Harden's says
Taking over the former site of Russell Norman’s Spuntino in Bristol’s Cargo shipping container development (also home to Box-E), a new tapas joint from husband and wife team Kieran and Imogen Waite, who also run the fantastic Bravas in Cotham Hill and Wapping Wharf’s Cargo Cantina.
Harden's survey result
Summary
“Imaginatively prepared seafood dishes – Spanish but each with a twist – make a trip to this dockside container in Bristol a real pleasure”; like its sister Bravas, the formula is tapas, and at this “lively”, “good value” spot there’s a particular focus on fish (the headline prawns but also a “truly delicious” seafood salpicon). The owners’ hospitality group Season and Taste added a Mexican venue Condesa, on Whiteladies Road, to their now four-strong portfolio in March 2024, having received six-figure funding from the South West Investment Fund.
Summary
This “lively place on Wapping Wharf does what it does very well” – namely tasty tapas (as per its sister Bravas), with a focus on seafood, especially the headline prawns. There’s no denying the “cool location” – an “intimate shipping container on the harbour with a nice terrace” – though for one hipster-averse reporter “less focus on the ‘cool’ and more on the food would be welcome”.
Summary
“Sister restaurant to Bravas, with similar inventiveness” – “you get brilliant tapas, in a noisy, converted shipping container in the dock area” at Kieran & Imogen Waite’s “very buzzy” operation. Fans feel it’s “perhaps not quite cheap and cheerful, but incredible value, with excellent seafood options”. “The shipping container environment is not a constraint and its first floor location gives good views over harbour” (and is “great outside on a warm day”).
Summary
This “lovely tapas bar in the fashionable Cargo development” has earned strong ratings across the board since taking over Russell Norman’s Spuntino shipping-container perch. It is a sibling of Wapping Wharf neighbour Cargo Cantina and Bravas in Cotham, in Kieran and Imogen Waite’s Season & Taste group.
For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at Gambas?
Unit 15 Cargo 2, Wapping Wharf, Bristol, BS1 6WD
Restaurant details
Prices
 Drinks |
|
|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £27.90 |
| Filter Coffee | £0.00 |
 Extras |
|
|---|---|
| Bread | £0.00 |
| Service | 10.00% |
Unit 15 Cargo 2, Wapping Wharf, Bristol, BS1 6WD
Opening hours
| Monday | 12 pm‑10 pm |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑10 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑10 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑10 pm |
| Friday | 12 pm‑10 pm |
| Saturday | 12 pm‑10 pm |
| Sunday | 12 pm‑4:30 pm |
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