To the uninitiated, the Lockside Café on Brunel Lock Road doesn’t look amazing from the outside. For a start, it’s underneath the Cumberland Basin flyover – not the most attractive of locations. It’s also pretty unassumingly branded from the outside, meaning it’s quite easy to miss. However, there’s actually been a café on the site since way back in 1963. You wouldn’t recognise it now, but before its extensive refurbishment, Lockside (formerly known as both The Venturer’s Rest and Popeye’s Diner) was also the location used for the filming of scenes at Sid’s Cafe in Only Fools And Horses…
While it may not look like much from the outside, step through the door for breakfast at the weekend and you may be surprised at how busy it is. On our recent visit, at 11am on a Saturday, we were pretty lucky to get a table, weaving our way between the diners (the tables are a little close together for my liking) to reach our table at the back of the restaurant.
With its comfy white bucket seats and smart décor sitting alongside laminated menus and a toast station, it’s like a cross between a restaurant and a greasy spoon.
Open from 7am to 4pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 4pm on Saturdays and 9am to 4pm on Sundays, the café does a roaring trade for both breakfast and lunch, as well as coffee and cakes. For us, it was all about breakfast: the menu offering traditional breakfasts, various bubble & squeak-based dishes, Lockside classics (such as a bagel with bacon, mushroom and tomato or asparagus with poached eggs, pancetta and hollandaise) and lighter options, including beans on toast, porridge or boiled eggs and soldiers. Traditional breakfasts include unlimited coffee or tea Monday to Friday, and if you get there before 8.30am, you can even enjoy a discount.
My decaf latte (£2.25) was texturally great but a little weak, but Chris enjoyed his Bloody Mary (£3.95), served with bottles of Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco to add flavour.
We used the fact that our meal at Lockside was to be both breakfast and lunch as an excuse to order the large traditional breakfast (£9.95): a plate loaded with fried eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms and baked beans – pointing out on the menu that these are Heinz and not a cheap alternative. Traditional breakfasts are also served with a choice of white or brown toast: we ordered brown, and were served two thick slices of decent quality bread each, along with jam, marmalade and plenty of butter.
Onto the main event, and we were impressed with the presentation. The huge ramekin of beans was served separately to avoid everything ending up covered in tomato juice, and the grilled tomatoes were still nice and firm. The rich, meaty slice of black pudding was certainly generous, and I enjoyed the mushrooms, which had plenty of flavour.
Two perfectly cooked eggs, a lovely herby sausage and two rashers of bacon rounded off the plate – the bacon was a little less well done than I normally like it, but that’s all down to personal preference…
If you’re looking for a great breakfast in a lively, buzzing environment, then Lockside is definitely worth considering – it’s a bit of a Bristol institution. Despite its location, it even has outdoor seating for the warmer months, and can also arrange vegan, gluten free and coeliac options too. Add in its history, plus the fact that you can get a cracking view of the Suspension Bridge, and I’d certainly recommend it.