I'm aware that there are many folks from Bristol that frequent this board.

My girl is currently at uni in Bristol, she started just 4 weeks ago. She was out at Panache tonight (got back minutes ago) for halloween.


She was sexually assaulted, nothing full blown, but it's got me fuming.

Were any of you out there tonight? She shouted at him on the dance floor following the occurrence and promptly burst into tears apparently, if any of you were there you may have seen this.

So, a few questions I'd like to ask you guys, is Panache known for shit like this? Are there any places I should make her aware of to avoid? Are there any places that you'd absolutely recommend? (For a female to go to, not a pua ) Were any of you there?

I visited for the first time last weekend and thought the place was amazing, you guys have a stunning city. This has certainly pissed me off though. I apologise for the terrible tone to this post, but I'm sure you can all understand.

What was the nature of the assault? I mean how serious, did he grab her ass? or was it more extreme?

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to your gf, there are bad guys everywhere and I don't think you can blame the club, city or country. This kind of shit is universal unfortunately.

I would suggest, if your gf is up to it, returning to the club and try to spot this guy, either involve the police, or sort it out yourself.

Oh I know this is universal, however some places are more known for this kind of thing than others, at least I know that's the case where I live.

I'm don't particularly want to go into specifics of what happened, I'll just say it's more serious than an ass or boob grab, less serious than rape. There's very little point to trying to follow it up and I sincerely doubt that she'd want to, she doesn't know who it was, she turned around when it happened to see 3 asian guys and shouted at them like mad(she wanted to hit them but she thinks being unwell is what stopped her), they promptly left the place. She doubts she'd recognise them again which is a bummer, I'd certainly like a face to face with them when I'm up again next weekend. I was raging when the above post was written, it was probably unnecessary that I mention any of the assault to be fair, I'm more interested in getting advice from folks that have experience of the Bristol scene and a bit of street smarts on the area.

So, anyone care to give me a heads up on places in Bristol? Places to avoid, places that are great? From a female perspective please, she's certainly not out looking to get picked up just to have fun with her flat mates. She hated Panache entirely, she said the atmosphere was poor and the lights were giving her a headache, she kept zoning out as a result of feeling bad because of this. It wasn't drink as she hadn't drank at all that night, this was all before what happened obviously, she was all for going home before it happened. I obviously can't comment on the club as I've never been, I'm just iterating what she said.

tl;dr - places to avoid? Places you'd recommend? (for a girl wanting just a good time)

I've been to a lot of places in Bristol but Panache particularly (i've heard) attracts a particular type of punter. It was shut down a few years back because the place was so violent. Lots of really hot tarty girls = an equal amount of pumped up twats and border-line rapists.

I went there a month or so ago on a Thursday. There was a bit of trouble going on with a really drunk girl (who managed to charge her way through dance floor) to rip my mates glasses off his face a throw them into the crowd. We didn't even bother saying anything because 1) there was no point 2) it would have exacerbated the situation even more.

We turned our backs for one minute (we were at the bar) and some black guy was in her face wanting to give her a slap! She must have done something to him too.

Trouble is... it doesn't mater where it is, there is always the possibility of trouble. Elbow rooms is a good place to go in the week... but on the weekend I'd steer clear (saw some guy piss in a pool table pocket because they wouldn't serve him).

Best thing to do is tell your gf to keep her wits about her. Especially if you go to Pa(gash)nache.

Depends what you're looking for in a nightout. The student nights seem to less trouble. Goldbrick house if you fancy a quiet classy night out. Or Clifton. You can spot the twatish places a mile off... go... but don't get too wrecked as some twat will most likely take advantage of that.

I've been to a lot of places in Bristol but Panache particularly (i've heard) attracts a particular type of punter. It was shut down a few years back because the place was so violent. Lots of really hot tarty girls = an equal amount of pumped up twats and border-line rapists.

I went there a month or so ago on a Thursday. There was a bit of trouble going on with a really drunk girl (who managed to charge her way through dance floor) to rip my mates glasses off his face a throw them into the crowd. We didn't even bother saying anything because 1) there was no point 2) it would have exacerbated the situation even more.

We turned our backs for one minute (we were at the bar) and some black guy was in her face wanting to give her a slap! She must have done something to him too.

Trouble is... it doesn't mater where it is, there is always the possibility of trouble. Elbow rooms is a good place to go in the week... but on the weekend I'd steer clear (saw some guy piss in a pool table pocket because they wouldn't serve him).

Best thing to do is tell your gf to keep her wits about her. Especially if you go to Pa(gash)nache.

Depends what you're looking for in a nightout. The student nights seem to less trouble. Goldbrick house if you fancy a quiet classy night out. Or Clifton. You can spot the twatish places a mile off... go... but don't get too wrecked as some twat will most likely take advantage of that.

Whoops! Posted that twice!

p.s. just read the bit that said that your girlfriend wasn't her enjoying herself there. Groups of girls easily communicate a feeling among them. She wasn't having good time then at least one of her friends would be the same. She should have left and gone somewhere else (or if she doesn't know where to go then home is better than some chavy shithole!)

Thanks for the reply monkey, it's good to get some real feedback on places, I had a feeling that Panache probably had a bad reputation.

What would you say about Syndicate and Thekla? They were going to go to Syndicate but the queue was huge so they went to Panache instead. They're planning on going out to Thekla next weekend.

I'd echo what MB has said - I stopped going to PanGash about half way through my second year for the exact reason that my flatmates (all girls) started to feel uncomfortable in there, and there was a growing sense of unrest whenever we went (even on student nights). Definitely a place to avoid, as is Oceana on a Saturday night (every other night it's ok though).

I'd recommend Syndicate - the only trouble I've seen or heard of in here is a lad jumping over the railings around the dancefloor. People go to have a good time and there's rarely any trouble. Student nights are best - Saturday tends to attract douchebags who think paying £4 for a bottle of Smirnoff Ice makes them cool.

Thekla, as a night out, varies. It was always safe and had a good atmosphere on the many occasions that I went, but the music is a bit up and down. You tend to get a lot of shite local indie bands playing there, but there are also good dubstep/d+b nights too.

Other excellent (and often underrated) places to go are any of the bars on the Triangle (especially Illusions) or Whiteladies Road (last time I went, Alter Ego did BOGOF cocktails on a Wednesday night...I recommend the Beverley Hills Iced Tea), Elbow Rooms and Java (on a Friday night). Tell her to get herself to Lizard Lounge - cheesy music, cheap drinks and a good atmosphere. Any trouble is rare and caused by posh public school boys in search of "banter" so it's nothing to worry about.

Can't believe no one has mentioned Reflex yet, it's the classic!!.. went there like a million times as a student & the only time i ever saw trouble was once, and it involved me.. and it was 50% my fault anyway!

But i think the Triangle, and especially Illusions as Blanca says is one of the best & probably the nicest area to be generally.. as a kind of loose rule, the higher up the massive hill (park street onto triangle, onto whiteladies etc) the more nice & upmarket the bars become.. i quite enjoy it up there for a similar reason, the odds are good i can kick back and not have to worry about too much trouble usually.