No shelter, no shifts Restaurant staff urge council to rethink seating refusal

A POPULAR family-run Bristol tapas restaurant faces a battle to keep its outdoor seating and its future after the city council refused permission to let them keep it.

- Adam POSTANS

Bravas' manager Rome Cartageno stands in the outdoor seating area

(Paul Gillis)

Bravas, on Cotham Hill, installed 12 tables on two terraces during the pandemic in 2021, shortly after general traffic was banned from the street.

But when the eatery asked for consent to keep what it has had for the last four years, the council refused on the grounds of inadequate space for emergency vehicles and an adverse impact on the character and appearance of the local conservation area.

Bravas has now submitted a new application hoping to address the reasons for refusal.

At time of publication, the restaurant had support from 19 people with just four against. Co-founder Keiran Waite said the issue was causing the team sleepless nights.

He said: "The council being set on tearing down our terrace puts many of those jobs at risk. I don’t believe they have any respect for hospitality as a career or industry.

"Many of our team have children, mortgages, and are full-time employees who have chosen hospitality as their career. We're also proud to employ young people for their first jobs, apprentices, students funding their degrees.