Earlier this year, we started looking for cafes that could be a good workspace for recruiters and salespeople.

With the need to be on the phone much of the day, or taking video meetings, it can be somewhat of a challenge to find a suitable environment for this, in addition to ticking all of the other typical remote working checkboxes.

We checked out some of the more highly recommended and known spaces and reviewed them with a recruitment and sales spin.

In today’s remote working world, and with a shift in the recruitment industry where we are seeing more and more solo, and independent consultants, it’s essential to have great working spaces.

Read on to find out how Bristol’s hotspots measured up according to Emily:

Greytone

Pros: It’s a stunning, minimalistic space with phenomenal speciality coffee, matcha, and sweet treats. It has a super peaceful and calming ambience and is generally a lovely place to set up with your laptop and do some deep focus work. The staff are also lovely.

Cons: It’s an extremely quiet space so it’s not particularly set up for being on calls or co-working with others. It has seating but there is a lot of open space and I expect during busy periods, it can be difficult to get a seat to park up with your laptop. I believe they had some restrictions on laptop user hours (this may have been on weekends) and they are closed on Tuesdays.

Overall: Beautiful aesthetic space which is nice for deep focus work, but not the best environment for sales and recruitment.

Bristol Beacon

Pros: It’s a super central location and it’s easy to get to, with a nice aesthetic, great tunes, and good wifi with no password. Be ready for amazing food, plenty of free from options, and great coffee that’s not too pricey. You will find tons of other people working, and you are welcome to stay for the whole day. It felt safe to leave my laptop to stand in que or nip to loo. There were outdoor tables if you wanted to have a break in the sun (but you might lose your table inside).

Cons: Unsurprisingly its very busy! I loved the music but was just too noisy to take a call, and I certainly couldn’t have done a video meeting. There arent many plug sockets, and they are all on one wall, so make sure you’re charged up as you might have to wait to get a seat with a plug.

Overall: It’s a great spot to do a few hours of admin and creative work but not the best for recruiters who need to be on the phone or if you have video calls booked in.

Dareshack

Pros: It’s central, spacious, with an open front and it’s close to the park. There’s a good atmosphere and you could stay all day, with co-working being encouraged as long as it’s done respectfully. Expect funky, indie tunes and stable wifi, with a memorable wifi password. The food and drinks are 10/10 and the service is lovely.

Cons: There were limited plug sockets. It’s a bit dark but that’s kind of the aesthetic. Although the tunes are funky, they are very loud, so calls and video meetings are a no go.

Overall: I went on a sunny day during Glastonbury, but I think it’s usually very busy which is something to be aware of. I loved it, but it’s not great for people in sales or recruiters.

Coffee No1: Clifton Down

Pros: This one is a popular one if you live near to Whiteladies Road or Clifton. It is a chain, but it’s fairly well set up and there are always people working in there. It has a decent sound ambience and it’s not too loud but not too quiet. There are a good amount of plug sockets and a mix of seating options.

Cons: I frequently have trouble with the cloud wifi here for some reason, on both my phone and laptop. The staff didn’t really have any solutions and seems to work for most people so it may just be me!

Overall: Popular for a reason and worth a trip as long is the wifi works for you.

Pret: Baldwin Street

Throwing in a chain here because it was actually great for remote working!

Pros: There were loads of tables, loads of plugs, lots of other people working. It wasn’t busy, but I went the day after the first England Euros match, so I expect that was why! It wasn’t too noisy, and you could definitely do calls here. As a bonus: at the end of the day, you get free food!

Cons: The only con I could think of was that the wifi wasn’t 100% stable.

Overall: Great option in the centre! Highly recommend.

WaterShed

Pros: Watershed is a cinema, community event space, bar, cafe, and workspace all in one! It’s a huge space split up across different areas with a lot of seats and tables, with a lovely balcony overlooking the harbour (nonsmoking FYI). There is a decent looking menu with lots of vegan options, and a full bar. There were tons of other people working, and the music wasn’t too loud (there actually wasn’t music in the section I sat in). I noticed other people on video calls with no issues, and it would be fine to have phone calls with candidates and clients most of the time. You could step through to another area if one got noisy. It was also super central if you wanted to head over to anywhere else in town.

Cons: There was a conference on in one area when I was there, so it did get very noisy for brief periods. I expect that’s not an everyday thing! I didn’t notice many plug sockets and the benches in the middle wouldn’t have been comfy to work on for long periods. I expect that people are usually more dispersed when a conference isn’t on, so there may be more free tables on the perimeter of the room with plugs. They could do with some comfier seats, although there may have been some that I missed in the space.

Overall: I rate Watershed pretty highly! The only things I would recommend to improve it would be: more plug sockets and more comfortable seating.

BakeSmiths

Pros: A large space across two floors, with the second floor particularly well set up for working. It has lots of access to plugs, and almost a co-working space feel. It’s a good ambience in terms of noise. There’s a great range of food and drink with lots of vegan options. You’ll find decent wifi and it feels okay to step away from your laptop for a few moments if/ and when needed.

Cons: Not a huge con, but something to be aware of is that the upstairs is only open until 2.30pm. I honestly couldn’t think of any other cons apart from the matcha being pretty cinnamony, which isn’t my cup of tea! So, I think that says something if I’m clutching at straws.

Overall: It has to be my top recommendation for cafe working for sales and recruitment professionals in Bristol!

We want to hear your recommendations for the best remote working spots across the UK, and the rest of the world. Head over to the District4 LinkedIn page and share them with us!

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