“The Watershed runs itself,” its Director Dick Penny assured the recent meeting on the future of the Old Vic, which he may soon be running. Er, not according to Evening Cancer food critic Mark Taylor it doesn’t.
Taylor, like many fools before him, recently took his life in his hands and decided to eat a meal at our heavily subsidised Harbourside cinema with a bar. Not a good idea. The combination of bought-in bar food and disinterested staff never fails to displease.
The Blogger still recalls with a shudder the afternoon they mistakenly asked the girl eventually collecting their table-full of dirty glasses – that had been sitting there for over twenty minutes – if they had any cake? After receiving a look like we’d just offered her fifty quid for a blow job we were dismissed with a very abrupt “no” before she walked off with her nose in the air. We didn’t stay to eat.
Taylor did. And it was so bad the chef and the waiting staff tried to give him his money back! Here’s how he concluded his review:
Rather than investing money on obscure, subtitled films from Slovenia that appeal to 15 people on a wet Tuesday night, Watershed should start to look at improving its cafe.
It could be great.
If I was running the place, I’d change the menus wholesale and start again
Give the boy the gig! Considering its location, popularity and clientele he should be able to not only improve the grub but turn a considerable profit as well. Perhaps this could then be used to reduce the £100k a year grant (actually £140k last year) that Bristol’s council tax payers seem to have to hand the Watershed every year without question. The money saved could then maybe go towards things like adult education, whose budget is being slashed again this year.
And if Taylor does all right with the Watershed perhaps he could be packed off to the Old Vic to see if he can do anything there about the £300k of our council tax handed over every year for the ludicrous luvvies to bankrupt the place with?
I found your site on technorati and read a few of your other posts. Keep up the good work. I just added your RSS feed to my Google News Reader. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Allen Taylor
The Watershed does have lots of faults, like any other business but its the only independent cinema i can think of in the whole of Bristol. Besides its a lot less pretentious then the Tobacco Factory, which in my opinion is an awful place, shame the Hen and Chicken pub is going the same way.
I’m surprised Bristol’s abysmal evening paper has a crayon-wielding hack with taste buds that have developed beyond the typical under-10s children’s menu.
Archie:
How about the Cube?
And is not the Arnolfini as independent as the Watershed?
Arnolfini is not a real cinema, just a room with trendy backless seats, but yeah the cube, I forgot about that Gem. Thanks for reminding me 🙂
The food at the watershed used to be a lot better a few years ago, then suddenly the better things started dropping off the menu and the extra side bits you got with each order started disappearing.
The nachos are still good though, but wouldn’t go there for more than a snack.
the cube thats under threat from gentrification, a real bute that should be defended by this city.
A pedant writes:
The staff are not “disinterested.”They are uninterested. ie. They could not give a shit.
A pedant continues …
Disinterested can be used to mean “impartial, as you say, or to mean “not interested” as we used it.
The meaning will be clear from the context.