brulee was the largest I have ever had....anywhere. All the food was very tasty and the staff attentive.

I have been in this Bistro many times in the past. The menu was not great this time round. However it place was quiet and you could have a conversation without interruptions.

very good special summer menu, and the cheese board and coffee were especially good. Great value for the menu. The Sugar House is very interesting and the dining room quiet.

Waiters were super friendly and the food was well cooked. Highly recommended.

Food was pretty good. Not exactly at the level I expected. Ambiance was great. Service was slow and I was the only one in the place.

Relaxed atmosphere, good food, good wine list and excellent service. Steak and Malbec. Really enjoyable evening. Would thoroughly recommend.

Excellent meal. Very enjoyable. Especially wine list

My husband and I visited this Tuesday for our anniversary. The building and deco were very impressive. Service was good, efficient but not very friendly.
The food was quite average, not worth the price. The dessert was not good at all.
The bill came include 10% service fee, and end up at £95 for two. We are paying for the deco. It is good for special accation, not for everyday.

We were really pleased. Value was great ,service excellent and ambiance great.

We had dinner for eight on a Tuesday before Christmas. The decor and lighting was congenial but the room was too hot and the service was awful. We had to keep trying to attract the attention of the waiters to order drinks, drinks were then forgotten or took an age. We gave up waiting at the end of the meal and ordered whisky in the bar. We could see the bottles and the glasses but the waiter took ages and then filled the tumblers with ice which we had to ask him to remove. If you're spending £500 on a meal, you expect good service and bar staff who actually know how to prepare drinks.

Took my student daughter here as a special treat to go somewhere that students can't afford! BIG disappointment. Despite being a Friday lunchtime restaurant was almost empy and so no real atmosphere to speak of. Placed at a table in the middle of the restaurant and would probably have felt more cozy on the side. Didn't ask to be moved as assumed the other tables would fill up - they didn't. The service was fine, albeit I had to look around a few times to ask for things.......lack of people meant lack of waiters I think. The food - pork belly - was a real disappointment. I know pork is fatty, but usually belly is cooked in such a way that it falls apart and any fat has dropped off. This was not well cooked at all and although I am not a fussy eater I couldn't finish it. I cannot remember what we had as starters and dessert, but all in all for the price it was very disappointing. I think I will go where the students go next time....obviously better value for money! I will not be returning.

The resataurant and meal were what i jave cpme to expect from Hotel di Vin. Geat food, excellence service in a wonderful setting. This place is perfectly suited to couples dining; probably less so for groups. Perhaps that suggestion is selfish of me as it will spoil the ambiance and setting for couples.

Lovely candlelit dining room. Professional service. Top quality French cuisine. Bit pricey if you take advantage of their wine menu.

Lovely place great waiters. But food was on the average side you could get much better in Bristol for a lot less money.The dining room is quite large and open which means when it is full there is a lot of background noise.

I took my boyfriend here for dinner on his birthday. It was fantastic from the service to the food. They were very good at recommending us a suitable wine. Further more as a vegetarian I found the food here superb and full of flavour, at some restaurants I find the vegetarian dishes can be an after thought, but not here! There is nothing I could criticise on, we just wish there was a Hotel du vin in London!

Sunday Roast at Hotel Du Vin never disappoint, the fee is worth it for the starter buffet alone!

We had to wait ages for our food even though it was not that busy. It was almost 2 hours between sitting down and our main course arriving. Perhaps the effect of getting through most of the wine before the food arrived coloured our views but we thought the food was expensive for what it was and no better than a half decent gastro pub. It definitely is not a patch on what it was a few years ago when we last visited.

We had been thinking of eating at the HdV for a while and usually when this happens the establishment is doomed to disappoint. In this case it was the exception that proves the rule. A greeting at the bar and drinks served at a table with a few snacks (nuts and olives) as we checked out the menu. Drinks finished we were called into the restaurant and there enjoyed a very good meal, with service to match. The fish and its batter were perfectly cooked - chips at maybe 85% - not as crisp as we would like. So starters, mains and my favourite Crème Brule were enjoyed and a Tuesday evening meal came to an end.

Good service - nice atmosphere and rather good food - price ok for this quality - no complaints at all!

Lovely meal in a lovely setting. Felt very European. Didn't have it but afternoon tea looked nice.

Booked for the Sunday French table Jazz Brunch for our Wedding Anniversary. First of all, no jazz - apparently the band is elsewhere during August!. The starter soup was beetroot with no alternative (not to our taste); the French table, supposedly overflowing with French fare was disappointing to say the least; the steak & frites was tough but the roast beef was excellent; the tarte tatin was just a soggy apple pie. Recompense at the time, two free coffees. Rectification came latterly from the Manager in response to emailed feedback - a free lunch to show how it is normally done. We look forward to enjoying that (hopefully)! PS - the Provencal Rose was excellent too.

Sublime food. Nice selection of wine by the glass, carafe or bottle. Attentive, but not over solicitous service. Nice atmosphere.
Thoroughly recommend.

The food was very good, although a little too much butter. What was not great was the amateurish service. You may relax in the bar with your drinks and peruse the menu. No menus were provided and we had to ask for them. You may choose an assortment of Nibbles while you do your perusing, however olives and nuts were provided before the drink order was taken. Not much room for nibbles there.

In the restaurant itself (black candles gave it a satanic feel), plates were put down uncertainly or haphazardly, things were offered but not delivered,and there was an over-fawning attitude on behalf of the young student staff (only the Spanish contingent got it right). Realistically, it was about £20 too expensive......but the sole was good.

I have now been a couple of times to Hotel du Vin and Bistro for an evening meal and each time the food has been excellent and the service has been just as good. I would recommend to anyone who wants to celebrate a special occasion or have a romantic night out. If you enjoy a good wine this is also the place to go, the wine list is outstanding and there is someone at hand to explain and match wines to the food you have chosen.

Nice looking place but . . .

Overcrowded table.
Forgetful staff.
Piddling portions
Overpriced.

Seemed to know their stuff about wine but couldn't keep the service quality.

I've eaten here both evening and for Sunday lunch several times now. Love the French market table Sunday lunch time. Extensive wine menu and great food. I had a Sauvignon blanc that was so nice, I would go back just for that. The ambience is 'reassuringly classy' yet comfortable and relaxing. The staff are professional, attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. Disappointingly, on two occasions now, I've booked a table for Sunday lunch through OpenTable only for the restaurant to call me and say that the table has been double booked and ask if I can move the booking time. I'm not sure if the problem is with OpenTable or the restaurant, but this is the only restaurant I've had this problem with. Regretfully, I had to cancel the second time.