Pubs and Bars / A-Z Bristol pub crawl
A-Z Bristol pub crawl: El Rincón, Bedminster
On a recent evening in El Rincón, a couple stepped inside in need of tapas. They glanced at the blackboard next to a pair of castanets and a painting of a flamenco dancer.
“Let’s just pick out a few,” said the maroon t-shirted man. “Do a bam-bam-bam-bam-bam.”
From the food selection, all around £6, they picked out choices including tortilla, chorizo, manchego cheese with quince, artichoke and peppers.
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It was a mighty fine spread for a Thursday night on North Street, accompanied by pints of Estrella Galicia on tap (although to be more authentically Spanish here, get your beer in a half pint known as a caña).
El Rincón – it means ‘the corner’ – opened in 2007 and is much more than just a bar, hosting language lessons upstairs and regular live music downstairs, as well as poetry, chess and backgammon, and flamenco, with an Airbnb property on the top floors.
Its owner David Wilson has created a slice of the real Spain in BS3 that is far removed from the stereotypical touches of somewhere like the former La Tasca chain.
It’s as if a bar in a Spanish town or city such as Salamanca, Segovia or San Sebastián has been transported to south Bristol, including a fierce allegiance to its local football team, with Bristol City flags and scarves hanging among the eclectic selection of memorabilia: everything from flags to mosaics, posters to hats.
When City or Bears do play just a Callum Sheedy spiral kick away at Ashton Gate, El Rincón customers spill out onto the pavement outside both before and after the match.
Tapas shared and beers drank, it was time to leave. Stepping from a small corner of Spain back to Bedminster.
El Rincón, 298 North Street, Bedminster, Bristol BS3 1JU
www.elrinconbar.com
All photos: Martin Booth
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