There are two warnings to note when you book a bottomless brunch at Bristol’s Dirty Martini cocktail bar. The first is that the picturesque yet cobbled location of Corn Street doesn’t lend itself well to a boozy bar - the cocktail-enabled wobbly walk out the venue is perilous.
The second warning is that some of the drinks look poisonous. You may be served an acid blue summer cocktail that looks like it might kill your organs - but it’ll taste surprisingly delicious. Dirty Martini is the cocktail bar chain known for its martinis (no surprise there), and its late-night vibes with Instagrammable decor, but it’s not quite as known for its daytime bottomless brunches - yet.
Bristol’s Dirty Martini is the newest venue on the cocktail bar chain’s rosta, and it opened back at the tailend of 2021. It’s the place to be of an evening in Bristol’s old city, if you want a few drinks with friends but would rather avoid the club scene, and it’s now establishing itself as the perfect place for a daytime tipple after launching its Summer Martini Brunch where mini dirty burgers and bottomless martinis are all on the menu - and you can get money off when you book a weekday brunch this August.
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Located just off picturesque Corn Street in the city centre, Bristol’s Dirty Martini is housed in the building that was once home to indie restaurant, The Bristologist. It underwent a £1.2million transformation in 2021 to become an upmarket venue with marble tables, gold furnishings and a Great Gatsby-style bar stocked with every beverage imaginable.
Its Summer Martini Brunch offers up none of the all-parties-must-have-the-same-cocktail palaver many bottomless brunches and 2-for-1 deals at bars throw up. You can literally choose from a seemingly never-ending list of limited edition summer cocktails, martinis, G&Ts, prosecco and beer.
For 90 minutes, you have unfettered access to the Dirty Martini bar, where mixologists will whip up unique drinks you’d be hard pressed to find at other bars. Instagram is never far from mind, with each drink arriving dressed in its own signature aesthetic.
There was the sickeningly sweet passionfruit and vanilla martini, garnished with edible flowers. Also on the menu is a Beefeater blood orange G&T which arrives in a large curved glass with sprigs of fresh rosemary popping out the top - as if you’re sipping from a pineapple.
As for the food, it arrives prepped for the ‘gram in a birdcage. Once the novelty wears off, the food leaves a lasting impression, with a birdcage full of bitesize delights to gorge on.
For meat-eaters, the birdcage includes mini dirty burgers (beef and cheese sliders, and fried buttermilk chicken sliders) mac and cheese bites, crispy tomato and basil arancini, vegetable spring rolls and spinach tortilla strips - all served up with Bloody Mary ketchup and beetroot hummus. For veggies and vegans, the vegan brunch birdcage includes falafel and beetroot sliders, onion bhaji sliders, the arancini, veggie samosas and veggie spring rolls, and spinach tortilla strips.
When you’re having a few drinks and find yourself peckish, there’s nothing better than carb-y, breaded delights to satiate your cravings. However, you don’t want them to sit too heavily on the stomach, when you’re already lining it with various liquids.
So, the tapas-style small, carb-y plates at Dirty Martini Bristol are the perfect drinking partner. The only thing I felt was missing from the experience was a second birdcage featuring miniature desserts - an éclair or mini cheesecake would have gone down a treat.
Brunchers also get the opportunity to taste the limited edition summer cocktails this August, and a sip (nearly) transports you to sunnier, less muggy climes. Fruity shots can also be ordered, which are so much more palatable than necking back a Sambuca in a sweaty club.
You can book a Summer Martini Brunch at Dirty Martini Bristol for £37.50pp this August. Brunch is available not just on a weekend but on weekdays too - and if you book Monday-Thursday it’ll cost you only £30pp.
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