Deco Lounge

A long term feature on a stretch of shops that's a bit of graveyard of failed attempts, this is a gem of a café where you can easily spend too much time and money.

Wood floors, smart wooden furniture, sharp service. Somebody has made the effort with this place, and it has paid off. You don't feel like you're being ripped off with the pricey food and drink, just that you're paying a premium for getting to sit around in a good café. This is all done without making it feel posh or exclusive.

If money is tight there's wifi available, so you can just hide behind a coffee for an hour or so and distract yourself from the menu by checking your email. The menu's comprehensive and has been different every time I have visited though, so this might be a bit of a challenge. This is one of the ways that you might end up spending more here than you'd planned. If this isn't too much of a worry for you, then pay Deco Lounge a visit.

Of all the lounges in all the land, Deco beats them all. I remember when this place had that smoky wine bar feel, but clearly the smoking ban has put paid to that. It's the kind of adaptable place that's just as much at home to an elderly gent having a mid afternoon pint (no longer having a puff on a cigarette though) as it is to a bunch of students/young professionals coming for a few cocktails and catch ups - which by the way, are well worth trying at less than £6 a go.

The food is fairly priced too, with a good selection of tapas. The best thing is the breakfasts: if you go before 12pm it's £5.50 for a coffee and lounge breakfast which will really set you up well for the day. If you miss that though, not to worry, they serve breakfast it all day, definitely earning it a few more plus points.

Should you want a quiet little hide out, away from the hustle and bustle of nearby Whiteladies road, the table at the top end to the right of the bar is nicely tucked away, it's always my seat of choice. The free Wifi, excellently stocked bar, and good food makes it dangerously easy to waste away far too many hours in here.

A lot of people rave about this place and if my friends and i meet in the area, they always suggest Deco Lounge. However, i have never been impressed with the lounge. The food is way over-priced - for a soup and a sparkling water it cost me £9.95!! madness! The place is always busy which means that service is slow. After paying over £9 for a soup and a drink, i had to wait 40 minutes for it to come. The soup was celeriac but all i could taste was salt from the thick layer of salt that had formed on the surface. This disppointment isn't an isolated incident either. That said, the food is quite yummy and the staff are friendly.

Yay for expansion. I'm a massive fan of everything tht this little local 'chain' of cafes/bars has to offer. The Lounge Bars are a wonderful invention, and I look forward to them spreading all over in a Starbucks-like rash.

Deco Lounge serves a wide range of food, cakes, tapas, coffee, beer and cocktails. In short, there really is something here for everyone. At night time the whole place is lit up with candles in a cosy and personable air, which is romantic, comfortable, classy and relaxed. One of my favourite things about this chain of cafes is the interior design. It's completely to my taste; think old churchy interiors with cosy sofas, candles and chit chat-able tables.

The food and drinks here are wonderful; slightly on the expensive side, perhaps, but I've always found that it's worth every penny. A choice selection. Go and enjoy.

Eat the breakfast here. I am probably one of the biggest fans of the 'slow sunday morning' in the world. By the 'slow sunday morning' i mean the type of morning where you have a full fry up, read all of the papers (and i mean all of them- even the property supplement), have three or maybe four coffees and let the morning run into the afternoon.

Once you've finished the food, papers, and coffee, have a little bask in the interior of the place, appreciate the reasonable price and leave with a contented smile on your face.

My wife, who is something of an authority on the various Lounges that are dotted around Bristol, regards this Cotham Hill based one as being the best. Why? The interior.

It's the usual wooden affair with spaceman decor, though this one is set on two levels and has a nice, more secluded area at the back, which means it rarely gets as crowded as its counterparts. The menu is the same as elsewhere, though I'm not convinced it's that expensive as you can get a great panini and fries with salad for £6. As I've recommended this meal for other Lounges I've reviewed, though, I'll say that for breakfast you should opt for the Lounge eggs (poached) with bacon.

These lounges have had their style & formula copied all across the country; the wooden church furniture and black & white family photos on the wall. Imitation really is the greatest form of flattery and this Deco Lounge has got it spot on. Everywhere else just feels like a cheap imitation. The light wood furniture works well with the homely pictures on the wall and the large skylight that let's in loads of natural light. It feels like a family conservatory in the summer and really is lovely and relaxing.

I am a huge fan of their cappuccinos, they are almost perfect (the milk was slightly too hot, but the coffee itself was delicious) and I love grabbing the newspaper I read (they usually have it lying around, just be careful you don't accidently pick up The Daily Mail, even if it is the only paper left, don't do it, once you've touched it you can never wash it off) and having a nice afternoon reading and working in this Deco Lounge.

It is very busy here though, rightly so, it deserves the business. But the bar is tiny, so whether they are understaffed or not you would still have to wait a little while for your drink. But the staff were really friendly and helpful, even though they were on the manic Sunday afternoon shift.

They have crammed furniture in to the top section (the best place to sit by a long way, it's too dark everywhere else). You are so squeezed in on some of the tables; some poor ladies almost had me sitting on their lap.

Deco Lounge is just one of the branches of the Bristol born chain currently spreading like wildfire across the South West. Although the place as the feel of an independent coffee shop, there are actually several dotted across all parts of town.

The reason for their success is fairly obvious on even the first trip. Deco Lounge is cosy, intimate and tastefully decorated with wooden furniture. The food is flavoursome and interesting, with prices on the higher end of the cafe scale but not ludicrously so.

Perhaps the thing which sets Deco Lounge most apart is the fact that it's always a good time to pay a visit. It's a great place for breakfast, lunch, afternoon coffee, dinner and evening drinks, which is not something many establishments can boast.

The deco lounge is essentially an upmarket cafe with a bar, but this is no bad thing.


The food selection is good and i've always been impressed withthe quality, the breakfast being particularly yummy. The beers selection is small, Star being the beer of choice but as for non alcoholic beverages (I appreciate they have to stock something for people with hangovers) it's excellent.


They have a fairly decent selection of board games which all seem to have pieces missing but they're still playable.


Due to it's location it does get busy and studenty but as long as you get here before 12 noon you should get a seat for lunch.


The service is slow and the staff aren't especialy polite which is dissapointing because the food and decor make this a pleasant place to be.


If you like to nurse a hangover with a newspaper, fry up and a hair of the dog then this place is great. It can be a bit expensive though.

This is totally my kind of place. Perfect for meeting friends and having a chat over coffee. We had a light lunch, and I could have stayed all day!
It has as many seats/tables as it can handle, but it's so popular it's quite often hard to find somewhere to sit. You can't order without a table though, so you don't have the problem of having ordered food and then not having anywhere to eat it as sometimes happens in other coffee shops.
Happy to see Staropramen on tap!
I had the delicious "Lounge Eggs" - perfectly poached eggs on English muffins with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce. My friend had the egg/bacon stack with syrup. Go on give it a go!