Harden's says

Taking over the former site of Russell Norman’s Spuntino in Bristol’s Cargo shipping container development (also home to Box-E), a new tapas joint from husband and wife team Kieran and Imogen Waite, who also run the fantastic Bravas in Cotham Hill and Wapping Wharf’s Cargo Cantina.

survey result

Summary

£47
   ££
3
Good
3
Good
4
Very Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

This “lively place on Wapping Wharf does what it does very well” – namely tasty tapas (as per its sister Bravas), with a focus on seafood, especially the headline prawns. There’s no denying the “cool location” – an “intimate shipping container on the harbour with a nice terrace” – though for one hipster-averse reporter “less focus on the ‘cool’ and more on the food would be welcome”.

Summary

£46
   ££
3
Good
2
Average
2
Average
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

“Sister restaurant to Bravas, with similar inventiveness”“you get brilliant tapas, in a noisy, converted shipping container in the dock area” at Kieran & Imogen Waite’s “very buzzy” operation. Fans feel it’s “perhaps not quite cheap and cheerful, but incredible value, with excellent seafood options”. “The shipping container environment is not a constraint and its first floor location gives good views over harbour” (and is “great outside on a warm day”).

Summary

£46
   ££
3
Good
3
Good
3
Good
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

This “lovely tapas bar in the fashionable Cargo development” has earned strong ratings across the board since taking over Russell Norman’s Spuntino shipping-container perch. It is a sibling of Wapping Wharf neighbour Cargo Cantina and Bravas in Cotham, in Kieran and Imogen Waite’s Season & Taste group.

Summary

£37
    £
* Based on a three course dinner, half a bottle of wine, coffee, cover charge, service and VAT.

Taking over the former site of Russell Norman’s Spuntino in Bristol’s Cargo shipping container development (also home to Box-E), a new tapas joint from husband and wife team Kieran and Imogen Waite, who also run the fantastic Bravas in Cotham Hill and Wapping Wharf’s Cargo Cantina. Good initial feedback, but too limited for a rating.

For 33 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).

Have you eaten at Gambas?

Unit 15 Cargo 2, Wapping Wharf, Bristol, BS1 6WD

Restaurant details

Highchair
Yes
No dress code
22

Prices

Tapas / Dim Sum

Main Pudding
£9.30 £3.60
Drinks  
Wine per bottle £27.90
Filter Coffee £0.00
Extras  
Bread £0.00
Service 10.00%
Unit 15 Cargo 2, Wapping Wharf, Bristol, BS1 6WD
Opening hours
Monday12 pm‑10 pm
Tuesday12 pm‑10 pm
Wednesday12 pm‑10 pm
Thursday12 pm‑10 pm
Friday12 pm‑10 pm
Saturday12 pm‑10 pm
Sunday12 pm‑4:30 pm

Best Spanish restaurants nearby

Paco Tapas
Spanish restaurant in Bristol
£63
  £££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
Lolas
Spanish restaurant in Bournemouth
£52
   ££
3
Good
3
Good
3
Good
Pompette
French restaurant in Oxford
£73
  £££
3
Good
3
Good
3
Good

Best similarly priced restaurants nearby

Clifton Sausage
British, Modern restaurant in Bristol
£50
   ££
3
Good
3
Good
3
Good
Matsudai Ramen at the Bank
Japanese restaurant in Cardiff
£45
   ££
4
Very Good
4
Very Good
3
Good
The Newell
British, Modern restaurant in Sherborne
£45
   ££
3
Good
3
Good
2
Average