Stokes Croft Top Spots
Posted on: 13 Oct 2016Now that the initial blur of freshers’ week is but a distant, shame-shaped memory, it’s time to start expanding your horizons and thinking outside the Triangle. Where better to start than in the creative haven of Stokes Croft, the break-beating heart of Bristol. Forming the hinterland between Kingsdown and St Pauls, it is here that the student populace meets the rest of the city. Listed below are our top spots in the area for a bite, a booze and a boogie.
Lakota
Named after the Native American tribe of western South Dakota who defeated General Custer before many were massacred at Wounded Knee, Lakota is the undisputed chief of the Stokes Croft late-night circuit. The famed night club, operating just off the Gloucester Road, has been peddling the choicest of the musical choice to its returning clientele since it opened its doors in 1989. The venue consistently secures the services of royalty in their respective fields, which span from jungle to psytrance and from reggae to nosebleed Detroit, with the likes of Carl Cox, Todd Terry and Paul Oakenfold having crossed the boards in its time. There has been actual royalty too, with Prince Harry reportedly having paid a visit in 2007.
The Love Inn
Central to the ethos of Team Love is the mantra of ‘work hard, play hard’. The diligent set of party-throwers need a place to unwind after a long day of planning a whole host of bashes, including Love Saves The Day, the Red Bull Music Academy and Love International. Opening in 2013, HQ is The Love Inn, a bar which frequently attracts DJs far too big for its modest interior. When names like Neneh Chery, Seth Troxler and Eats Everything aren’t playing, they are probably eating (everything): the kitchen, managed by Stovemonkey Smokehouse, serves up a deliciously original take on Southern-style BBQ food.
Crofters Rights
With a back room which regularly plays host to live expostulations of hip-hop, noise rock, techno, jazz and disco, the only thing more eclectic than the Crofters’ musical remit is its extraordinary range of real ales. The Stokes Croft mecca for those who like the stouter stuff, the bar channels a charmingly ramshackle aesthetic, complete with youth club foosball table and tatty settees, which engenders (especially when full) the sensation that the whole place could, at any moment, fall down about your ears. This idiosyncrasy only accentuates the fun of the place, which is among the most quintessentially ‘Bristol’ pubs around.
No. 51 Stokes Croft
Situated at 51, Stokes Croft, what No. 51 Stokes Croft lacks in originality of name it more than makes up for with its stylish blend of food, drink and music. With an acknowledged heavier focus on the first two than the establishments listed above (though the five DJs and two live acts a week might have something to say about that), a well-sourced bar facilitates a sexy array of cocktails while the wood-fired pizzas and hand-made burgers are widely renowned.
Attic Bar
Recently voted within the top 10 clubs in the UK by the Guardian, the Attic Bar is one of the longest-enduring party destinations in the city. It’s main room is a close-to-perfect size: able to house a reasonably large crowd, yet not too large that proceedings ever become impersonal, and therefore adaptable to both varied gigs and club nights. A fabulous garden, which is shared with the affiliated Full Moon hostel, provides the perfect spot for mid-revelry respite.
The Canteen
A right sight more fun than the food-hall here at 365, The Canteen has cooked up a reputation for hosting some of the best knees-ups in the area. Set on the ground floor of Hamilton House, it takes its name from the gridded picnic tables which take up two thirds of the room, and the food which falls upon them in the day time. Crucially, though, there is still space to dance, and a wide variety of music to dance to: The Canteen is one of only two venues in Bristol to offer live music every night of the week, with things always getting slightly wilder as the weekend approaches.
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An ardent Geordie minus the accent, Sam seemingly strove to get as far away from the Toon as possible, as soon as university beckoned. Three undergraduate years at UoB were more than ample time for Bristol (as it inevitably does) to get under his skin, and so here he remains: reporting, as Assistant Editor, on the cultural happenings which so infatuated him with the city. Catch him at sam@365bristol.com.
