Bristol Bears Women’s new signing, Ilona Maher, visited The Bank Tavern in Bristol on the weekend, where she got to enjoy one of the venue’s highly in-demand roast dinners. Ilona, who is an American rugby union player and one of the stars of the 2024 Olympics in Paris, has just signed a three month contract with the Bears, which begins in January.
The 28-year-old, who boasts some 4.6 million followers on Instagram, and 3.3 million followers on TikTok, shared a video to her socials on Sunday (December 8) in which she tucked into one of The Bank Tavern’s delicious roast dinners. In the video, the star said she came to England for two reasons – number one being rugby, and number two being to get a roast.
“This is what I came here for. I’m so excited.” She said, as she could be seen sat inside a very festively decorated Bank Tavern pub with a huge plate of food in front of her, before going on to say: “You can probably get me another one.”
As she was tucking in, Ilona added: “This is spectacular. It’s everything I wanted. This is awesome.”
Taking to the comments section, Bristolians, local businesses, fellow Americans, and thousands of Ilona’s followers from all around the world were quick to share their excitement. The Bank Tavern said: “As soon as we heard you were looking for a roast we knew we needed to show you how Bristol does it! Come back any time.”
Other local restaurants, like the popular Koocha Mezze Bar, commented to see if Ilona would like to visit their establishments next. Other comments included jealous Bristolians who had missed out on a slot when bookings for The Bank Tavern’s roast dinners went live at the start of the year – one said: “Do you realise how lucky you are to get in there?”
While those from outside of the UK couldn’t believe their eyes at the cuisine on offer. One commented: “This is the first time I have seen British food look good.”
A second said: “How does that roast look so fancy? In Australia everything is kind of plonked on your plate like it was dropped from a great height.”
And a third wrote: “Dear England, please get ready for the spike in tourists from Americans as a direct result of her postings.”
As The Bank Tavern itself says, its ‘legendary roasts’ have been ‘the talk of the town for years’ and have won awards and titles, even being crowned home of Bristol’s best Sunday lunch a fair few times over the years. The Bank Tavern team confirmed that 2025 bookings would be open ‘soon’, urging anyone interested to stay tuned to its social media pages for more announcements.
With all these Americans wanting a table, however, it may be harder than ever to get a slot.