Coal Bar and Grill

They refuse to accept tastecard without 24 hour booking despite it saying on the app you don’t have to call. Then when you sit down they say no steak or fire sticks. The app makes no mention of this. Poor service and experience.

Yeah not bad. I used to love the chicken with mash but they changed it. Its a nice little place for a beer or cocktail, but don’t expect the finest cuisine ever. It’s pleasant enough and the food is ok, but not amazing,

I really liked this place! Initially I wondered if it was going to have a ‘chain’ restaurant feel about it, by it doesn’t (even if it is a chain)!
We had the Eldorado Chicken (which quickly prompted a conversation about the 90s tv programme, and a lost city of gold!!!) and Chicken Schnitzel and we were both really impressed… Mine was the Eldorado and it was lovely, if you like your Mexican flavours.
I do sway towards chicken on most menus and usually it’s a choice between Hunters Chicken and Piri Piri Chicken, but this place has a much better selection. I was torn between a few!
The presentation was really nice, and not too much food, which I like… But you may have room for pudding if you have a bigger appetite!
The prices are fairly reasonable. £13.50 for each main and £6 for olives. Wine always shocks me as it costs more for a glass than I’d pay for a bottle in the shops, but that’s standard! £6.95 a large glass.
I’d definitely go back… I guess the ‘wow’ factor of five stars was missing but I’d definitely recommend this place if you’re in Cabot Circus.

Excellent food and service, as always. Definitely worth trying the Coal ‘sticks’ of two or three choices of meat. The meats are freshly cooked and served at the table on the skewers where the server then takes off the meat directly onto a sizzling hot plate. The Eton Mess dessert (when available) is also awesome.
Keep an eye out for regular % off total bill vouchers on coupon apps and money off with a cinema ticket for the same day offer.

Great place… outside feel indoors (Cabot Circus). Simple menu… but well prepared food with plenty of flavour. Friendly staff and value for money. Well worth a visit.

This restaurant is very good, the staff are very friendly and the food is amazing. The tables are very clean and the service is very good. The waitresses and waiters can struggle with the language but they try very hard to understand you. They are always very happy and are never rude and they always try to have a laugh. They always get your food out with in 1 hour of you placing your order. The only downside to this restaurant is that it gets very hot inside. But apart from that coal is one of the best places in Bristol to eat!

Its not healthy but Its ok like a pre cinema dinner, nice people work HERE the waitress advice me if you are going to the cinema you have 20% off GREAT NEW FOR US: D

Food was overpriced and average.

The burgers here are alright, but I just can’t enjoy food as much within such a packed restaurant, within a packed shopping centre. This is where you end up when no-​one in your group has a definite plan or preference.
Was a tad expensive for my liking too.

Happened upon coal by accident the other night when we were greeted with somewhat surly faces at Zizis and almost a look of disgust when we wanted to sit outside. Coal seemed more appealing so we thought we’d give it a go.
Instantly we were put at ease and welcomed by a beaming smile. The outside area looked well cared for with lovely plants, glowing red candles and heaters which gave off just the right amount of warmth to be very comfortable. Our waiter was very friendly but without being o.t.t, just genuine really.
We took advantage of the 241 cocktails which arrived quickly and were lovely. Our waiter recommended the sirloin but also said the ribs were really good. I took the advice and ordered a sirloin medium rare and my friend ordered the seabass. There was a lovely buzzing atmosphere to the whole place and all the staff looked to be really enjoying working there. Our food came in good time and my steak was AMAZING.
It melted in the mouth and came with a peppercorn sauce which actually tasted of peppercorns unlike a lot of restaurants. My friends seabass was as equally delicious. As soon as we neared the bottom of our cocktails we were offered more by our waiter which, of course, we didn’t refuse. As well as our waiter checking how we we were enjoying our meals the manageress also did the same which made us feel really looked after.
After all the cocktails and food we were way too stuffed to chose a dessert even though we were extremely tempted by the waiters recommendation of the chocolate fondue (will have to order that next time!). I also have to add that, being a woman, always judge a place by the toilets and these were absolutely spotless. All in all was a fantastic night and my new favourite cabot hangout.

