Mud Dock Cafe and Restaurant, Waterfront, Bristol

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Homepage: http://www.mud-dock.co.uk/cafe/10_cafe.html
Homepage: http://www.mud-dock.co.uk

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Reviews (3)

Filled Star - Denotes One PointFilled Star - Denotes One PointFilled Star - Denotes One PointFilled Star - Denotes One PointEmpty Star - Denotes No Point by tom on 02 Apr 2007

The Mud Dock cafe/restaurant is upstairs in an old warehouse building on Bristol waterfront, just spitting distance from both the Thekla and the Arnolfini, and a nice contrast to the unimaginative bars along the busier part of the waterfront. Downstairs is a bike shop, yet upstairs manages an intimate, relaxed, and cosy atmosphere despite the high ceilings and big windows.

I'd walked past Mud Dock loads of times before but never stopped. Going recently for the first time I was pretty impressed. On a Saturday night the place was nicely busy, with candles on the tables and small groups happily eating and drinking away. The food isn't particularly cheap, but is tasty and not outrageously priced. There is a decent range (in price and taste), and ingredients seemed good quality. I had the Mud Dock burger, which was a homemade hunk of beef and really tasty. The chunky chips that came with it were a bit floury and could have done with a lot more of the delicious salsa that came on the side.

We were served by a young waitress who was excellent. Only the annoying 10% service charge added to the bill stopped me from leaving a tip, which she would have deserved to pocket personally. I was really impressed, and she deserves to do really well. In contrast, the floor manager seemed frenetic and a little bit too stressed when everything seemed to be running smoothly. This rubbed off on the customers at times, which was a little bit uncomfortable to watch.

That aside, my only complaint would be the excessive cost of drinks. £3.50 for a bottle of Bath Ales Gem is taking the piss a bit when you know that in a pub just 5 minutes walk away this would cost two thirds of the price. So, a few minor niggles, but otherwise a good place that I'm looking forward to going back to.

Filled Star - Denotes One PointFilled Star - Denotes One PointEmpty Star - Denotes No PointEmpty Star - Denotes No PointEmpty Star - Denotes No Point by Umbongo on 13 Jul 2007

My wife took a guest to the Mud Dock Café as she had read in a Japanese guide book that it was worth a visit. The food they were given was quite a distance from the description on the menu board (for a start it didn’t say stale French bread) and were hurried from their table by the waitress when they had finished their meal, though other customers were left alone. As they are both Japanese, the exceptional treatment they received left them feeling alienated and upset. I contacted the manager by email who showed an interest and asked for a copy of the receipt. Luckily we had kept it and sent him the details, I think this must have surprised him as I haven’t heard a thing since – thank you for your time. Now I have checked other reviews I can see why, he must be quite busy. How do places like this get into guide books I wonder?

Filled Star - Denotes One PointEmpty Star - Denotes No PointEmpty Star - Denotes No PointEmpty Star - Denotes No PointEmpty Star - Denotes No Point by sarah on 02 Apr 2008

I went to eat at Mud Dock Cafe with some friends. Amongst the very mediocre food that I was served with was a potato side dish. The potato was really hard and frankly inedible. When I queried it the waitress said the chef had said that was the way he normally prepared it. The waitress was unprepared to try and resolve the situation and I got the feeling that the fault was mine in complaining, rather than theirs in serving badly prepared food. In the end I had to refuse to pay for it myself, a discount wasn't even offered.
I felt like they couldn't really be bothered with the custom, so I'll never eat there again!

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