A bistro in Bedminster has unveiled its plans for the future following the end of a ramen pop-up there. Lucky Strike and Tomo No Ramen joined forces in September 2024 to serve up food and drinks from the East Street location.
It was supposed to be a pop-up that lasted until Christmas, but continued until just recently due to its popularity. Now, in a post to Instagram, Lucky Strike‘s founder Tom shared an update via a video announcement.
He said: “Thank you to everyone who has come down and dined with us. We’ve had some great feedback, and me and the whole team have really enjoyed serving and making ramen. Now James from Tomo and my plan was to transition from a pop-up to a permanent site.
“However, we had a chat last week and decided in the end we wouldn’t go down this route. Although it’s been a creative and commercial success, there are factors in our personal lives that meant the project was not going to work for either of us.
“Both of us are a bit disappointed, but we felt we had to do what’s right for us and our restaurants. We remain good friends and continue to support each other.
“For us on East Street, it’s clear there’s a real demand for Japanese food in Bedminster and Southville, and myself and the team have really enjoyed the change. So I’ve decided to carry on with this cuisine.
“How we’ve arrived here wasn’t exactly as planned, but I feel sometimes in life that happens. We want to lean into our roots as Lucky Strike as a diner by broadening the menu out from ramen to include some other favourite dishes, such as chicken katsu curry.
“And I know the chefs have plenty of new dishes lined up too. The restaurant remains open. All bookings are unchanged. The only thing is we will revert back to being called Lucky Strike. Thank you very much and I look forward to seeing you down here.”
In a separate post to Instagram, Lucky Strike announced that its very own chef Ciaran O’Neill will be hosting his first pop-up dinner at the East Street venue, as Oxalis, described on its brand new Instagram page as being a ‘Bristol-based pop up serving casual fine dining. This pop-up will take place on Sunday, March 16, with sittings at 5.30pm or 7.30pm.
The Lucky Strike team said: “Ciaran has a made wonderful start here after honing his skills at 1* Gilpin Hotel & Lakehouse in the Lake District and most recently 1* Bulrush just across the river! Come try this exciting young chef’s first pop-up!”
You can find Lucky Strike at 61 East Street, BS3 45B.