Brit pub with longest waiting list in the world for a table for Sunday roast

26 July 2023 , 22:12

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Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the Bristol city centre, The Bank Tavern has stood in the same spot since the 19th century (Image: Jam Press)

A quiet Bristol boozer is the hardest pub to reserve a table at in the world with some punters waiting four years to secure a spot for a Sunday roast.

The waiting list is so long at the Bank Tavern it has even defeat some super posh New York eateries. It comes after the city was crowned the chippy capital of the UK but the queue for your take-away will be a little shorter.

The unassuming tavern has topped a chart in a recent survey as the hardest restaurant in the world to reserve a table. Its homemade gravy and mammoth Yorkshire puddings saw roasts named the best in Britain by the Observer Food Monthly Awards in 2019.

The pub has a four-year backlog for Sunday bookings due to forced nationwide closures during the pandemic.

A meal at the Bank Tavern, Bristol (Jam Press)

Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the Bristol city centre, The Bank Tavern has stood in the same spot since the 19th century. The pub says that it’s survived "an alarming number of riots, two world wars, Bristol City Council town planners and Thatcher".

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The roast menu includes dry-aged rare beef and slow-cooked pork belly served with a mega Yorkshire pudding and all of the trimmings.

Two other UK restaurants also ranked in the top 10 in the world but the waiting time is a lot less.

The Fat Duck, Bray, is also one of the most loved in the world (Jam Press)

Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck in Bray has a four-month waiting time. The Cove Club in London is the ninth hardest eatery – with a three month wait.

Damon Baehrel in New York was the highest scoring eatery in the US. It ranked as the second most exclusive global restaurant – with a waiting list of approximately a year.

The waiting times are based on how long customers can be expected to wait for a table to become available. Some restaurants have taken to only releasing tables in monthly waves.

Others are still experiencing a backlog since the Coronavirus pandemic. The study was conducted by Dojo, a payment provider for businesses.

The hardest pubs in the world to table at

1. The Bank Tavern, Bristol, UK - 4 years
2. Damon Baehrel, New York, USA - 1 year
3. Masalawala & Sons, New York, USA - 6 months
4. La Mesita de Almanza, Tierra del Fuego Argentina - 6 months
5. Mesa 1, Punta de Mita, Mexico - 6 months
6. Disfrutar, Barcelona, Spain, - 5 months
7. The Fat Duck, Bray, UK - 4 months
8. Noma, Copenhagen, Denmark - 3 months
9. The Cove Club, London, UK - 3 months
10. Brae, Birregurra, Australia - 2 months

Olive Loveridge-Greene