Review: Cowbee, Bristol 🍽

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐(3.5) | Price: £££

I’d walked past this restaurant lots of times and finally got to visit a number of months ago with my husband and baby girl. We were one of the first groups of customers in on a Saturday and had a very tasty brunch: I had the Reese’s Pieces waffles and my husband had the bacon and maple syrup waffles, both of which were really good.

Last week, we visited again, although with friends this time, and unfortunately, it wasn’t such a great experience. When we arrived at 10:30am (it stated on Google that the opening time was 10am, although this has since been updated), the door was open and the signs were out, but the person at the counter asked us to leave, as they weren’t open until 11am. We returned just after that and were told to sit anywhere. The person who served us was not massively friendly, but we gave them the benefit of the doubt, as they were the only one working to start with.

We had two little ones with us, so were grateful that they had high chairs available. However, there was no child friendly offerings on the menu, and while they have a baby changing bathroom, it stank of glue, which wasn’t particularly pleasant.

The service was a bit slow, but as stated above, there was only one person working to begin with. They were joined about half an hour later by another person, with two more following just before we left, almost an hour and a half after we’d arrived. They seemed to only be able to make two waffles at a time, which meant that if we’d waited until everyone’s had arrived (there were 4 adults and 1 toddler that ordered waffles), the ice cream on those that had it would’ve melted and the waffles themselves would’ve been cold. As such, the two of us who had their waffles first had finished theirs by the time the last one turned up - this also happened to be the toddler’s one, so they had to wait the longest, which wasn’t great. The person who served us did apologise about this, as they hadn’t realised the last one was for a child.

Despite the slow service, we were having a nice time. The two of us who had sweet waffles (and had visited previously) were just a little disappointed in them, as they weren’t as good as they had been before. The Reese’s one wasn’t available - a shame in my eyes, as it’s really good! - and the strawberries and cream one I had was a little bland. For the price, it just didn’t meet our expectations as it had the last time we ate there.

It’s a bit weird that the opening times keep changing. I would’ve thought that brunch would be the most opportune time to be open, as waffles tend to be a brunch item, surely? However, they miss most of the morning by not opening until later. I also read a few reviews on Trip Advisor where people mentioned often about the waffles being slow to arrive and the burgers advertised not being available - this was true when we went, as there was a sign stating this at the front of the restaurant.

I wouldn’t rush back to Cowbee, which is a shame, as it had been good previously. However, I’d give it a little while and try it again to see if it improves. With a little work, I think it could be a really nice place to go with friends.