It opened on Harbourside last year, but it’s not just for cricket fans
Sixes has venues across the country(Image: Sixes)
In October 2024, popular bar chain Sixes opened its first Bristol location on Harbourside. Like many places nowadays, however, Sixes isn’t just a bar.
If you’re someone who enjoys taking part in fun activities with friends and family, but have exhausted the familiar options of bowling and mini golf, Sixes offers a great alternative.
As well as fun food and drink options that you might find in many bars across the country, Sixes’ USP is that it offers virtual cricket to customers. This means large screens inside batting nets, where balls are bowled by virtual bowlers, before a real ball comes shooting out, ready for players to bat and score points.
Before going into the bar, I was interested to see how such a unique set up would work, but I was happy to realise the answer is: with ease.
I had a stint of playing cricket as a child, although I was rarely any good at it, so I worried that my lack of skill combined with not having played cricket for a decade would make the batting session less enjoyable, but I was wrong.
Heading to the bar with my partner and our friends (one of whom is an avid cricket player for Bishops Cannings Cricket Club so had far more knowledge and skill than the rest of us), the staff were quick to get us set up with a pre-game cocktail before explaining how the simulators worked.
We had a variety of game modes to choose from, and each of us got to pick a difficulty from 1 to 5 (I firmly remained on the easiest difficulty).
Sixes opened on Harbourside in October 2024(Image: Bristol Live)
We started with the ‘classic’ T20 game mode, which follows a T20 Cricket format, and I was surprised by how easy it was to understand, instantly making the game enjoyable.
Each of us had an individual leader board, and with different bats to choose from, we could tailor the game exactly to our preference. I might have come last, but it didn’t stop me from having fun.
We were able to change the game mode at any time, and in the final 15 minutes of our allotted 45 minute slot we switched it up and played an elimination-style mode, where each of us had to beat the score of the batter before us, or lose a life.
Again, I was the first out, but it didn’t make me any less competitive, and it was fun watching each other rack up the highest score we could.
The 45 minutes flew by thanks to Sixes’ simple but fun approach to virtual cricket. With each batting net have tables and chairs nearby, it meant we could all still enjoy a drink whilst we played.
Following our impressive feats of sportsmanship (at least for the others) our appetite quickly grew, so we sat down by a window overlooking Harbourside and ordered some food, each of us going for a burger.
We’d built up an appetite after 45 minutes of virtual cricket (Image: Bristol Live)
In a venue where the focus is on a sporting experience, I wasn’t expecting much attention to be on the food, but was pleasantly surprised at the range of options available on the menu, and the quality and quantity of the dishes offered.
Safe to say, I look forward to returning. It shakes up the usual evening activities on offer without requiring so much energy and effort that I feel exhausted by the end.
The four us had a good time, despite coming into the evening with different levels of understanding and skill when it comes to cricket, which is certainly an impressive feat in my books.
Half-hour batting net slots start at £9.50 per adult adult for off-peak times, with a ‘pre-game happy hour’ available in the hour before then to grab a drink first.