We have been to Howards several times over the years as we knew it was a quality restaurant. However our last visit we were very dissapointed. we were the only people upstairs.

The food was lovely, a really good choice on the set menu (£9.95 for 2 courses) and (£12.95 for 3) which was very reasonable, lots of veg to accompany. Service was not rushed and was very pleasant, wine was lovely and NOT overpriced. Even the a la carte menu was reasonably priced. The restaurant was not too busy but there were half a dozen tables booked, some ordering champagne (also very reasonably priced). Food was cooked to perfection. There were 4 of us and we eat out a lot, stands up to Goldbrick House and Hotel du Vin any day.

Howards used to be one of my favourites but after three consecutive poor experiences we have finally decided never again! To be brutual, the food just isn't that good - even when it's cooked well - to justify prices of £22 for main courses. The Lockside and Demi Leune around the corners now offer far better value.

And, to be the tin hat on it, when we commented on the slow service (to a really pleasant waiter who was clearly embarrassed) we were told that the chef was focused on a private party for the owner's daughter! That kind of attitude paying customers can do without.

Dined with another couple at Howard's restaurant in Bristol on the Telegraph offer. Excellent value for money, sufficient choice of starters and main course, and contrary to some opinions, you do get extras i.e. bread and veg. The fixed menu is good value outside the offer, and a la carte won't break the bank. The chocolate medley for pud was delicious!

I disagree entirely with hungryboy's review - we went on the same deal, and we found it to be exceedingly good value for money. Two courses for ten pounds is highly unlikely to come with extras as well, especially as a fillet of salmon alone probably costs more than half that! And as for having an empty glass - well, the deal comes with only a 125ml glass of FREE wine!

I have to say that I really enjoyed dining at Howard's Restaurant in Bristol, and I am planning to go more often!!

This was the first time I had eaten at Howards restaurant in Bristol. It was a good night, but the only real negative was it was a bit pricey.

We celebrated my partner's birthday last night at Howards. My Partner's family had been collecting the tokens from the Daily Telegraph. It took twenty minutes to be offered a drink and a further 30 minutes before our orders were taken. I ordered the onion soup to start which was served without any bread which was rather disappointing. My main course of salmon fillet arrived and was accompanied by a lettuce garnish approximately the size of a postage stamp, and nothing else. When I asked the waitress if this meal was served with any carbohydrates at all (as one would expect from any eating establishment, being served the basic food groups, to consider oneself having eaten a 'meal'), I was informed that because we had ordered from the Telegraph special, the dish was not served with any carbohydrate at all - just a small piece of salmon and an even smaller garnish. This made us wonder if the Daily Telegraph were aware that they were having their logo used on the menus. If a waiter notices a customer ordering himself a meal that does not consist of all the basic food groups one would imagine he would point that fact out and ask if the customer would like to order some accompanying vegetables at an extra cost. This may have saved the day, alas we had to simply look forward to getting home and having a sandwich to ease our still present hunger. My salmon took about 3 minutes to eat and I waited for my partner and her family to finish their 'meals' (which were of no noticable quality either), with an empty glass in front of me. Once the meals were finished we all had empty glasses in front of us for a further half an hour before we decided enough was enough and we asked for the bill. In short - Do not go here unless you are not hungry at all.

We chose to celebrate our anniversary at Howard's Restaurant last Saturday night. Our table upstairs, was not quite ready upon arrival. Order taken, starter delivered some 25 minutes later. We had almost finished starter, to be informed that one of our main courses wasn't available after all, and what would we like instead? An hour later we received our revised main course. Our food was well presented although my main course was under-cooked. No staff upstairs to return food to, and we couldn't be bothered to stay for dessert, so we decided to leave, paying our bill but complaining to the manager prior to departure. We were not alone in our complaints that evening.

Howard's has received - from 1997 to 2004 - the AA Rosette Award, but not since 2005. Wonder why? Management has indeed changed hands, to the detriment of customer service.

I would not recommend this restaurant but may return in a few months to see if there have been any improvements.

