Finzels Reach, which is set to become one of Bristol’s most exciting new social hotspots, will be home to independent venue Bocabar’s third restaurant and bar.
Bocabar, a Bristol favourite that is well-known for its Paintworks-based site, will be bringing breakfast, lunch and dinner, including a menu of 25 different stone-baked pizzas, gourmet burgers, sharing mezze plates and daily specials focusing on small, local suppliers and seasonal ingredients, to Finzels Reach.
Open seven days a week, Bocabar is set to be a busy social, drinking and dining hub. The inside will have an eclectic feel, combining a vintage and rustic look with a little bit of luxury. Expect velvet drapes in the doorways, vintage lamps and reclaimed wood and copper features. There will also be an ample, part-covered outside seating area, with 70 seat covers, accessed through bi-folding doors from the main restaurant and bar.
From cocktails to specialist gins, and from local craft beers to wines, Bocabar will offer something for everyone, catering for the growing number of office workers and residents who now work and live in the area, as well as those coming from across the city to relax in this new destination along the Floating Harbour.
Bocabar will be based on the ground floor of the historic Fermentation Buildings, beneath Channel 4, which recently announced that Finzels Reach would be the home of its new Creative Hub in Bristol. The new Bocabar venue will open onto Hawkins Lane, the new walkway that runs through the heart of Finzels Reach, connecting to Castle Park and the city centre via the striking Castle Bridge.
The Fermentation Buildings are part of the rich brewing history at Finzels Reach, which has been home to several famous breweries over the years, most recently Courage Brewery before it closed in the 1990s.
By the end of the year, around 2,500 people will be living and working at Finzels Reach, a flourishing new community in the heart of Bristol, created by developer Cubex with funding from Palmer Capital. With high quality new homes, unique workspace, a hotel and leisure space plus a popular weekly food market, Finzels Reach is now an area transformed, having been previously closed off to the public for over 200 years.
Melissa Eavis, who co-owns and co-runs Bocabar with Paul Eavis having started the business 15 years ago, said: “We are hugely excited about joining the Finzels Reach community, which is fast emerging as a fantastic new quarter for the city. It’s a great fit for our business as we love the combination of historic and new architecture, giving the area its own unique character, combined with the fact it’s in an excellent location right in the heart of the city.
“We’ll be spending lots of time at Bocabar Finzels Reach to ensure we respond to people’s feedback and that the offer is something that appeals to those who live and work in, as well as visit this thriving new area. We are very hands-on, so we are looking forward to getting stuck in and creating something really special at our new site.”
As well as its site at Paintworks in Bristol, Bocabar also has a restaurant and bar in Glastonbury, together winning a host of awards including Taste of the West Gold awards for last three years, Bristol Life best bar finalists 2019 and Bristol Eating Better gold award 2018/19.
With Spicer+Cole’s new café now open, Café Matariki already well established, a popular weekly street food market and Left Handed Giant set to open a new brewpub and brewery this summer, alongside Bristol pop-up Mission Pizza, the Finzels Reach neighbourhood is quickly becoming one of the city’s hottest new destinations.
Gavin Bridge, executive director at Cubex, the developer behind Finzels Reach, said: “We are thrilled to have Bocabar on board at Finzels Reach. Now that Hawkins Lane is open, it’s great to see people starting to use this new through-route that connects the city centre and main shopping quarters to Finzels Reach and through towards Temple Meads. Finzels Reach is set to be home to an eclectic mix of independent businesses, providing both day and evening activities and offers to ensure it is a thriving hub for the local community and wider city.”
Located less than a 10-minute walk from Temple Meads station, the striking s-shaped Castle Bridge provides easy access from Finzels Reach to the popular shopping areas of Cabot Circus, Quakers Friars and St Nicholas Market. It is close to an array of bus routes and ferries can be boarded from nearby Castle Park.
