Lakota — Local services in Bristol

I went to Lakota on the 25th October for a Halloween event that they were throwing. We arrived about 10am and immediately went to the bathroom, where the lady ‘guarding’ the toilets took an immediate disliking to me and started quite literally screaming at me when I attempted to go in the same stall as my friend. I am not local, never been there and therefore did not know about this ‘rule’ so went in another stall and all is fine. I come out of the toilets and head to the bar, where I immediately realise I have left my phone in there. I go back to the bathroom relatively distressed where I am told I am no longer allowed in the toilets (which are empty) and as I attempt to explain to her that I left my phone in there and need to go and check she becomes extremely aggressive blocking the entrance. I become quite distressed at this point and manage to get into the bathroom, where I check frantically and it is not there. By this point I am crying, my friends are being blocked by the lady from entering to comfort me as she starts screaming at me to ‘GET OUT’. Another staff member intervenes with the situation going on at the doorway and informs my friends that a phone has been handed in at the bar. So this ‘toilet lady’ had handed my phone in and instead of letting me know this, she decided to scream in my face instead. I go back to the bar where staff members, including one security guard, are incredibly confused why she is acting this way. A staff member helped us retrieve the phone at the bar, but proceeded to tell my friend she ‘wasn’t sure how the toilet situation would go later on’ I recover from the situation, relatively mortified at this woman’s behaviour by this point and go to dance. The club starts filling up and I find I need to go to the bathroom again. At first the woman tries to refuse to allow me in (again, not quite sure why?) but eventually ALLOWS me to use the bathroom. As soon as I leave the cubicle she begins following me telling me to get out, and I’m trying to dry my hands. She once again is extremely aggressive to the point my friends begin to intervene and shield me from this woman, and calm HER down as I am doing nothing wrong. This lady turns around to my friend and tells her that she wants to HIT ME? Genuinely what sort of behaviour is this?? I do go over to her and try to ask her why she has such a problem with me, when she begins waving her arms around and screaming ‘GET AWAY FROM ME YOU’RE TOO CLOSE’ to which I am nothing but confused as I am pretty calm in this situation. I ended up leaving as she grew hysterical and my attempts to resolve or deescalate the situation was met with absolute madness. For her to attempt to deny me the right to use the bathroom was mind blowing to me, as someone who had to pay £16.02 to even be there. We left an hour later as it had honestly ruined all of our nights, we were all upset and confused so it ruined our entire evening. We did consider attempting to request a refund due to the whole experience, and yet decided we wouldn’t even know who to talk to regarding that. Even your own staff could not understand this ladies behaviour. This was my first night out in Bristol, I do not go out much anymore and Halloween is always a special event to me. I am absolutely disgusted with the fact my entire friend groups evening was ruined due to this ladies behaviour as a result of a clear power trip or possibly substance abuse. I was genuinely scared of what this woman would do to me, I have never had any trouble with staff in clubs before nor have I ever been thrown out of a place in my life. Incredibly disappointing experience due to such disgraceful, dehumanising behaviour and I wish I had recorded the second incident once I had my phone back. Never will I EVER personally return to Lakota nor recommend it to ANYBODY looking for a drama free night.

Update: The owner so graciously offered myself and the others involved to return to review security footage of the event, I responded to her and have since been ‘ghosted’ by her completely. Great resolution from...

A clear honest review from someone that was sober and attending Lakota Halloween House Party last night.

The event was extremely disappointing. The venue was clearly over capacity, creating an unsafe and chaotic environment that felt more like a packed pit than a nightclub. At some point, the organisers must have realised they had exceeded capacity, as they began attempting to charge those with “entry before 10pm” tickets an additional £20 at the door.

All attendees with these tickets had previously received an email stating that the ticket would remain valid as long as you were in the queue before 10pm — not inside the venue. The queue stretched for what felt like miles. My friends and I joined at 9:25pm but didn’t reach the door until 10:45pm. Around 10:30pm, we and others still waiting in line were informed that we would be required to pay an additional £20 surcharge once we got to the entrance, simply because it was now past 10pm.

When we reached the door, we showed security the email clearly outlining the queue policy and explained that we had been waiting for over an hour and a half. A security guard had even filmed the entire queue at 10pm, presumably to document who was waiting on time. Despite this, staff insisted on charging the surcharge until we began questioning the legality of their actions — only then did they back down and “waive” the fee.

The whole situation was incredibly stressful, unfair, and unethical. It was obvious they were trying to take advantage of young, intoxicated, and vulnerable attendees. Many people before us had already paid the £20 surcharge, only for the venue to retract it after we challenged it — suggesting they made a significant profit through this dishonest practice.

To make matters worse, drinks were priced at around £14 for a double and mixer — an outrageous increase for Bristol, especially for Lakota, which used to charge closer to £5 for the same drink. The music was mediocre, and there were reports of people struggling to breathe due to the overcrowding.

Overall, the event was run by people more interested in exploiting customers than ensuring their safety or enjoyment. If you’re looking for a venue that genuinely values its attendees, Lakota is not the...

Last night was the first time in 10 years I’d gone to Lakota. Very disappointing experience. My friends and I bought the entry before 10 tickets 🎫 however after arrive early and waiting over an hour in the queue we were told we’d have to pay an extra £20 to enter the venue. It was clearly a ploy to make more money and take advantage of drunk people. The email we received before arriving stated we only needed to be in the queue before 10 to use our tickets, and we fulfilled our side of the ‘contract’. The venues decision to attempt to charge us more money went against the Consumer Rights Act. After explaining this wasn’t right to one of the men on the door I was told ‘you should have got your ticket scanned before 10’. This was quite frankly laughable as he knew as well as I that wouldn’t have been possible with the length of the queue. The venue were incredibly slow at getting people through the door, it was an inefficient system as there was no reason for us all to be out in the cold for an hour anyway. A big group of us complained and were told ‘ok you can now use your tickets’ - they were just making the rules as they go.

Secondly, the venue was definitely beyond capacity, it was dangerous. Ridiculous waits to get a drink and the stairs were a death trap. Too many people pushing to get up and down.

Lastly, the toilets were atrocious, not well maintained at all. One toilet was hanging off the wall in the women’s loo.

I’ve given two stars because the staff were very nice and friendly. There was one bouncer/security that actually took the time to listen to us which was appreciated. He sorted the situation out and without him there would have been a big walk out. Additionally the bar staff were nice and the venue doesn’t seem to attract a toxic crowd it’s a pleasant atmosphere inside.

Won’t ever be returning and urge others to be very careful with this venue, don’t trust...