Chance & Counters — Restaurant in Bristol

Today, I had a really bad experience here in this place. In particular, the staff were not helpful at all and delivered a really poor service. I went there to play games with my family, but the room was really cold. They gave us a table under the air conditioner. When I mentioned it to the staff, they told me, "Sorry, but that’s the temperature of the room." When I insisted that we couldn't stay there freezing with my family, they turned up the temperature, and I was really grateful for that. After 15/20 minutes, the temperature went back to what it was before, and we were freezing again. When I mentioned it to the waiter again, he ignored me, checked the temperature without adjusting anything, and went back to the bar. We waited 10 more minutes, and nothing happened; we were still freezing, and they didn't even offer a new table when they had plenty available (I asked for one, and he said they were all booked — we had booked as well, by the way). After that, I preferred to pay and leave; they didn't say anything, not even sorry or "let me see if I can find something else." They also charged 10% for the service, but that’s not the problem. I hope they will pay for the energy of the air conditioner themselves. Really bad customer service and unacceptable to ignore a customer’s request. I was only freezing with my family and was not asking for a huge favor, just to play with my family in a cozy place. Thanks for ruining this experience and showing me awful customer service. One of the worst customer service experiences ever. Thanks...

An excellent venue and an awesome way to spend a day relaxing with your friends! There are plenty of games to play to suit every taste, from your everyday Monopoly to more advanced games of every kind.

The staff are friendly, welcoming and knowledgeable, with our first server suggesting a couple of excellent games, one to start for a quick 10 minutes whilst we waited for our last friend to arrive and a longer, more in-depth co-op game to get our teeth in to. One of the owners sat with us to go over the game and explain how it all worked, so that we didn't spend 20 minutes looking through the rule book and figuring everything out. The staff have clearly played a lot of the games and know exactly what's what, so don't be afraid to ask for suggestions.

The prices are very reasonable, especially as you won't see the vast majority of these games in your local pub! The food, whilst I didn't have any, looked excellent and the drinks on tap were very good, with some local ones thrown in for good measure. Plus they have holders that attach to the tables so you don't have to worry about accidentally spilling your pint on the game.

One recommendation, book ahead where possible as it can get very busy, very quickly, I know that some groups had to be turned away on the day as it was packed! It can also get a bit warm in there with so many people, but it's not uncomfortably hot. 5 stars, if I lived in Bristol I would definitely be...

Absolutely loved this place. We'd never been to a board game cafe and really loved the concept. The cafe is tucked away down a side street whimsically called 'Christmas Steps'. They have an astonishing 800+ board games available. Food was delicious and we'll priced. A reasonable drinks menu was is also provided. The cafe is licensed and serves a small number of cocktails and beers. Non alcoholic drinks included juices, mocktails, and ice cream floats. Staff seem pretty willing to improvise with drinks to meet your requests too :) board games were nearly arranged in a system which gives you an idea of how long each game will take to play. Staff were really knowledgeable on the games and took time to help us choose suitable games. They even set the games up for us and talked us through the rules, which really helped us to maximise our gaming time. There was a great mix of people there in our visit, from couples and groups of friends, to families. The kitchen is open, so you can see your food being prepared, which we liked. They also host a range of events, such as a singles night, where single players can go along, meet new people and play in groups. They also have board games testing nights. Brilliantly priced for what you get, and definitely worth investing in a membership if you think you'll visit a handful of times in a year. Highly...