{"id":179791,"date":"2025-06-13T01:05:16","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T01:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/179791\/"},"modified":"2025-06-13T01:05:16","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T01:05:16","slug":"the-duck-willow-in-downend-hopes-to-reopen-next-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/179791\/","title":{"rendered":"The Duck &#038; Willow in Downend hopes to reopen next week"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It closed its doors in 2024<\/p>\n<p>11:05, 12 Jun 2025Updated 12:03, 12 Jun 2025<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1_BR_PG_090323duck_willow-93.jpg\" alt=\"The Duck And Willow in Downend, Bristol, before it closed in 2024\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>The Duck And Willow in Downend, Bristol, before it closed in 2024(Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach PLC)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A local pub in <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bristolpost.co.uk\/all-about\/downend\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"DownendLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Downend<\/a> is hoping to reopen its doors to punters next week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The Duck &amp; Willow <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bristolpost.co.uk\/all-about\/pubs-and-bars-in-bristol\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"pubLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">pub<\/a> on Downend Road shared a post to its Facebook page saying it was &#8216;opening soon&#8217; and later confirmed to BristolLive that it&#8217;s hoped the much loved boozer will be able to welcome back customers as early as next week, depending on whether certain installations can go ahead before then.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A sign outside reads that the pub looks set to open on Tuesday, June 17.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Described as a &#8216;welcoming independent pub in the heart of Downend, offering British <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bristolpost.co.uk\/all-about\/food-and-drink\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"foodLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">food<\/a> and drinks for the whole community&#8217;, the pub&#8217;s new team have been sharing regular updates as they get the Duck &amp; Willow ready.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">In a post on June 5, the team shared some photos of brand new planters out the front of the building, writing: &#8220;A huge thank you to Downend &amp; Bromley Heath In Bloom Group for their wonderful help filling our planters with beautiful flowers! The front of the pub is looking just about ready!<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">&#8220;We&#8217;re working hard behind the scenes so we can welcome you through our doors very soon. The big opening isn&#8217;t far off!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">They posted a poll to their <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheDuckandWillowBristol\/\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Facebook pageLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook page<\/a> to ask locals their thoughts on watching the upcoming British &amp; Irish Lions matches on a big screen at the pub, alongside &#8216;proper breakfast&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">And they have also been advertising for new chefs to join the team.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Locals and pub lovers have been quick to share their excitement at the upcoming opening.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/1_BR_PG_090323duck_willow-59.jpg\" alt=\"The Duck And Willow in Downend, Bristol, before it closed in 2024\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>The Duck And Willow in Downend, Bristol, before it closed in 2024(Image: PAUL GILLIS \/ Reach PLC)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">One said: &#8220;Can&#8217;t wait&#8221; while a second added: &#8220;Hope the roast dinners are as good &#8211; the chef was amazing that was there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">A third commented: &#8220;Welcome back Duck &amp; Willow!&#8221; And others wrote: &#8220;It will be good to see it open again&#8221; and &#8220;Looking forward to having a pint there.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The team confirmed via comment replies that the pub would still be dog-friendly, and would offer Blue Light Discount on most items.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \"><a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bristolpost.co.uk\/news\/bristol-news\/bristol-pub-known-sunday-roasts-9560143\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"BristolLive reported that the Duck &amp; WillowLink opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">BristolLive reported that the Duck &amp; Willow<\/a>, which was known for its Sunday roasts and huge beer garden, closed down and had gone on the market back in September 2024.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">The pub had been owned by former chef Tom Brownell since 2016 and developed into a gastropub serving home-cooked food using locally-sourced produce.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \">Earlier in 2024, Bristol Live reported that the <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bristolpost.co.uk\/whats-on\/whats-on-news\/bristol-pub-close-two-days-9243163\" target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"Duck and Willow would close two days a week due to rising costs.Link opens in a new tab.\" tabindex=\"0\" rel=\"noopener\">Duck and Willow would close two days a week due to rising costs.<\/a> At time of it going up for sale, the pub shut on Mondays and Tuesdays, except for Bank Holidays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It closed its doors in 2024 11:05, 12 Jun 2025Updated 12:03, 12 Jun 2025 The Duck And Willow&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179792,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8818],"tags":[381,748,73936,393,786,4884,9028,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-179791","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bristol","8":"tag-bristol","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-downend","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-food-and-drink","13":"tag-great-britain","14":"tag-pubs-and-bars-in-bristol","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114673374017509204","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179791\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}