I have read the review before this on and think that they must have gone to a different restaurant. Our night was a very memorable one - my mothers 80th birthday - an I have to say the Howard's Restaurant staff could not have been more friendly and the food was cooked to prefection.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was great - no doubt why it's so hard to secure a booking for a Saturday night - and everyone there was in fine spirits, even the couples dining alone!

Well done Howard's keep up the good work.

Having just read the other review I had to write my own in disagreement...
My husband and I visited Howards about a year ago after a recommendation from a work colleague. It was my Husbands birthday but we had just attended his best friends funeral that day. All things considered we managed to have a nice evening. The food was so amazing that it will stick in my mind as the best meal we've ever had on what we consider to be one of the worst days of ours lifes.
It cost £75 which included 2 bottles of wine. I think this is more than reasonable for a decent meal in good surroundings.

My husband and I thought that we would treat ourselves after reading a review on an Internet Restaurant Guide (not this site). Howards was stated as being one of the nicer restaurants in Bristol - we thank God that a taxi was not ordered and I opted to drive.
Our table was booked for 8.45 - 9.00 p.m. We arrived around 8.45 p.m. Shown to a table which was tucked right out of the way next door to a drafty curtain, which I found out housed the coats, napkins, etc. Not a good start. Decor and atmosphere was bad.
Very expensive food, so it had to be good....er no! I ordered mixed shellfish and seafood starter, my husband had scallops wrapped in bacon with a delicate sauce, sounded very nice but at around £7.25 expensive. No water was offered, only a bit of stale homemade bread, (which we ended up paying £1.00 each as an extra for a piece of bread that was approx. 5 ins x 5 ins).
This was ordered straight away at approximately 9.00 p.m. 45 mins later still no starter. It was 9.45 p.m as our stomachs were rumbling. Ready to walk out as two waitresses often passed us not noticing that are starter cutlery still laid before us. I beckoned a waitress over and asked why it takes 45 minutes for two starters? She rushed away only to find that our order had gone missing. The manager came over and apologised on behalf of himself and the chef and that our two glasses of red wine we ordered to have with our main courses were complimentary - thank God as they were nearly £6 a glass each!. Our starters arrived. Mine was surprisingly a cold starter and very badly presented. I had two baby squid, a piece of I think mackerel or some type of white fish, two miniature cockles, and a couple of cocktail prawns thrown on a large bed of lettuce which tasted like it had been marinated in vinegar. I could hardly swallow a mouthful as the vinegar taste was awful. It was swimming in a vinegar and to top it all the seafood tasted as though it was pickled seafood and not fresh. My husband's surely must be better. He had two skewered bacon rolls arrived on a plate with Worcester sauce splashed around the plate. The bacon was extremely smokey, fatty and thick-cut, which killed any flavour of the scallops or anything else come to that!. Were they scallops or something else?, we couldn't decide. It looked like chicken, Awful and over cooked. The manager came over and said, "was it worth the wait", assuming that we would throw nothing but words of compliments at him. It was ok said my husband, terribly British of him. I had to say that I've never tasted anything like it in my life, it tasted nothing but vinegar and I couldn't eat it. Oh dear was his reply, thank you for being honest, I will relay your comments to the chef. At least we didn't have to pay for our two glasses of red wine, normally we would order a bottle. But as I found out on the way home my husband informed me that a bottle of wine was around £40 mark. Next came the main course. My husband ordered some kind of pork in noodles with a sauce...hey wait,, it's drowning in, yes, Worcester sauce, must be a chef speciality. Mine main course next, the menu read, Duck with peaches, raspberries and a sauce. Sounded lovely, unusual I thought putting raspberries with duck, but hey, I am open minded. Guess what, well under cooked duck still bleeding to death in a -yes, raspberry vinegar type clear sauce. I managed to swallow the duck but nothing else. Service, food, atmosphere was the worst I have ever tasted in my life of eating in good and not so good restaurants around the world and U.K. We couldn't wait to get out of there and our bill without a bottle of wine, desserts or coffee still came to £50. Money very much wasted and a total evening ruined. My only advice on this review is to say STAY AWAY.