Crying Wolf — Restaurant in Bristol

After having walked around every cleaning cupboard calling itself a secret bar in Clifton, I was feeling disheartened. It seemed like my dreams of pulling off the perfect surprise party for my partner's birthday were evaporating between my fingers. There was a terrible whisper from the devil in my head telling me that perhaps a Weatherspoons would be fine.

"But wait!" my helpful friend said. "Surely you checked out The Crying Wolf?"

Reader, I had not. Back across Bristol I trekked, already slightly resenting the mystical Crying Wolf for daring to reignite my hopes with my friend's promises of 'atmosphere' and 'cocktails' and 'cool skulls' ringing in my ears. I turned up, sweaty and irritable, to be immediately greeted by an immaculate smiling man with a fantastical menu in hand and a soothing array of potted plants.

The Crying Wolf has got two floors, two bars. The nice gentleman gave me a tour and answered all my rapid fire questions on the amount of covers (about 20-30 people can fit downstairs), the price of cocktails (hovering around a tenner a head, with a selection of wines available, beer and cider on tap), the opening hours (evenings only, five til late!), the cool skulls (yes, they are cool), and - most importantly - how they treat the staff. It's clear that everyone here knows their stuff, and the comfortable rapport combined with the elegant design and sprinkle of whimsy all blended into that perfect, elusive, ineffable 'atmosphere'. I booked in immediately.

"The Crying Wolf? That's the coolest cocktail bar in Bristol!" said NO LESS THAN A QUARTER of my guests when I told them the venue, leaving me feeling incredibly smug for having done nothing other than piggyback off the achievements of others.

They provided me with a food and drinks menu beforehand to share with my guests for vegetarians/vegans/gluten-free/non-drinkers. They co-ordinated with yet another Helpful Friend to smuggle in a birthday cake through the kitchen and have it lie in wait. They could not have been more accommodating and there was no sign they weren't delighted to acquiesce to my every oddity.

On the night itself, we brought a load of board games and piled into what I affectionately took to calling the Wolf Den. They'd put on a bartender especially for us who was happy to talk us through the menu, swap and substitute spirits, or design custom cocktails for anyone's taste. We had a few non-drinkers who were delighted to have an actual menu with fanciful mocktails instead of just water or lemonade. It was a pleasure to watch the staff assemble these magical concoctions and chat happily to us about where the ingredients came from, how they worked together, and why.

The Crying Wolf has far outclassed the many, many alcohol-serving establishments I have worked or drank in throughout my days. It's gorgeous. It's delicious. And it's very reasonably priced for cocktails in Clifton - and once you take into account their special, seasonal menu and the skills of their staff, it becomes a veritable steal. The whole process, start to finish, was silky smooth. I cannot adequately express my gratitude to all the staff who helped us - Mike, Gareth (?), the nice man with the glasses who I didn't get the name of!

Our time with you was an ethereal experience of wonder. Like stepping into a bubble and becoming absolutely enchanted with this fae-like realm of beauty and deliciousness. Thank you so much. We'll...

One of the best cocktail bars i've been to worldwide, in my opinion. I've travelled alot and been to a huge amount of funky places and bars on pretty much every continent.

The crying wolf has something about it. The decor and ambience seems to relax you. The atmosphere is always vibrant, but not too busy. The cocktails are always amazing and different and exciting to try, or thay can make popular ones for you.

The staff are always polite, helpful, welcoming, informative and friendly. For the ones I know - Mike, Sam and Guta (the welsh guy - hope I got it right) are fantastic and there cocktails lovely.

Karis, Karis, Karis... Star prize goes to you (sorry everybody else). Hats off for making me the best Pina Colada I've every tried.... You are the pied piper of coctails

Talking about Pina Colada, the management who has taken this off the menu.... please let's discuss this decision as you just removed 'the best Pina Colada in Bristol' or actually 'the best Pina Colada in the world' from you choices... That's got to be silly right? :-)

Other than that, the only thing i'd mention is swapping out the snacks or introducing something new to nibble on, but to be honest, the bar snacks are great.

I always leave this place smiling and in a good mood (thats not the alcohol...

Oh wow! What a bloody gem! If your lucky enough to get in… So book! You can even book down stairs for a private party 🎉 so reasonable it’s untrue! The whole place is full of surprises. This Bar is apparently sister to the Dark horse in Bath. I can see that as that bar I also loved for it charm. And it doesn’t disappoint it’s obviously a secret! Because one wants to get in lol…. It’s beautiful decor, one thinks of an enchanted escape! Dark , enchanting, mysterious one thinks they are on a train to Hog warts…. Of course the cocktails 🍹 are magical & my fave is lethal…. What was it called?…. Am sure it was deliberately magically depleted from one’s memory 🤪 so one is left to question to try another 😜…. Go … it’s a must.., unless of course your...