Coal is very different to the other restaurants in Cabot Circus; it is better than you might expect! While we were waiting to be seated at our table we sat in the lounge area, there are lots of big comfy sofas to relax on and a long cocktail list that helps time fly quickly. Coal can get busy so you may get through a couple of drinks, but they are all tasty and there are often 2−4−1 offers.
The service throughout the evening was great, the staff were really friendly and happy to chat and have a laugh; you don’t just feel like you are on a conveyor belt but there to enjoy your meal.
The menu is not particularly innovative but the food is good, I enjoyed my sweet chilli prawns starter it was really more-​ish and had just enough kick. I followed this with a steak, it was cooked really well and I especially liked the sauce, just peppery enough and slightly creamy: delicious!
When the bill came at the end it was not too shocking, it is a central location and you do have to pay for it but overall, for 2 courses and drinks, it was only £25 per head and we really enjoyed it, which is the main thing!

I want to start by saying this place is great for party meals, birthday meals and anyone looking for somewhere with a buzzing and fun atmosphere to eat out. Would not recommend for business lunches however, as it isn’t the quietest of places.
The place itself looks contemporary and trendy from the outside, with a glass front and relaxing seating on view. It’s set at the top of Cabot too in their restaurant sector. Coal is kind of a restaurant /​bar, so if you don’t fancy eating but just want to grab a couple of drinks then you can chill out on their big comfy leather sofas for a while!
This place offers affordable food and good quality — especially their burgers and pizzas which are brilliant! Definitely delivers a good evening out!

Coal is one place I am not ashamed to let out my carnivorous side. I’m salivating just thinking about the meaty goodness of the food. Coal is a meat grill restaurant worthy of Fred Flintstone. I really enjoyed the pork ribs just dripping in BBQ sauce. Although it is a chain, this doesn’t take away that fact that it serves good quality food — I have never been disappointed. The prices are very reasonable too. Coal is always busy, which is a sign that it must be doing something right.

On my first visit to Coal Grill and Bar the other week I was actually very impressed (was quite sceptical because it looked like a big warehouse and it is a chain) The staff were friendly and attentive, nothing was too much trouble and the atmosphere was a lot better than I thought it would be. Lots of big comfy sofas, that I’m not a big fan of sitting it when I’m eating, but did make the place feel very warm and inviting.
The food and drink were most pleasing and the steak I had was cooked to perfection, very tender and succulent. They have a pretty decent bar too with a wide selection of bottled and draft lagers.
It is a little pricey though and for the money possibly not quite worth it, but good if you find yourself flush and money is no object (not sure that’s ever the case for most people).

As everyone who works in the office knows, when the boss suggests taking the team for «a lunchtime meeting» work is off for the rest of the day. So when he offered to take up to Coal for a bite to eat and just ONE drink there was an audible ‘woop’ heard across our desk. I’d heard great things about Coal and couldn’t wait to try it for myself.
From the moment we got there, our attentive waitress was at hand to seat us and serve us as quickly as possible. The lunch time menu is a snip at £6.95 for two courses and large portions. As a vegetarian I found the options fairly limiting but the nachos and pasta I ordered were tasty and filling without being too heavy. I also had a rather lovely Mojito, which made the afternoon go with a bit of a swing. The full menu looks just as tasty, and I can’t wait to go back and try it.

