When I went to attend the London Coffee Festival in April, I added a little visit to Bristol to my trip. The last time I visited this city was in early 2022 when my dear friend Adam got married at a beautiful farmhouse just south of Bristol and covid was still lingering fresh in our memories. At the time, I had the chance to visit BANK, the fantastic restaurant that was started by my other friend Dan O’Regan. During this year’s visit, I connected again with Dan and went to meet him at one of the city’s hottest new coffee bars, Greytone.

While still in London and asking around for tips, everyone I spoke to mentioned Greytone. It had been a while since a place came up that often in conversation and it only made sense to start my exploration of Bristol’s vibrant coffee scene there. I took a cab from the train station to Greytone on a beautiful spring day to meet Dan who was already inside waiting for me.

This lightfilled café in St. Paul’s was founded by Ernest Ho and Charlotte Fong who wanted to offer the people of Bristol a regularly changing selection of fine coffees from the best European roasters. Every coffee is carefully selected and then prepared to perfection and can be paired with one of the many mouthwatering pastries and cakes on offer such as the stunning and lemon cubes or the lush Earl Grey Roll.

Their seasonal menu also includes more expensive Geshas and other experimental lots, which can cost as much as £12 per cup but will be prepared with the utmost attention to detail and care. During my visit I started off with a flat white and when Dan later suggested we also get a filter coffee, I went for an Ecuadorian coffee from my friends at DAK in Amsterdam. Interestingly, Greytone featured a few different Dutch roasters at the time of my visit also including Ripsnorter from Rotterdam.

Though their location is a bit off the beaten track, Greytone has managed to build a loyal following of coffee enthousiasts who regularly rate it 5 out 5 stars. It seems that this elevated café struck a cord with Bristolians who are generally very proud of their vibrant food and drinks scene. I, for one, really enjoyed my experience here and highly recommend this coffee shop to anyone looking for a more refined coffee experience in the city.

Thus, when I heard that he was opening his own place in Bristol, I was eager to visit one day. I had only been to Bristol once before and I loved the city’s beautiful setting and vibrant student community.

Luckily, one of my oldest friends recently got married just an hour south of Bristol and shortly after landing on a sunny Friday morning, my friend Meg and I headed straight into the city to pay Dan a visit at BANK, his impressive café-cum-restaurant in Bristol’s Totterdown neighbourhood.

Bristol is one of those lovely English cities that is built on hills, giving you a spectacular view from many different vantage points. It’s also known for the spectacular Clifton Suspension Bridge, which was and remains a marvel of engineering.

Upon entering BANK, the first thing one sees is a big bar with a white La Marzocco machine. The space has high ceilings and lots of natural light, which makes it welcoming and friendly. Top that off with a hug from the man himself and you’ll feeling right at home.

After sitting down with Dan at one of the large communal tables, I asked him what motivated him to take this step. To this he replied: ‘I wanted to create a business that I would love to visit myself, with all the tasty things that I enjoy. Bristol’s got an amazing coffee and drinks scene. You can get great coffee, cocktails, food and so forth separately but not together. I wanted BANK to be your one-stop-shop for all of the above, basically.”

In its previous life, the building was a bank and then a restaurant with a ghastly interior that Dan was sure to show us to highlight what an incredible transformation they managed to create in the short period of time after signing the lease. His idea was to have a place that you could visit for a morning coffee, a nice lunch or an after work cocktail.

Looking around the punters that day, there was an eclectic mix of designer types, beverage company reps, students and even the local rough lady who comes in every day to use the toilet and then pretends that she wants to order something but never does. “You get all kinds of unique characters here,” Dan said with a friendly shrug.

The food menu is ever-changing and offers lots of delicious sounding and tasting dishes with influences from around the world that head chef Jack Briggs-Horan creates on a regular basis. Think of grilled Hispi cabbage with pomme Mousseline and shitake XO or duck a l’orange with braised Trevino, fermented beetroot and ras al hangout.

Meg and I tucked into a few of them while Dan continued to tell us about the business. I was particularly pleased to see a healthy selection of non-alcoholic cocktails on the menu, something that is sadly still an afterthought in many other places. Most of them are made with Lyre drinks as their base since BANK has a close relationship with this brand.

The head bartender, Horace Buckenham, actually created Britain’s best Mezcal cocktail in 2021 and the drinks at BANK are almost as important as the coffee. Unsurprisingly there is some cross over there too.

Speaking of the latter, Origin is the main supplier for the espresso with a different filter coffee guest roaster every few weeks.

As you gaze around the space, you notice lots of curious details such as the stained-glass windows, the old clock on the wall and a curious artifact from the building’s previous life. It looks like a coffee maker but no one is quite sure what it’s for. There’s even a small library in the main entrance.

While my personal knowledge of the Bristol coffee and food scene is limited, with BANK, the city has gained a truly fantastic address that I surely will try and visit again soon.

Have you been to BANK and if so what did you eat/drink there?