Along with Giraffe, this is probably the only chain worth visiting for food or drink in Cabot Circus. Having said that, it’s not a massive chain, with only 3 other branches in the country.
I’d been here a few times for drinks before I went all the way and came for a meal, and for either purpose Coal is an excellent restaurant/​bar. The bar is situated to the right of the premises, with low comfy seats and sofas, and a full bar with well trained staff who will be more than happy to wow you with their cocktail shaking skills. They split the restaurant and bar area quite well, so they’ll send you to the right part of the restaurant when you enter as a helpful member of staff will enquire what you want. You can either sit in the main seating area or outside, which can be quite nice on a summers day.
The food is good; very hearty and meat focused. They’ve got a range of burgers, fajitas, pizzas and specialities, including schnitzel, lamb shank and other meat dishes. I went for a rump steak (the cheapest one — the steaks go all the way up to £19.50 depending on size/​quality) which was cooked to just the right degree and came with dauphinoise potatoes which were excellent. Well worth a visit and not too expensive for this area of town.

I’ve been to Coal a few times and had mixed experiances. If you get something like the fajita’s or firesticks then you are likely to get a very nice meal. I’ve also found there lunch time sandwiches to be pretty good.
However avoid ordering anything off the standard menu that isn’t on the grill as you will most likely be disappointed. There Goats cheese salad was one of the most disappointing dishes I’ve ever seen.
We sent it back and changed it as it consisted of 2 under cooked bits of soggy goats cheese on bread, a couple of handfulls of rocket, 2 cherry tomatoes and a tiny bit of yellow pepper. There wasn’t even any salad dressing and this dish cost £8.95?! We sent it back and asked for the wild mushroom tart instead.
This was obviously cooked from frozen, part of it was undercooked the other part burnt. I don’t expect a great deal from a resturant like this, but come on guys, a 12 year old school kid could be doing a better job when cooking some of these dishes.
Maybe we were just very unlucky and it was a new chef?
I’d also keep away from the cocktails, as they charge cocktail bar prices and use very cheap mixers which results in a bad tasting drink. If anyone from coal reads this take note, «you can get away with the cheaper/​mid-​range spirits in a cocktail if you want to save money, but always use freshly pressed mixers even if you buy freshly pressed bottled juices.» If your used to weatherspoon style cocktails but don’t mind paying £6+ you won’t be disappointed.
On a positive note, I’ve found the service to be pretty good, the resturant /​bar is nicely fitted out and has a nice atmosphere. I will just about go back, but only because the grilled food is good and it’s conveniantly located.

We went to Coal on a Tuesday lunchtime — it was about half full but the service was dire, and the food was awful. We had to wait half an hour for the drinks we’d ordered. If you’re in the area and want a decent meal I’d recomment going next door to Zizzi’s for their excellent Calzone, and just avoid Coal altogether.

Popped in here with a friend for a late lunch while in town. We opted for the lunch menu which included a main and a drink of house wine/​beer or a soft drink for £7.95, a standard set lunch price for this type of restaurant in Cabot.
Service was relatively slow despite the fact it was around 4pm and pretty quiet. There was a choice of 4 meals. I opted for the Fish and Chips and my friend opted for the Sausage and Mash. The chips were reasonable but nothing special. However, a fairly tasty tartare sauce came with my choice which acted as a nice dip. The fish itself was in breadcrumbs and as almost certainly just straight out of the freezer and probably tasted worse than Birds Eye. My friend told me the mashed potato was microwaved and not fresh.
Overall the food was nothing special, the price was average. You’re just paying for the setting.

One of the many new restaurants that have opened up in Cabot Circus. This is just near the opening of the Showcase Cinema De Lux on the upper level. We were hunting for a venue to eat on Monday lunchtime and although busy we only had to wait 10 minutes for a table. they directed us to the comfy bat area where we were served drinks by really friendly bar staff.
Like most restaurants they offer a lunch menu but having viewed other customers plates (rather small portion sizes) we opted to order off the al a carte menu.
Service was a bit slow but they did apologise profusely. When the food came, it was nothing to shout home about but was really nice. We were rather bemused when my friend ordered a Coal burger and it was served on a wooden chopping board.
At the moment you can get a £10 discount voucher off their website if you spend £20 or more:

Worth a visit, friendly staff and the food although not haute cuisine, was tasty.